I need to have a letter in French translated to English. It was posted by a French soldier, a member of the French Expeditionary Force in Hanoi, Tonkin, Indochina, in 1891. My very limited French tells me, I believe, that he makes some negative comments either about Tonkinese or about the attitude of the Tonkinese about the French. At that time, Indochina had been a French colony for only four years, after 250 years of French efforts to "pacify" and "protect" the region that now encompasses Vietnam and Cambodia. Laos was added in 1893.
I would welcome help from any French-speaking member of Stamporama in this project. I am hoping to include the letter in a web page about the history of Indochina leading up to the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954. I could send hi-res images by email to a volunteer.
Here's are images of the cover the letter was enclosed in — nice strikes, eh!?
Here's the letter:
Last, but definitely not least, two small paintings on very thin, brittle paper were included in the letter. This is one of them:
So, is someone willing to try to translate the letter? If so, please let me know; as I said, I will supply hi-res images. I will also post the results here.
Retired Ap. Book Mod, Pres Golden Gate Stamp Club, Hi Tech Consultant 04 Jul 2015 03:41:26pm
re: French translation needed
"So, is someone willing to try to translate the letter? If so, please let me know; as I said, I will supply hi-res images. I will also post the results here."
After the 4th of July LONG week end. Email an attachment of a better resolution if you can.
rrr...
Login to Like this post
"E. Rutherford: All science is either physics or stamp collecting."
Thanks to both Ralph and Nelson for their responses. Ralph, I'll send hi-res images ASAP. I just noticed that I uploaded duplicate images of the back of the cover! Yeesh! Correction coming right up.
This afternoon, Ralph emailed his translation of the French soldier's letter that began this thread (see images above). It was posted in Hanoi, in what was then Tonkin, in 1891, when many Vietnamese were still resisting French colonization. In the letter he refers to two pictures which he enclosed in the letter (shown in my first post in this thread).
Ralph says he had difficulty with his translation in a couple of spots; here is his version, with his notes in italics:
---------------
"Bac-Ninh August 6, 1891
"Dear Cousine (f)
"I am replying to your letter and it pleased me a lot to know that you were in good health. I will tell you my dear Cousine that I have received a transfer of the sum of 10 Francs which tickled me, especially to know that you were thinking of me, even if I was far away, because from Tonkin to France it is 4,600 (km) that separates us. Dear Cousine, you tell me not to take any risks with the Tonkinois, but you can be sure about it because if you knew how they are, I would say as ugly as a devil and I will send you proofs. I am sending 2, to show you and you will be the judge of their figure, and I won't have to draw pictures of the pirates... (?? note...I am not sure I read the last few words here to translate properly)
"Dear Cousine, you ask me for stamps for your collection and as soon as I find some I will promptly send them. Nothing much else to say right now. I will say that I am feeling in good health and hope that you are too. I am for life your cousin who loves you and always will think about you.
"Henri Carrier(?)
"Please extend my salutations to Mr and Mrs Guyot as well as to your employees"
---------------
Both Ralph and I welcome anyone who wants to try to improve his translation. Here are links to high-res versions of the letter:
This letter is a interesting companion piece to another in my collection, written 46 years later, in 1947, by another French soldier in Hanoi. In that letter, written to his mother, the soldier calls the Vietminh soldiers "lemon-faces" who ambush French paratroopers searching for them in buildings in Hanoi.
Again, I am late in the game, but the translation is good, especially if you note that the French text was full of mistakes. The guy wrote sounds, not gramatically correct French.
The most intresting stuff is that the aunt was asking for stamps!
Enjoy collecting
Login to Like this post
Please Note: Postings that were loaded from the old Discussion Board cannot be edited.