In this edition of the English translation of the Bulletin de Lille; voluntary evacuations of women, children and the sick to Switzerland, Belgian men are summoned by the German authorities, further outbreaks of typhoid, more tips on preserving potatoes.
In today’s English translation of the Bulletin de Lille; attempts to stem the proliferation of municipal vouchers, more on cleaning the streets and a recipe for pease pudding. As Christmas approaches there are advertisements for Christmas decorations, calendars and cards, lost and found notices and others.
In this edition you can see evidence of some of the many problems facing the population of Lille. Typhoid, food shortages, oil shortages, bike requisition, lack of freedom of movement…And yet, further down there are still advertisements for hair regeneration products, alcohol and perfume.
Each week Le Figaro posts flashbacks to articles published by Le Figaro 100 years ago, I’d thoroughly reccommend giving the section a read. Today I was having a browse and came across this little gem. This rather amusing story has plenty of flowery language and much of the writing style typical of the early 20th century. Both this and other stories published at the time might seem silly to us now, but then some of them were taken very seriously (although not this particular one!). For those wishing to practice their French, this section of Le Figaro is fairly easy reading despite some of the linguistic flourishes, as well as being quite amusing to boot.
I’ve summarised the article below in English, for the best parts and the literary description of the great battle between man and beast (wink wink) you can find a link to the French original at the link at the bottom of this post:
THE PAINTER AND THE FEROCIOUS DEER
When Mr Muller, a painter, visited the beautiful, peaceful little isle of Porquerolles in the Côte d’Azure with his wife for a painting trip, little was he to know that it was full of dangerous beasts!
I came across an amusing link on LinkedIn today, apparently Mr Hollande thinks his English is good…judging by this video from Le Figaro, he’s not as good as he thinks!
François Hollande: “My English is good!”
Now, his English isn’t great, but at least he (mostly) accomplishes the important part of speaking a foreign language: getting his message across.
Still, not enough to claim his English is “good” though. But it does bring to mind what for me is one of the most important things about learning to speak a foreign language, and something that formal language teaching often seems to forget. You can focus on spoken grammar and vocabulary as much as you like, but if you lack the confidence to make mistakes and fumble, to make do with words that communicate your meaning even if they aren’t exactly correct, then you’re going to have some trouble. Learning a language is all about making mistakes, especially when speaking.
The written and spoken forms of language can be very different, and most languages are a lot more forgiving when spoken than when written. In short, I think it’s always important to at least make an effort, people will usually appreciate the effort you’ve made to communicate in their language. Claiming to speak it well however…well, only something to do if you’re very confident in your skills…in this case I think Mr Hollande was a little overconfident!
Below you will find my translation of the first Bulletin de Lille from the 2nd of December 1915. I have translated all the major articles, but left out most of the adverts and obituaries, otherwise this post would get too long. I have however left in some examples from each section, just to give an idea of what sort of adverts and articles were in those sections.
Whilst searching online for something interesting to read, I came across some very interesting documents that had been put online by the excellent Project Gutenberg.
During World War I many areas of industrial northern France were occupied by the Germans, with the Germans invading towns and cities, appropriating any resources they wished and putting factories to work producing munitions.
Lille was one such place. The town was first invaded and occupied by the Germans on the 13th of October, 1914 after a 10 day siege and bombardment that destroyed a sizeable part of the town. The Germans moved in swiftly, securing private residences for their officers and billeting soldiers with local families. Former restaurants were transformed into places of entertainment for German soldiers and a cinema and refreshment hall were also established. Alongside this, as a part of their efforts to curb any printed opposition and propoganda, the Germans appropriated the printing presses of the local newspaper, the Echo du Nord, and began printing a newspaper for the German troops. In addition to this, they also took over the printing of French language local bulletin, in which they published ordnances and news from the German administration, serving as a useful propaganda tool. This bulletin was called the Bulletin de Lille.
The Bulletin de Lille represents only a small part of what took place throughout WWI, however I believe it offers a valuable insight into life under the Germans. Not only did it include information and ordnances from the German administration, but also advertisements from local businesses, as well as obituaries and others, subjects you would expect to find in any normal newspaper, proving that despite everything, life still went on even under occupation. As you read further through the later editions however, each new ordnance from the Germans gradually becomes all the more chilling when compared to the mundane advertisements that appear alongside them.
As many of you will be aware, 2014 is the centenary of World War I, so I feel it is partciularly appropriate that these bulletins should be made freely available to those who do not speak French. As of today, I will be posting translations of the articles featured in those bulletins, and hope that you find them as interesting (and perhaps horrifying) as I do.
Sources:
I’ve been a freelance translator for several years now, and it still strikes me that so many English speakers miss out on a wealth of fascinating little tidbits from around the world due to their lack of a second language. This blog is my attempt to rectify that in some small way, and perhaps even help with language learning a bit on the way!
I’ve set up this blog to provide an insight for non-French speakers into the latest news trending in French media, with small, translated snippets and interesting facts. Each snippet will be accompanied by small translations and general summaries, along with anything else I find interesting!
Feel free to comment or message, I’ll always get back to you if I can!
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