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Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

femme rassembleur

English translation:

a (motherly) unifying/binding figure/a mother hen type

Added to glossary by Yvonne Gallagher
Aug 19, 2019 15:10
4 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

femme rassembleur

French to English Social Sciences Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc. in a document from the Congo on a person's family origins
The document is from the DRC. The subject is explaining his family origins and states that his father was polygamous and lists his half-brothers and sisters. He describes his half-brothers mother as 'Une femme rassembleur, femme d'un grand coeur et d'amour envers nous tous'
Proposed translations (English)
4 +5 a (motherly) unifying/binding figure/a mother hen type
3 +1 conciliatory woman/mother
3 +1 woman who was a unifier / organiser
3 a matriarc/a matriarchal figure
3 Someone who brings everyone together
Change log

Aug 19, 2019 15:13: writeaway changed "Field" from "Law/Patents" to "Social Sciences" , "Field (write-in)" from "(none)" to "in a document from the Congo on a person\'s family origins "

Aug 21, 2019 15:48: Yvonne Gallagher Created KOG entry

Discussion

Mpoma Aug 20, 2019:
@ormiston Yes, of course this occurs straightaway to a reader. It's not so much political correctness as grammar which is at issue here. The formal grammatical explanation is that "rassembleur" used with a feminine noun draws attention to the fact that this is NOT an adjectival use, but instead a case of a "noun adjunct". The EFFECT is to make us seek to determine the meaning of the noun "un rassembleur", and the implication is that this has a "special" meaning, i.e. probably a colloquial meaning.
Lara Barnett Aug 20, 2019:
Agree I agree with Mpoma, "mother hen" is actually a bit pejorative and needs to be used with care and selectively, especially for a text like this.
Mpoma Aug 20, 2019:
"organiser" "Un rassembleur" is someone who can "achieve consensus". That's why I put "unifier". But for most practical purposes, particularly in a large polygamous family group, that will involve organisation. The problem with the "mother hen" or "motherly" idea is that there's no textual evidence for such a Hollywoodian, sentimental interpretation. To me it doesn't seem obvious that the first attribute in the list is the "same sort of thing" as the following two attributes, particularly since the second half of the phrase repeats "femme" - rhetorically it might even mean that the second "femme" phrase is actually marked out as somewhat distinct from the first.
ormiston Aug 19, 2019:
Is it not politically correct to say "femme rassembleuse"?!

Proposed translations

+5
51 mins
Selected

a (motherly) unifying/binding figure/a mother hen type

I'd use one of those depending on register.

so something like

'Une femme rassembleur, femme d\'un grand coeur et d\'amour envers nous tous\'

a warm-hearted (motherly) figure/mother hen type, uniting/binding us all with her love

a warm-hearted loving woman bringing/binding us together with her love

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Note added at 1 hr (2019-08-19 16:12:56 GMT)
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last line above should be
a warm-hearted loving woman bringing/binding us ALL together with her love

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Note added at 18 hrs (2019-08-20 10:00:17 GMT)
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Glad to help
Note from asker:
Thanks Yvonne, in fact your translation of the entire phrase is very useful and I will use it
Peer comment(s):
agree B D Finch
1 min
Many thanks:-)
agree writeaway : nice options
4 mins
Many thanks:-)
agree ormiston : What about "unifying force" ? https://www.wral.com › mother-... Mother Teresa serves as unifying force among differing religions, races ... But NOT mother hen Definition of mother hen : a person who assumes an overly protective maternal attitude
29 mins
Many thanks:-) "unifying force" would work too//mother hen isn't negative necessarily. She brings everyone (disparate elements of family) together. Nice examples here: https://muchtreasure.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/leadership-les...
neutral philgoddard : We've already had the idea of "unifier", but I like "mother hen".
30 mins
I don't agree with "organizer". She may well be organised but that's not the point here at all.
agree Simon Charass : a unifying motherly figure
44 mins
Many thanks:-) yes, various combinations work
agree Yolanda Broad
1 hr
Many thanks:-)
agree Stephanie Benoist
5 hrs
Many thanks:-)
disagree Mpoma : This "mother hen" idea is speculation, not translation, unless you can prove otherwise by references. I sense some unfortunate cultural projection going on here.
19 hrs
I disagree with your interpretation of this
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+1
49 mins

conciliatory woman/mother

An idea, based on my interpretation of this Word Reference thread:
https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/un-rassembleur.92704...

...but just an idea possibly.



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Note added at 51 mins (2019-08-19 16:02:19 GMT)
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Or maybe "She had a very conciliatory approach to us....etc"

"Where there’s little or no point in trying to reason with him, and indeed, engaging in any kind of CONCILIATORY APPROACH is only likely to infuriate him even further when he realises, that actually, despite mummy’s soft words and smiling face, he is still not getting what he wants. "
https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/children-tantrums-disciplin...
Example sentence:

"Instead, try offering a CONCILIATORY hug (albeit out of sight of the rest of the class, if this is likely to cause embarrassment) and then switch the subject to something totally separate from school, like plans for the weekend."

"She had been the oldest child of a demanding, violent father and a CONCILIATORY MOTHER--both of whom she recognizes in her hold-back, blow-up upbringing of Jon and Buffy."

Reference:

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/23/how-to-handle-the-after-school-grumps_n_7385550.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cu

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/lynn-caine-2/what-did-i-do-wrong/

Peer comment(s):
neutral B D Finch : The "conciliatory mother" in your reference sounds like a doormat.
2 mins
Not necessarily. But in any case, being a "doormat" is not the only use/meaning of "conciliatory" is it?// There is absolutely no proof, or even suggestion, here that mother is a "doormat", do you think your interpretation might be a bit narrow minded?
agree Mpoma : I think "conciliatory" ain't bad at all. "Rassembleur" means achieving consensus. The slight niggle for me with "conciliatory" is that it means consensus in the teeth of dispute... but you can also achieve it without dispute.
19 hrs
Thank you.
Something went wrong...
1 day 1 hr

a matriarc/a matriarchal figure

Hello
This came to mind and I'm surprised that no one has suggested it yet as far as I can see

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Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2019-08-20 16:15:50 GMT)
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matriarch (erreur de frappe, désolé)
Peer comment(s):
neutral ormiston : Perhaps because strictly it places the emphasis on maternal rule/authority which deviates from the notion of someone who brings the family together
12 mins
Noted and thanks for not giving it a disagree which it would not have merited.
neutral Mpoma : "rassembleur" simply doesn't have this connotation. So you're interpolating/guessing, on the tenuous grounds that he's talking about his (step-)mother. Had the writer meant this there are plenty of ways to say, infer or imply it.
5 hrs
Hello Mpoma "Matriarch" is not limited to "mothers"; It is used for tribes and societies
Something went wrong...
+1
15 mins

woman who was a unifier / organiser

I suppose that's probably what it means. In a polygamous context with lots of half-siblings you are probably going to need someone who can organise but at the same time achieve a reasonable level of harmony and consensus amongst the offspring.

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Note added at 20 hrs (2019-08-20 11:53:36 GMT)
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A "rassembleur" is someone who's good at achieving consensus. "Inclusive" is another nice way of putting it.

I think I might put the whole phrase like this:
"She was a woman who always wanted everyone to be happy, a woman with a big heart, who loved us all".

Yes, this is a long expression for a single word in the French! But the more I think about it the more I think this sort of idea is the intended meaning.

I prefer "with a big heart" to "warm-hearted" because it is closer to the meaning of the French "gros coeur": it means "exceptionally generous with her emotions" and perhaps a little larger-than-life.

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Note added at 1 day 6 hrs (2019-08-20 21:33:55 GMT)
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"grand coeur"...
Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard
20 mins
agree B D Finch : Or, who united the family. I don't think "organiser" is right, though organising ability was probably involved.
35 mins
Yes, organising ability. I suspect there is a also a more practical side to this "rassemblement" but can't prove it of course.
disagree Yvonne Gallagher : I don't agree with "organizer". She may well be organised but that's not the point here at all.
19 hrs
see discussion
Something went wrong...
1 day 15 hrs

Someone who brings everyone together

You could add "a woman" to the following phrase. The French need not be reflected word for word.
Something went wrong...
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