Regarding Chapter 28: French To Equestrian · 5:12am Oct 6th, 2014
For those (like myself) who do not speak french and were confused by Fleur's utterances, a brief explanation.
I do not, as previous stated, speak french. I do however believe that somepony named Fleur De Lis should occasionally speak the language.
In context, we have this scene.
Rarity cleared her throat, prompting Fleur to look back in her direction. While Fluttershy had been talking, she’d been adding five more glasses from around the room, all carefully sipped from. “Ahem. Fleur, I’d like to introduce my marefriend.”
“Oh?” Fleur’s ears perked up. “I hadn’t noticed you brought anypony else. Where is she?”
Fluttershy squirmed uncomfortably.
Fleur looked back and forth between the two of them, flushing when she realized her faux pas. “C'est gênant! What you must think of me! I meant no offense, Rarity. Nor to you, Fluttershy.”
C'est gênant!: How embarrassing!
“You cherish the princess, mon amie?” Fleur De Lis’ eyes twinkled as she laughed merrily. “Perhaps she is close to you both?”
“Nothing so crass as that,” Rarity replied, flushing guiltily. After all, it wasn’t as if she’d never entertained the idea. “My friends and I are simply important to both sisters, though I admit we have had occasion to deepen the friendship of late.”
“Ah, forgive me. I misunderstood.” Fleur’s eyes flicked over to Luna, who was twirling around in her new dress. “Fancy and I have had that opportunity as well.”
Rarity, who had been in the middle of sipping at a sixth wine glass, nearly choked in shock. “I must be mishearing you—”
“Je resterai bouche cousue. I have said more than I should have and I will thank you if you will forget it,” Fleur said quickly. “Our younger princess does not need a scandal laid at her hooves.”
Je resterai bouche cousue: I won't say anymore.
Sorry for any confusion to native speakers and google translate users alike, but that's what I meant to have these phrases mean. I did pretty extensive searches for proper phrasing, but this is the risk you take when you try to utilize a language you don't speak yourself, sadly.
Oh, and for those who stayed to read through all of this, the next chapter will be posted promptly on the 1st. I am doing everything I can to keep to that steady schedule of once a month, and so far it's been working (since April it's been consistent.)
And for anyone whose eyes glazed and are somehow reading the end of this: TL:DR Steel does not speak French, and if you look up a little you'll see what I wanted Fleur to say.
You would not believe the bright people who read stories on this site and recognize the language as well as catch any little mistakes. I used 'Sol omnia regit' once in Letters, and I wound up writing to the Copernicus museum in Frombork Poland to clear up the resulting confusion (turns out Latin does not really pay attention to word order). I referred to the pitch drop experiment obliquely once and had comments on it immediately. I had Trixie use “Nique ta mère!” once in Monster and people had it identified almost immediately. French makes a wonderful language to swear in and still sound social.
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Latin is a silly language.
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Classical Latin had the verb at the back, just like German does all too often. That said, both are valid and mean the same thing. Or so I've been taught a... um... gosh... decade ago.
I'm old.
That said, people on this site are very frequently scary-clever. I once had someone take me to task over my declension of the Latin for 'reindeer.'
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It's a perfectly cromulent language!
Needs more cases, though. Seven, I think. Yes. Seven would be just right. And fourteen tenses.