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  3. Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

con reminiscencia gala

English translation: with a certain French *je ne sais quoi*

13:02 Aug 20, 2018
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Spanish term or phrase: con reminiscencia gala
This is the title of an ironic work produced by Argentine artist Antonion Vigo in the sixties:

Curso acelerado para adquirir nivel de ‘latinoamericano culto’ con reminiscencia gala

I am translating it as "Cram Course to Get a Degree as a ‘Latin Ameriuc Intellectual’ with Gala Reminiscence" but I am not convinced by the "gala reminiscence" part..not entirely sure what the artist is getting at. I wasn't able to find anything specific about the phrase on the internet...
Many thanks!
Wendy Gosselin
Argentina
Local time: 12:12
English translation:with a certain French *je ne sais quoi*
Explanation:
I think that this translation nicely captures the humorous and ironic context of the original, and the use of a French phrase would seem particularly apposite here.

Note: je ne sais quoi
Selected response from:

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 11:12
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3with a certain French *je ne sais quoi*
Robert Forstag
3 +3with a touch/hint/veneer of Frenchness
patinba
4 -1with memories of France
Francois Boye


  

Answers


17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
with a touch/hint/veneer of Frenchness


Explanation:
galo is an adjective meaning French, so he is ironically stating that Latin American culture is being given a touch of class.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 mins (2018-08-20 13:25:41 GMT)
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Or "Gallic" touch ?

patinba
Argentina
Local time: 12:12
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 124

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard
1 hr
  -> Thank you!
agree  JohnMcDove: Right. :-)
1 hr
  -> Gracias, John!
disagree  Francois Boye: you seem ignorant of the long presence of Latin American Intellectuals in France
2 hrs
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: with a Gallic touch
20 hrs
agree  Lucía Gomez: I should add that "reminiscencia gala" in this context implies a snobbery connotation that would be lost in "a je ne sais quoi", wich is always positive. A "whiff of frenchness" would be another good option.
13 days
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
with a certain French *je ne sais quoi*


Explanation:
I think that this translation nicely captures the humorous and ironic context of the original, and the use of a French phrase would seem particularly apposite here.

Note: je ne sais quoi

Robert Forstag
United States
Local time: 11:12
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 92
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  JohnMcDove: Nice touch! :-) If you go to the South of France, you have nothing Toulouse... /../ Ha-ha, you're welcome. :-)
12 mins
  -> Thanks for the tip of the chapeau, bro. 🤡
disagree  Francois Boye: You seem ignorant of the love affair between France and the Latin American Intellectuals!
48 mins
  -> I actually am well aware of the “love affair” you speak of, but this seems entirely irrelevant to the merits of my suggested translation, and your comment does nothing to justify your disagreement.
neutral  philgoddard: Don't understand Francois' comment or disagree. I think patinba deserves the credit for explaining the meaning, but this is a good idea.
53 mins
  -> Thank you, Phil.
agree  Marie Wilson: Sounds good.
1 hr
  -> Thank you, Marie.
agree  neilmac
4 hrs
  -> Thank you, Neilmac.
agree  Yvonne Gallagher
18 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
with memories of France


Explanation:
Many Latin American intellectuals had lived in France and loved it. As the result, France has always had an intellectual influence in Latin America.

I still remember all the Chilean politicians that had found refuge in the Latin quarter after the 1973 coup in Santiago.

The French socialists under President F. Mitterand have decorated many Latin American Intellectuals between 1981 to 1995.

I remember reading Carlos Fuentes's writings on France when I was living in Mexico.

Sorry! I couldn't find a reference as significant as this one in English.

http://www.medelu.org/IMG/pdf/Paris_ville_latino-americaine....



Francois Boye
United States
Local time: 11:12
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Robert Forstag: This is an overly literal translation that simply does not work. // Your every contribution to this query shows that you have fundamentally misunderstood both the meaning and function of the posted phrase.
48 mins
  -> Why? Hadn't Latin American intellectuals lived in France?
neutral  JohnMcDove: While what you write is true, it doesn't quite work in context. "Reminiscence" here means, "A characteristic of one thing that is suggestive of another." (Oxford). "Memory" comes across as "Something remembered from the past." Which is not the case here.
6 hrs
disagree  Yvonne Gallagher: this literal translation really doesn't fit here at all
18 hrs
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