Wow, thanks a lot for the elaborate reply. My French certainly isn’t advanced enough (two years in school) to evaluate the finer points of such messages. But to me this makes a lot sense:
Yes, it is certainly a niche application, and not a mainstream French word. The same goes for the English equivalent, “Rascist”. It is almost exclusively used by Ukrainian troops, and in the same sense as the article explains the use of the French “rachyst”, denoting Russian troops engaged in the attack on Ukraine and everyone behind them, but specifically not the ordinary Russian citizen.
Writing messages like these on bombs and missiles has a long tradition, at least since World War II, so I think it’s an actual caption on the actual missile. Showing it off on social media is a large part of it these days, but it is also done for boosting morale of the troops deploying the weapons, or by request of family and friends of casualties, certainly not for the Russian recipients to appreciate. It is also quite likely that it was indeed translated with the help of Google translate, creating the “un-French” phrasing.
Out of curiosity, how would you as a native speaker make a more fitting translation of “from Paris with love”? I do English/German translations as well as simultaneous interpretation at conferences, so I am very familiar with the intricacies of phrasing and deeper meanings and subtle connotations of idiomatic expressions, so I can totally feel your sentiment of “it’s not wrong, but you would never say it like that in French.”
So if I’m not mistaken, “from Paris with love” has a bit of a dated flavor to it, right? An expression with a similar sentiment and “flavor” would probably be “bons baisers de Paris” which would have that “I’m using elevated old timey language ironically to be sassy” vibe in that context. Something to that effect. Hope that makes sense.
Wow, thanks a lot for the elaborate reply. My French certainly isn’t advanced enough (two years in school) to evaluate the finer points of such messages. But to me this makes a lot sense:
Yes, it is certainly a niche application, and not a mainstream French word. The same goes for the English equivalent, “Rascist”. It is almost exclusively used by Ukrainian troops, and in the same sense as the article explains the use of the French “rachyst”, denoting Russian troops engaged in the attack on Ukraine and everyone behind them, but specifically not the ordinary Russian citizen.
Writing messages like these on bombs and missiles has a long tradition, at least since World War II, so I think it’s an actual caption on the actual missile. Showing it off on social media is a large part of it these days, but it is also done for boosting morale of the troops deploying the weapons, or by request of family and friends of casualties, certainly not for the Russian recipients to appreciate. It is also quite likely that it was indeed translated with the help of Google translate, creating the “un-French” phrasing.
Out of curiosity, how would you as a native speaker make a more fitting translation of “from Paris with love”? I do English/German translations as well as simultaneous interpretation at conferences, so I am very familiar with the intricacies of phrasing and deeper meanings and subtle connotations of idiomatic expressions, so I can totally feel your sentiment of “it’s not wrong, but you would never say it like that in French.”
So if I’m not mistaken, “from Paris with love” has a bit of a dated flavor to it, right? An expression with a similar sentiment and “flavor” would probably be “bons baisers de Paris” which would have that “I’m using elevated old timey language ironically to be sassy” vibe in that context. Something to that effect. Hope that makes sense.