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Comment by macNchz | Hacker News Reader

> the young shopkeeper responded: "On ne parle pas Anglais ici" (one does not speak English here)

A point of translation nuance here: in American English “one does not speak {language} here” carries with it an overt sense of pretense or unpleasantness, whereas in French “on”/one is very commonly used as an alternative to “we” in informal conversation, and does not carry any of the same tone as using “one” does in English. While the translation is correct at a literal level, idiomatically it’d just be “we don’t speak English here”.

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"English is not spoken here" would work well.

The "on" is impersonal and quite different from "nous". I think a translation should reflect the universality of the statement.

As a native French speaker (maybe you are too), I think GP understood the nuance you mentioned but still proposes a good translation to reflect less pressure.

(Native level two romance languages. Very poor French, but I can obviously read it with two Latin languages and 8 years of schooling)

Oh I agree that the translator understood the nuance and I agree why "we" was proposed. The translation is correct, as is the original one.

I was proposing another alternative that incorporates the cold impersonality of "on" whilst not sounding pompous. The server was being viscous, not pompous.

I don't think my translation is "correct"; it hinges on my reading that the server was rude and nasty. A reading based on living in latin countries but also one based on my English Canadian prejudice that French Canadians all speak English but resent having to (don't fault them for it either)

I find translations fascinating as a subject. While there can be a bad translation, there is never a perfect one.

I see, thank you for the explanation! I agree your translation is better for removing the pompous aspect of the very original translation.

“On” really is more casual/conversational than “nous”–I think both the original and your versions would seem stiff or impersonal coming from a shopkeeper in English, whereas the original French would not be confrontational in its word choice alone. Admittedly my reference point is modern conversational language in France and Switzerland, though.

https://www.commeunefrancaise.com/blog/on-or-nous#:~:text=%E....

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