Need help translating a few words/phrases in recent Paris Match.

[Jeffrey Neiman]

I just picked up a current Paris Match. Did not realize how French magazine-speak is so much different than the stuff one learns in the classroom or from formal sources, i.e. classic novels. Anyhow I need help with the following terms.....

1. In an article on the French "animateur-producteur" Nagui, he is referred to as "un miraculé du Pac". Well I understand what a miraculé is (a person who has miraculously recovered from an illness)..but the term "du Pac" really is beyond my ability to translate.

2. The article also says that in 2008 "il se pacse avec sa compagne", Mélanie Page". Does that mean that he got together with her? The closest word that I found was pactiser...which means to get together with or ally oneself with.

3. Also is an "animateur-producteur" in this case a TV host-producer...with the word "animateur" meaning (TV) host?

4. Does Nagui have a first name and why is he so pretentious not to use it, like Nigel Kennedy or Jascha Heifetz at various times in their careers?

Thanks for your help with thsee questions.

Having just discovered this wonderful site I will have more questions!

Zut! I thought I could speak French at an advanced level before I picked up the magazine! Now I have my doubts! :)

Je pensais que jétais capable de parler un français avancé avant d'acheter ce journal. Maintenant j'ai mes doutes..... :)

Jeff Neiman, Toronto, Canada

[Neil Coffey]

The verb "(se) pacser" comes from the PACS, or "pacte civile de solidarité", a registered civil partnership in France. It basically gives a couple inheritance rights (and I believe certain other things such as general tax benefits) without being a "marriage". I guess a lawyer could tell you more about the precise differences. (A key one is that a PACS is an option for homosexual couples.)

Incidentally, PACS and "pacser" are in the site's French dictionary.

In (3), as you say, "animateur" means (among other things) a TV show host.

[Jeffrey Neiman]

Hi Neil!

Thanks for your answer.

Actually, I am a lawyer but only qualified to practise in the Province of Ontario, Canada. I understand the concept of the PACS and we actually have something similar in Ontario, which is called a Domestic Contract.

Thanks again for taking the time to answer.

Je vous remercie beaucoup!

Jeff Neiman

[Marc Vonhalmen]

For (4), actually Nagui is his first name. His surname is Fam.
By the way, your French seems to be excellent, but there's still a little mistake in your last sentence: "Maintenant j'ai DES doutes" ;)

[Jeffrey Neiman]

Hi Marc!

Thanks for your answer.

I understand the concept of the partitive in French (J'ai des doutes=I have some doubts or doubt), but are you telling me that it is incorrect for a person to use the possessive pronoun in French when expressing the idea that he or she has his/her OWN doubts?

I mean that while I agree that it can be perfectly acceptable for a person to say that he/she has some doubts (des doutes), I do not understand why the person cannot say that he or she has his or her OWN doubts....There is a significant though subtle difference between these two concepts.

I await your response.

Jeff Neiman

[Marc Vonhalmen]

Hi Jeff,

My native language is French, and "j'ai mes doutes" really sounds weird to me. You only can say: "j'ai des doutes, j'ai un doute, j'en doute, ...".
But, for example, you can say both "J'ai une idée" AND "j'ai mon idée", but they don't have exactly the same meaning. "J'ai mon idée" (or, more common form: "j'ai ma petite idée") is a way to insist on the fact that it is YOUR idea and not just some random idea. But you only use it in some specific circumstances. For exemple, when somebody asks you "Que vas-tu lui répondre ?", you would answer "j'ai ma petite idée", which would mean "je pense que je sais ce que je vais lui répondre". Answering "j'ai une idée" would not really fit in the conversation.
But all this doesn't work with doubts ;) If you have some doubts, you just have some doubts, but not your own :)

[Frank]

Indeed, you shouldn't use any possessive pronoun when expressing your own doubts. The subject "je" is enough to understand that you are talking about your own doubts.

Either say "J'ai des doutes (sur + noun)" or "Je doute (que + subjunctive)".

[Neil Coffey]

Jeff --

I think this is just one of those cases where, although you could logically expect a sentence to be possible and the meaning is fairly clear, it just turns out in practice not to be a very common thing to say (though not absolutely impossible).

If you look at Google's estimated counts for e.g. "I have doubts" vs "I have my doubts" in English, you'll probably find that the version with "my" actually outweights the version without it. But if you do a comparable search in French, you'll find that "j'ai des doutes" outweights "j'ai mes doutes" by about 100 to 1.

So it's not so much that "j'ai mes doutes" is absolutely impossible, but it's quite unusual in French, whereas the direct equivalent is very usual in English. You just need to be aware of that difference.

Neil

[Jeffrey Neiman]

Neil and Marc!

Thank you for explaining the subtleties concerning the partitive in j'ai des doutes instead of the possessive ...j'ai mes doutes.....

Of course I defer to your expertise, especially since I am not a native speaker of French!

This is a reminder to me of a rule that I have tried to follow but have occasionally forgotten, which is to never translate word for word...i.e., what works in one language may not work in another if you use a corresponding word or phrase.

Thanks for your help with this point..i.e., mes doutes vs. des doutes.

Jeff Neiman

[Frank]

Hello Jeffrey,

1. The "PAC" in this context means "Paysage Audiovisuel Canadien", ie. popular TV presenters in Canada.

[Jeffrey Neiman]

Hi Frank!

Merci de m"avoir aidé sur ce point. (le PAC)

(I hope I got that grammatically correct!)

Jeff Neiman

[Marc Vonhalmen]

You did ;)

[Jeffrey Neiman]

Thank you!

À la prochaine! (Bis zum nachsten Mal!)

Surprised you, didn't I? ;)

Jeff Neiman