Jan 5, 2012 19:56
12 yrs ago
3 viewers *
French term

ce n'est pas mettre la vie en équation, mais en adéquation

French to English Social Sciences Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc. analysis
I doubt there is a published translation of this piece of wisdom. Can anybody come up with something equally pithy? I usually love this sort of thing!

"Ne pas oublier que l’économie est avant tout à la croisée de sciences humaines (sociologie, psychologie, etc …) et que les modèles quantitatifs n’en sont qu’une tentative d’explication. Ce sont les comportements qui sont traduits dans les modèles et non les modèles qui conditionnent les comportements. Delatour, ce jeune philosophe le décrit fort bien lorsqu’il dit que « vivre ensemble ce n’est pas mettre la vie en équation, mais en adéquation ».

Discussion

ormiston (asker) Jan 6, 2012:
Must thank you all for your efforts on my behalf! I'm getting a lot about achieving harmony but is it that positive? Am I right in thinking that it is "forget a perfect fit, go for an acceptable compromise" (as per rkillings, and perhaps applicable to translating!)
ormiston (asker) Jan 5, 2012:
I have toyed with the notion of 'accommodating" but gave up. Will follow the suggestions with great interest.
kashew Jan 5, 2012:
Imitate the French wordplay with equating and adequating? - no, I suppose not.

Proposed translations

-1
52 mins
Selected

is a matter not of equations but of approximations

Keep the word 'equation' and settle for a rhyme. It's about forgoing the exact for the close enough.

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Note added at 57 mins (2012-01-05 20:53:51 GMT)
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See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_the_second_best ;-)

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Note added at 5 hrs (2012-01-06 01:26:51 GMT)
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être en équation = be equal to
être en adéquation = be a match for

exact vs. good enough
A translating maxim? That too.

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Note added at 5 days (2012-01-10 20:01:22 GMT) Post-grading
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A good place for some adequation here ("adequation n. 4. A semantic process whereby the meaning of a word or phrase changes under the influence of the type of context in which it typically occurs.").

As kashew was suggesting. ;-)
Note from asker:
your note sounds like a translating maxim! btw your link drew a blank
me too, it sums up pretty well my reading of it (i.e. it's a question of a good match rather than a perfect fit)
so you go more for my own interpretation above - a good match rather than an exact fit ?
Peer comment(s):

agree cc in nyc : I like this one more and more.
16 hrs
disagree transcimed : Believe me, I don't want to argue too much, but approximation is not appropriate here. Etre en adéquation = being in good match with other people = vivre ensemble = in adequacy with others
4 days
Care to explain "in adequacy with"?
disagree Paul Reeve : This translation may be appealing, but it's wrong in more than one way. Wrong translation for "adéquation", wrong contrast with the bit about equations.
802 days
Give us the right translation, please, explaining how this one is wrong.:-)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
17 mins

fitting in with the world, not making the world fit in with us

I think it's something along these lines: in other words, you can't argue with reality, so you might as well try and live with it and understand it. It's a bit like the idea that dictionaries should describe, not prescribe.
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21 mins

living together is not a matter of imposing models but

of seeking harmony

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5 hrs

'Life is not about making us equal, it is about finding concordance'

Because:...
Adequation
1. The act of equalizing; act or result of making adequate; an equivalent. 3 synonyms = accord, adaptation, concordance.

Equation
1. The state of being equal.




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Note added at 5 hrs (2012-01-06 01:31:49 GMT)
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or 'living together is not about making us equal, but about finding concordance'
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4 hrs

not about harmonizing formulas, but rather about formalizing harmony

That's my try at following kashew's suggestion.

Or, alternately, "not a matter of... , but rather a matter of... "

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Note added at 12 hrs (2012-01-06 08:21:10 GMT)
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On second thought:

it's not about harmonizing formulas, but rather about formalizing harmonies

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Note added at 12 hrs (2012-01-06 08:23:06 GMT)
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Sorry, third thought:

it's not about harmonizing formulas, but rather about formulating harmonies

(sigh)
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13 hrs

is not modeling life with equations but achieving adequacy

living together is not modeling life with equations but achieving adequacy
Harmony sounds too optimistic compared to adequacy
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16 hrs

it's not a matter of turning life into a set of formulas, but rather achieving harmony

another try

it's not a matter of making life a set of formulas, but rather, achieving harmony
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1 hr

living together is about harmonisation, not equations

Hello,

Might that work?

You can't expect to make a mathematical formula out of living together (magical forumula: this + that - those/these = happiness; the goal is to just top learn how to cohabitate in harmony).

I was trying to plug life into an equation that doesn't exist. I was creating my own anxiety and disfunction and blaming it on my circumstances.

http://thethreedsddd.blogspot.com/2011/04/life-is-not-equati...


I hope this helps.

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Note added at 1 hr (2012-01-05 21:53:38 GMT)
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Trying to keep a little rhyming in there as is in the French. LOL.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2012-01-05 21:58:37 GMT)
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Perhaps I'd rather say:

Living together is about life in harmonisation, not equations.

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Note added at 5 days (2012-01-11 01:46:10 GMT) Post-grading
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I do not think that "harmonisation" is too strong here.

You might also say "Living together is not about making life into equation but a compatible situation" (you can't try to obtain happiness or good cohabitation situation with a magical mathematical equation).



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Note added at 5 days (2012-01-11 01:49:17 GMT) Post-grading
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In other words, good cohabitation doesn't come from mathematical formulas from models etc but simply compability.

"Living together is not about turning life into an equation but a compatible situation"

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