Timeline for Neutral translation of "suburb"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
6 events
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| Jul 10, 2016 at 13:11 | history | edited | jlliagre | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
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| Jul 10, 2016 at 13:08 | comment | added | jlliagre | Precisely, I'm avoiding to say the banlieue because you asked for a neutral term which banlieue is not. In any case, it is hard to expect a single French word to exactly match an English one, especially whithout knowing in what context that word will be used and given the fact it covers many different realities, including in the English speaking countries. One inhabitant of Versailles is unlikely to state he is living in the banlieue of Paris and to some extents, some French suburbs correspond to US inner cities. | |
| Jul 10, 2016 at 9:02 | comment | added | errantlinguist | While these terms do "work", are they not euphemisms?-- périphérie de la ville literally means "outskirts of the city", which may mean in some cornfields depending on the city (since not all cities have satellite towns/suburbs around them). In other words, you're avoiding saying where you really live (dans la banlieue) even though everyone knows that's what you mean through context (e.g. since there are no cornfields surrounding Paris proper-- only suburbs) | |
| Jul 10, 2016 at 8:40 | comment | added | jlliagre | @Laure I precisely suggested these terms because they do not convey any sociological baggage, which is how I understand the main part of the OP question. Whether they perfectly match "suburb" definition might not be an issue. I agree autour de and les environs de are slightly wider and less precise than banlieue and périphérie, but even the latter are somewhat fuzzy. There is no continuity with the city when banlieue is taken as its grande banlieue acception. | |
| Jul 10, 2016 at 6:37 | comment | added | None | All those three terms only deal with the geographical issue, not the sociological issue. In France les banlieues (unqualified) are in the périphérie/ environs... for which you'd use the word "outskirts" in English. Besides dans les environs and autour cover a larger geographical area than banlieue and périphérie, the latter imply continuity with the city, environs doesn't. | |
| Jul 10, 2016 at 0:56 | history | answered | jlliagre | CC BY-SA 3.0 |