{"id":29529,"date":"2018-01-03T12:49:53","date_gmt":"2018-01-03T11:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=29529"},"modified":"2018-04-04T20:51:50","modified_gmt":"2018-04-04T18:51:50","slug":"only-an-au-revoir-auld-lang-syne-in-french","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/only-an-au-revoir-auld-lang-syne-in-french\/","title":{"rendered":"Only An Au Revoir – Auld Lang Syne In French"},"content":{"rendered":"

La Saint-Sylvestre<\/strong><\/a> (New Year’s Eve) may be celebrated slightly differently in France, mais<\/strong> (but) there’s a song associated with la f\u00eate<\/strong> (the holiday) that is fairly familiar to tout le monde<\/strong> (everyone).<\/p>\n

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Image from Pixabay. Licensed under CC0.<\/p><\/div>\n

La chanson du r\u00e9veillon de la Saint-Sylvestre<\/a><\/strong> (The New Year’s Eve song), Auld Lang Syne<\/em>, is one that all anglophones<\/strong> know. It’s interesting to note that while les anglophones<\/strong> know the song and can sing along to it, most do not understand les paroles<\/strong> (the lyrics), <\/em>because la chanson <\/strong>is not actually en anglais<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Auld Lang Syne <\/em>was originally written in 1788 by le po\u00e8te \u00e9cossais<\/strong> (the Scottish poet), Robert Burns<\/em>. Les paroles<\/strong> were written in Scots<\/em> and set to une ballade \u00e9cossaise<\/strong> (a Scottish ballad). La chanson<\/strong> quickly spread around l\u2019\u00c9cosse<\/strong> (Scotland) and the rest of le monde anglophone<\/strong> (the English speaking world), and in the course of a few hundred years Auld Lang Syne<\/em> became the traditional New Year’s Eve song<\/em> it is today.<\/p>\n

The Scottish origins of la chanson<\/strong> explain why most anglophones<\/strong> have trouble understanding les paroles<\/strong>, but translating the title from Scots to English makes the odd name easier to understand:<\/p>\n

Auld Lang Syne<\/strong>
\nLong Long Ago (literally: Old Long Since)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

La chanson traditionnelle<\/strong> (the traditional song) was translated into French in 1920 by Jacques Sevin<\/em>, <\/em>one of the cofounders of les Scouts de France<\/strong> (The Scouts of France). Outside of New Year’s celebrations, Auld Lang Syne<\/em> is often sung at Scouts events around the world.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

La traduction<\/strong> (the translation) changes les paroles<\/strong> quite a bit, but successfully captures the spirit of old friends and saying goodbye. Even le nom de la chanson<\/strong> (the name of the chanson) is completely different, but the change keeps the feeling behind the song:<\/p>\n

Ce n’est qu’un au revoir<\/strong>
\nIt’s only a goodbye<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In between making your voeux du nouvel An<\/strong><\/a> (New Year’s resolutions) and remembering the best of 2017<\/a>, take a moment to celebrate la Saint-Sylvestre<\/strong> and sing Ce n’est qu’un au revoir<\/strong><\/em> en version francaise<\/strong><\/a> :<\/p>\n