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fort de cette origine

English translation: Drawing on this noble ancestry

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:fort de cette origine
English translation:Drawing on this noble ancestry
Entered by: Sheila Hardie

14:21 Apr 13, 2011
French to English translations [PRO]
Marketing - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
French term or phrase: fort de cette origine
La Nuit insolite de Chambord

La danse et le théâtre ont une origine historique légendaire à Chambord : la création, le 14 octobre 1670, du Bourgeois gentilhomme de Molière et Lully, comédie-ballet commandée par Louis XIV au génial duo. ***Fort de cette origine***, le Domaine national de Chambord entend réactiver cette pratique en la plaçant sous le sceau de la « surprise », notion Renaissante par excellence : énigmes, retournements, éloge de la folie comme mouvement fécond de la pensée, l’esthétique de la Renaissance n’aime rien plus que ces jeux avec le sens, qu’on songe à l’art de la pointe en poésie (le dernier vers du sonnet renversant le sens que le lecteur croyait avoir saisi), aux éléments perturbateurs qui s’immiscent dans certaines toiles (la fameuse anamorphose des Ambassadeurs d’Holbein), ou encore aux savantes dissonances de la musique.

This is not my text, but one very similar to it. I'm not happy with any of the phrases I'd generally use to translate 'fort de' - for example 'on the strength of'.


Any ideas greatly appreciated...

Many thanks in advance!


Sheila
Sheila Hardie
Spain
Local time: 22:22
Drawing on this noble ancestry
Explanation:
As in "Drawing on this noble ancestry, the Domaine national de Chambord intends reviving..."

One of many options - you can move away from the French and play with your phrasing here, in line with how you've translated the rest of your text.
Selected response from:

Philippa Smith
Local time: 22:22
Grading comment
Thank you all for your answers and comments - they have given me lots of ideas! This is the one that best fits my context. Thanks again!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +6Drawing on this noble ancestry
Philippa Smith
4 +2building on this background
Michel F. Morin
4 +1with this (origin/legend) in my mind
Graham macLachlan
3 +1from these auspicious beginnings
ormiston
4proud of their past
Sarah Bessioud
4Boosted by their origins (OR:) Boosted by the awareness of where they have come from
Lara Barnett
4As/being the place where it originated, the National Preserve of Chambord is planning ...
MatthewLaSon
3encouraged by/building upon this antecedent
B D Finch
3 -1Strong point of the/this origin
Verginia Ophof


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
with this (origin/legend) in my mind


Explanation:
In the context, any relevant transition would do

Graham macLachlan
Local time: 22:22
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  CKSTraductions: In memory of this
22 mins
  -> thanks
neutral  philgoddard: Did you mean to say "my"?
32 mins
  -> no, not at all ;-)
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
Drawing on this noble ancestry


Explanation:
As in "Drawing on this noble ancestry, the Domaine national de Chambord intends reviving..."

One of many options - you can move away from the French and play with your phrasing here, in line with how you've translated the rest of your text.

Philippa Smith
Local time: 22:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 49
Grading comment
Thank you all for your answers and comments - they have given me lots of ideas! This is the one that best fits my context. Thanks again!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard
32 mins
  -> Thanks Phil!
agree  Evans (X)
37 mins
  -> Thanks Gilla!
agree  silvester55
1 hr
  -> Thanks a lot!
agree  Neil Coffey: Slightly overpoetic for what's quite a hackneyed phrase in French, but on the other hand I quite like it.
2 hrs
  -> Thanks Neil; interesting you find it overpoetic - I'm seeing typical marketing blurb, the sort of blah blah I've written and read a thousand times...!
agree  mikecassady: I'd slightly prefer "Drawing confidence from this noble ancestry" (Petit Robert pg 811), to stick closer to the French, but this flows well
13 hrs
  -> Thanks Mike; I don't think "drawing confidence" would work here, it's okay/necessary to get far away from the French in marketing blurb
agree  Helen Shiner: or just 'Drawing on this history'
20 hrs
  -> Thanks Helen!
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31 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
Strong point of the/this origin


Explanation:
Forte, from the French fort for "strength", originally pronounced /ˈfɔrt/ but now commonly /ˈfɔrteɪ/ in English[1]; a person's strong point [1] ("Preparing gourmet cuisine is his forte"). The English pronunciation is likely due to a historical confusion with the doublet below (musical term from the Italian). In light of this, some regard the common English pronunciation as incorrect and insist that it should be pronounced /ˈfɔrt/.


    Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forte
Verginia Ophof
Belize
Local time: 14:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 53

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Neil Coffey: Don't quite see the relevance. (N.B. "fort" is an adjective here.)
2 hrs
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58 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
encouraged by/building upon this antecedent


Explanation:
A choice.

B D Finch
France
Local time: 22:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 136
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57 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
from these auspicious beginnings


Explanation:
just thought I'd throw this into the pot

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2011-04-13 15:25:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I know it doesn't work grammatically here but it just might fit your own sentence

Otherwise, what about something about its 'prestigious legacy'...?

ormiston
Local time: 22:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 93

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Neil Coffey: Yes I think this could also work.
2 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
proud of their past


Explanation:
Although this is not a literal translation, this may be a natural way of expressing this in English. According to how this is used in your text, you may also want to consider proud of its past, or proud of this fact as alternatives.

Sarah Bessioud
Germany
Local time: 22:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 38
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
building on this background


Explanation:
Je ne connais pas de traduction littérale - et je n'en trouve pas non plus. Il me semble que celle-ci rend bien l'idée suggérée.

Michel F. Morin
France
Local time: 22:22
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 18

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Sandra & Kenneth Grossman: building on this tradition
1 hr
  -> Yes, fine too
agree  Helen Shiner: with Sangro
18 hrs
  -> merci
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Boosted by their origins (OR:) Boosted by the awareness of where they have come from


Explanation:
I suggest the word "boost" with the idea that they have been strengthened, or feel supported, by the knowledge or awareness of where they have come from and got to at this point - ie. they have achieved a sort of confidence that has grown from their origins.

Lara Barnett
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 42
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12 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
As/being the place where it originated, the National Preserve of Chambord is planning ...


Explanation:
Hello,

Fort de cette origine = Being the place where it originated (it = la création de...).


Le Domaine National de Chambord is the national preserve grounds in Chambord where this creation took root (both dance and theatrical aspects in this creation originated there). So, this Preserve wants to revive these traditions in its "town of origin".


Le Domaine national de Chambord est un EPIC (établissement public à caractère industriel et commercial) depuis 2005, dirigé par un comité de direction.

http://www.chambord.org/


Le domaine national de Chambord couvre 5 441 ha, dont 1 000 ha sont publics, est ceinturé d'un mur de 33 km, ce qui en fait le plus grand parc forestier ...

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Château_de_Chambord


Finally, there is a tendancy to sometimes overtranslate "fort de", or make the translation too unnatural-sounding in English. I think that is what is happening in many of the translation proposed thusfar.


I hope this helps.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day2 hrs (2011-04-14 16:54:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

We don't need any talk of "drawing/building upon" here in the English translation. Simply stating that this is where this comédie-bllet originated (la création) carries over nicely the idea of "fort de cette origine".

Be careful not to overtranslate this!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2011-04-17 17:29:40 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Or "National Preserve Grounds of Chambord"....



I may be knit-picking, but I don't like "drawing upon this history" as a translation because it takes away from the permanent "state" of "fort de cette origine". In other words, it's not just now that the "Domaine National de Chambord" is "fort de cette origine", but rather it is a permanent characteristic of the place. So, the idea is simply "being a place where it originated (ballet-comédie)". When you say "drawing upon", you're taking away from the focus of the French on the permanency of this origin in dance/theatre (what this place has always been and will always have going for it, from day one). It's just not because they've now decided to revive this art form that they are now "fort de cette origine".


All said in my very humble opinion.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2011-04-17 17:34:02 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

So there should be no focus on any action (drawing on) or what it is happening currently; it's simple a permanent state: Le Domaine National de Chambord, fort de cette origine, ....

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 16:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 145
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