Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Can someone help me with a better French to English translation?

The following is a popular children's poem. I am a neophyte at French and I am having trouble understanding what is being said. I need a native speaker as I believe the "translator" bots are missing something.



The binder dreamer



Pendant que tu 茅tais While you were



Sur la plage, cet 茅t茅, On the beach this summer



Ou bien dans la for锚t, Or in the forest



As tu imagin茅 Have you imagined



Que ton cartable r锚vait ? Let your dream binder?



Il r锚vait d'avaler He dreamed of swallowing



Des crayons, des cahiers, Pencils, notebooks,



Puis d'aller comme on vole, Then to go as it flies,



Sur le chemin de l'茅cole. On the way to school.Can someone help me with a better French to English translation?
I've placed in "[ ]" better versions of the translations you have. Overall I think you did well.



The binder dreamer



Pendant que tu 茅tais While you were



Sur la plage, cet 茅t茅, On the beach this summer



Ou bien dans la for锚t, Or in the forest [Or perhaps in the forest]



As tu imagin茅 Have you imagined [Did you imagine](not literal but this has to be in the past tense)



Que ton cartable r锚vait ? Let your dream binder? [That your binder was dreaming?]



Il r锚vait d'avaler He dreamed of swallowing [It dreamed of swallowing] (I'm not certain the anthropomorphing of the binder is justifiable but "it" vs "he" is up to you ultimately)



Des crayons, des cahiers, Pencils, notebooks,



Puis d'aller comme on vole, Then to go as it flies, [And then going as if in flight]



Sur le chemin de l'茅cole. On the way to school.



"chemin" is the word sometimes used for road but "way" is more in tune with the atmosphere of the poem %26amp; well within the parameters of the language.Can someone help me with a better French to English translation?
Don't know about the "cartable."



I'd translate "puis d'aller comme on vole" as "then to get away like you were flying" or something like that. "On" in this instance is the impersonal French "one." All the others look good to me.Can someone help me with a better French to English translation?
It starts well at first.

Here are some suggestions

"Did you imagine

That your binder was dreaming?

It was dreaming of swallowing

Pencils, notebooks,

Then leaving as one flies

On (Down) the path from the school. (or of the school)

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