This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
  1. KudoZ™ Top
  2. French to English
  3. Slang

face de citron

English translation: gook / lemonhead

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:face de citron
English translation:gook / lemonhead
Entered by: Wendy Cummings

10:52 Apr 22, 2016
French to English translations [PRO]
Slang / Vietnam war slang
French term or phrase: face de citron
Taken from a paragraph describing the often racist terms used by soldiers to describe the enemy.

sur le lieu des combats comme dans la mère patrie, les adversaires sont déshumanisés : « niakoués », « fellaghas », « bougnoules », « crouilles », « melons »... Il en va de même dans tous les pays, qu'il s'agisse des États-Unis ou de la Russie; les ennemis sont rabaissés au rang de sous-hommes, alors que fleurissent les injures raciales : Pirates, Charlie, Viêt Cong, « face de citron » pour les Vietnamiens ; « rats du désert », « nègres des sables » pour les Irakiens...

The fact that it is written in quotes implies that this is a direct translation or calque of the English term, but I have been unable to find anything similar.

Target: US English
Wendy Cummings
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:55
gook
Explanation:
Couldn't find any google evidence of "lemonhead" for "face de citron", whereas "gook" garners nearly 200 ghits
Selected response from:

Jonathan MacKerron
Grading comment
In the end, I decided to go with this as the more common insult, although I would have liked to share the points as I think "lemonhead" is also an established term.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
2 +6lemonhead
Helen Genevier
2 +3gook
Jonathan MacKerron
1yellow face
Alexandre Tissot


Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 1/5Answerer confidence 1/5
yellow face


Explanation:
I was thinking about that BUT I am not sure of if.

http://yellow-face.com/

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 mins (2016-04-22 10:59:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Anyway, it is DEFINITELY OFFENSIVE!... :( :(

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2016-04-22 11:08:41 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Well, please pick it up if it can help you!

I typed "yellow face" in Google and I found it. Please, give it a try!

Alexandre Tissot
Local time: 17:55
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench
Notes to answerer
Asker: Odd, i had been searching for that exact term and never came up with that website!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Sheri P: "Yellowface" refers specifically to the phenomenon of white actors portraying Asians on screen. As far as I know, it's not a racist term used in the military. "Yellow man" might be closer. Maybe it's a term translated from Russian, not English (see text).
9 mins
  -> Perhaps, Sheri. I wrote in my comment that I was unsure of my proposal so, please feel free to post an answer. You are a better judge than me in this language pair.
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

23 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +6
lemonhead


Explanation:
It's embarrassing to even join in on this question (!) but I found these pages on racial slurs and they include lemonhead. I've never heard it used though.
The Racial Slur Database http://www.rsdb.org/race/asians
http://www.thebirdman.org/Index/Others/Others-Doc-Race&Group...


Helen Genevier
France
Local time: 17:55
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: I know what you mean - makes you want to delete your browsing history

Asker: The online evidence for this term certainly seems to be growing, although here in the UK I too have never heard it used - are there any US-based translators out there who can confirm its usage?


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Charles Davis: Definitely the best option here / More sources: http://neologisms.rice.edu/index.php?a=term&d=1&t=1957 http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lemonheads&de...
10 mins
  -> Thanks Charles :-)
agree  Allegra Cramb (X): You're welcome, Helen! I'm finding this all quite fascinating, from a sociological point of view.
13 mins
  -> Thanks Allegra :-)
agree  Sheri P
56 mins
  -> Thanks Sheri :-)
agree  Alexandre Tissot: You are the native speaker. Not me. :)
4 hrs
  -> Thanks Alexandre :-)
agree  Jean-Claude Gouin
6 hrs
  -> Thanks 1045 :-)
agree  Simon Charass
9 hrs
  -> Thanks Simon :-)
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +3
gook


Explanation:
Couldn't find any google evidence of "lemonhead" for "face de citron", whereas "gook" garners nearly 200 ghits

Jonathan MacKerron
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
In the end, I decided to go with this as the more common insult, although I would have liked to share the points as I think "lemonhead" is also an established term.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Were the phrase not in quotation marks, I would certainly have gone for something like this. I still haven't ruled it out altogether. The fact that there is little evidence of "face de citron" could imply that this ISN'T a term used in French, but simply the way the author has translated what he perceives to be a common term in English i.e. Lemonhead, for which there are ghits.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Sheri P: Ah, I see now that it's probably not actually a translation of an EN term http://www.wordreference.com/fren/face de citron
6 hrs
agree  Helen Genevier: It might well be better to choose a more common racist insult, yes
12 hrs
agree  Yolanda Broad: This one would certainly contain the sentiment!
1 day 1 hr
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:
ProZ.com term search
Search millions of term translations
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search