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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Fluent / native French speaker please! (not homework related :))

55 replies

questionzzz · 03/05/2020 03:05

We just finished watching the film "Dans la maison" , with English subtitles and several times the phrase "normal" is spoken by the characters, in describing the main family and their house, however the subtitles translate it to "perfect", as in "perfect family", "perfect house".

My french is barely intermediate, but the family/house are a key theme and the translation is bothering me... Can "normal" spoken in French, be translated to "perfect" in this context? Shouldn't the subtitles just have read "normal family... normal house" as the characters said it?

OP posts:

AidanMole · 03/05/2020 03:36

Not so much 'perfect' but more 'ideal', or 'the way you would want it to be'. I've not seen the movie but I'm guessing it meant that the home was a 'perfect' example of an ideal home x

clearsommespace · 03/05/2020 03:40

I wouldn't translate 'normal' as 'perfect'.
It doesn't always translate as 'nornal'.
Sometimes it means 'to be expected' or 'quite rightly'.

Original poster

questionzzz · 03/05/2020 03:43

Thank you! Now I wish a fluent french speaker would watch the movie and tell me what normal meant in that context, beacuse all of your suggestions would apply... "a perfect example of the ideal family" or "a family to be expected"

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ARoseInHarlem · 03/05/2020 03:46

“Normal” in French is used in the same way Americans use “regular” for normal.

It implies this is the way things should be, that this is the standard.

So, not ‘perfect’ but you can see what they were getting at.

Original poster

questionzzz · 03/05/2020 03:48

yes, not perfect... each time I read "perfect family" in the subtitle my brain grated a bit. A "regular family" might have made more sense, but it would be less evocative and sharp, I suppose.

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Original poster

questionzzz · 03/05/2020 15:45

So last night I was thinking, if you wanted to translate "a perfect family" from English into French, what would you say? "une famille parfait"? That somehow doesn't feel right either.

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RevolutionofourTime · 03/05/2020 15:49

Yes, une famille parfaite would be a good translation. Or famille idéale.

peperethecat · 03/05/2020 15:56

I think the French don't really believe in or aspire to perfection. It's a slightly odd translation.

AnotherEmma · 03/05/2020 16:05

I love a good translation challenge
Disclaimer: I'm fluent in French but a native English speaker.

Context is everything. I watched the trailer which didn't help much (!) but also read the Guardian review. I can see why they translated it as "perfect". The meanings of the French word "normal(e)" can be quite multi-faceted, as PP's have pointed out. It really wouldn't work to just use the English word "normal". I think that the way Claude perceives the family is absolutely key, and I get the impression (from the review) that he is fascinated with them because in many ways they are a "normal" and "perfect" family - in which case just calling them "normal" wouldn't really convey it.

It looks like an interesting film so I might watch it and report back If we put the subtitles on I always get distracted by reading them and thinking about whether I would have translated it the same way!

georgialondon · 03/05/2020 16:33

I would translate normal as 'standard'

georgialondon · 03/05/2020 16:33

Or regular.. it's not an exact science is it!

1555CC · 03/05/2020 16:38

Even in English it's debatable. What's a perfect family? To me, it doesn't mean they are all faultless. It just means, in my book, mum and dad are still together, and have one or more healthy children. That's all. Some people would argue that's a normal family.

AnotherEmma · 03/05/2020 16:40

No, I'd call it an art rather than a science!
There are so many possible translations - "ordinary" is another. But I don't think standard or ordinary would be the best choices in this case. I think normal, ideal and perfect are the closest.

Original poster

questionzzz · 03/05/2020 16:47

@AnotherEmma watch it! It's a good film, quite engrossing and suitably creepy, very well-made and acted. I'd love to hear what you think of it, and also with the subtitiles.

Now that's I've watchd it with subtitles, maybe I'll try without to see what i can get from it.

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godhelpusall · 03/05/2020 18:42

It also depends on the perspective of Claud. Possibly he had a really messed up family, so 'normal' would be akin to 'perfect'.

Original poster

questionzzz · 03/05/2020 19:00

@godhelpusall, well yeah. Without trying to give spoilers, that is exactly it, for Claude.

The film got me thinking- a normal family IS a perfect family, in a way. That is what we are striving for, in real life, I mean. to have a normal family, which would be perfect.
But DD and I were discussing, and she said "we're a perfect family, but we're not normal", and that gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. We're not normal because we don't confirm to the "ideal" mom+dad+ 2 kids in a suburban house, we're 1 mom + 2kids in an urban condo downtown, but we are "perfect", in our own way :)

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godhelpusall · 03/05/2020 20:58

@questionzzz that's lovely. We are absolutely not normal or perfect but we aren't as dysfunctional as my family of origin so I guess we are ok. But I get that 'c'est use famille normale' being translated as a perfect family because of my own experiences.

fascinated · 03/05/2020 21:01

Hi! Sounds great. Is it on Netflix or where?

BurneyFanny · 03/05/2020 21:04

As well as what they all said subtitling is bloody complicated, you have all sorts of parameters to take into account like average viewer reading speeds etc so the info is often simplified and condensed. Sounds like a good solution to me.

Bubblesgun · 03/05/2020 21:10

I m french “une famille normale” = a typical family ie. not out of the ordinary in regards to the context eg. Country, culture, town/village, surroundings/neighbours etc.
“Une maison normale” = a typical house in regards to value and / or style.

Whoever translated it by perfect is 100% wrong

BurneyFanny · 03/05/2020 21:27

Not necessarily. Context is everything as always in translation. People who get to subtitle feature films tend to be highly experienced, they’re not just pulling words out of their arses.

Doryhunky · 03/05/2020 21:31

Loved this film!

AnotherEmma · 03/05/2020 21:37

Burney

godhelpusall · 03/05/2020 21:39

@Bubblesgun it depends on the translation into English. If the meaning in English was from the perspective of someone for whom a typical family was perfect (eg someone who had a dysfunctional family) then the meaning is a perfect family, not just a typical one.

Original poster

questionzzz · 03/05/2020 23:04

In Canada, it's on Amazon prime. Not on netflix. I think you can "rent" it on youtube too.
I think, from the perspective of the main character, translating it as "the perfect family, in the perfect house" makes sense, in a way, (even though I am getting that "normal" in french does not really mean perfect- and neither does it in English). Because the subsequent actions are only understandable if they are the perfect family. Who would go to all those lengths merely for the sake of a "normal" family in a "normal house"?

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