so what’s wrong with “Parc Jeanne-Mance” ? Why translate all of montreal’s toponymy into english?
When dealing with place names, it’s common practice to translate the generic, which is why French newspapers write “rue Queen” instead of “Queen Street.” In this case, “Jeanne-Mance” is the specific, “park” is the generic. If I was writing in Spanish it would be “Parque Jeanne-Mance.” The specific remains the same, the generic changes.
You wouldn’t write “I’m going to the parc,” or “I’m going up the montagne” or “I’m walking down the rue,” would you?
No, but I would say “I’m going to avenue des Pins”, for example…
Park…Parc… a beautiful (multilingual) place but…
– increasingly overcrowded on weekends (and I mean wall to wall people), especially Sundays
– noisy as heck thanks to the increased traffic on Mont-Royal (which seems to have doulbed in just the past couple of years)
– increasingly nasty at night (never used to be)
– full to the rim with dog shit in Springtime
– littered with needles
I live just up the street and hardly go there anymore except to pass through on my way down the main or downtown. I wonder if many other locals feel the same way.
I live about 15 minutes away and go there all the time. I like the fact that it’s always full of people.
Hmmm. Well maybe this summer will be a return to the park for me then. Can’t be all bad. Who’s complaining?
Thank you, newironshapes, for reminding us of what’s really important about a beautful photo of a spring day: griping about anglophones.
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so what’s wrong with “Parc Jeanne-Mance” ? Why translate all of montreal’s toponymy into english?
When dealing with place names, it’s common practice to translate the generic, which is why French newspapers write “rue Queen” instead of “Queen Street.” In this case, “Jeanne-Mance” is the specific, “park” is the generic. If I was writing in Spanish it would be “Parque Jeanne-Mance.” The specific remains the same, the generic changes.
You wouldn’t write “I’m going to the parc,” or “I’m going up the montagne” or “I’m walking down the rue,” would you?
No, but I would say “I’m going to avenue des Pins”, for example…
Park…Parc… a beautiful (multilingual) place but…
– increasingly overcrowded on weekends (and I mean wall to wall people), especially Sundays
– noisy as heck thanks to the increased traffic on Mont-Royal (which seems to have doulbed in just the past couple of years)
– increasingly nasty at night (never used to be)
– full to the rim with dog shit in Springtime
– littered with needles
I live just up the street and hardly go there anymore except to pass through on my way down the main or downtown. I wonder if many other locals feel the same way.
I live about 15 minutes away and go there all the time. I like the fact that it’s always full of people.
Hmmm. Well maybe this summer will be a return to the park for me then. Can’t be all bad. Who’s complaining?
Thank you, newironshapes, for reminding us of what’s really important about a beautful photo of a spring day: griping about anglophones.