Sky my Husband!

Hi everyone,

Like every morning, I was listening to my favorite Jazz radio station in which the compère was interviewing Jean-Loup Chiflet about a new edition of his famous book: "Sky my Husband!".
To begin with, as a matter of interest, they were punning a lot and speaking about a song "Quand les saints ont marché dedans".
The point is that despite the song played by Louis Armstrong, I needed 5-10 minutes to understand and appreciate all of the funny side of it! I don't know if I was laughing for the pun or for the delay needed but I couldn't help laughing for many minutes!

The author said the project was nothing serious in 1985 but nowadays, after decades, the book was advised by English teachers because it helped learn English expressions.

Author's bio:

Biographie de Jean-Loup Chiflet

Passionné par les expressions idiomatiques, les nuances, les difficultés grammaticales et les aberrations de la langue française, Jean-Loup Chiflet - 'John-Wolf Whistle' - est écrivain et éditeur. Son objectif, qui consiste à s'instruire en s'amusant, lui vaut un immense succès depuis des années. Il a écrit le fameux 'Sky my husband !', regard humoristique sur la traduction du français à l'anglais, 'J' ai un mot à vous dire', qui met en scène un mot qui raconte sa vie, de sa naissance dans une clinique à l'occasion d'une opération du larynx jusqu'à sa mort, 'Le Cafard laqué' ou 'Le Mokimanké, le dictionnaire des mots qui existent enfin', après 'Le Dictionnaire des mots qui n'existent pas' et 'Mais que fait l'Académie ? Le Dictionnaire des mots qui devraient exister'. Ses livres, pleins d'humour et de finesse, étonnent et enchantent les amoureux de la langue, française ou étrangère. Jean-Loup Chiflet a créé sa propre maison d'édition : Mots et Cie.

( http://www.evene.fr/celebre/biographie/jean-loup-chiflet-5879.php )

Apparently "Sky my Husband" is far more than a book:
- it's also a board game -> http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_my_husband_! / http://www.trictrac.net/index.php3?id=jeux&inf=detail&jeu=2846&rub=detail / http://www.jeuxdenim.be/jeu-SkyMyHusband
- a cocktail -> http://www.1001cocktails.com/cocktails/1313/recette-cocktail-sky-my-husband.html

Regarding the book, here are a few links:
- €4 -> http://www.bibliomonde.com/livre/sky-husband-ciel-mon-mari--4659.html
- a copy of words and expressions -> http://www.clampin.com/Sky-my-husband-Ciel-mon-mari.html funny! go read that page!

Hello Gérard
Pour les personnes que aiment le jeux on pourrait utiliser "Sky my husband" dans le cafés polyglottes
Si ce n'est pas sur l'ordi Krystyna sûrement ?

Hi Muriel,

Do you know and did you try this game "Sky my Husband"?

> Si ce n'est pas sur l'ordi Krystyna sûrement ?
I don't understand what you mean?

I just wanted to say that it is more fun to play together than on Krystyna's computer ( she says she never wins on her computor). Perhaps I have expressed myself badly ! Anyway I have neve tried that game.

Hi Muriel,

Thanks for your explanations (no "i" in the second syllable).

Okay got it now for Krystyna's computer!

It's true, I never win the Microsoft games any more !
In the past, I was good at Solitaire and FreeCell, but with Windows 7, Microsoft has made it much more difficult to win !
I am hopeless with Chess and have NEVER won a game in 10 years ... snif !

Hi Gérard,

I have just read the page at clampin.com

Damn funny indeed !

I would never have guessed that "avoir le cafard" did not mean "to have the cockroach" !!!

Hi everyone,

I could hear a replay of the broadcast and I'm horrified by the meaning of "When the saints go marchin' in"!!

Hi everyone,

Given the explanations requested, below are a few words about "Sky my Husband!"

The expression doesn't have any meaning in English.
It's the title of a book which is very funny with its lists of idioms and the word by word translation which leads to something without any sense.
There's a page for each idiom and in addition to that weird translation, there's the true corresponding expression in English and its word by word translation into French.
The result is hilarus; of course, the writer chose the funniest words.

Sky my Husband is the meaningless translation of "Ciel mon mari !".

Ciel is an interjection: Good heavens!
You know that interjections and swearwords are nouns related to religion which was "forbidden"!

"Ciel mon mari !" is supposed to be said by a lady who is with her lover as her husband is coming back home, earlier than expected!
At least, it is the traditional phrase said on theater stages as this subject is the favorite one in many plays.
Of course the situation leads to panics, with the lover into the wardrobe or under the bed, the lady having to find an acceptable explanation regarding her clothes or no-clothes in the middle of the afternoon, the lady trying to get the husband to leave the room or the house, etc.
Funny expression and funny theater plays!


If the expression was chose as teh title of the book, that's probably because it is the least understandable one!

The book was recently edited again and it's becoming a useful book in English classes because of the possibilities to help students learn expressions in a coolest way.
Pleasure is the best way to learn easily!

Hi Muriel,

MurielB a écrit:it is more fun to play together than...

Try to find out the expression "to have fun with oneself"...

I know I extracted a part of the sentence from its context.

Howdy everyone,

A few days ago, at Eaubonne's café-langue, we were talking about this book "Sky my Husband" and Denis asked how we could translate "Théâtre de boulevard" and whether this type of theater plays exist in England and English speaking countries.

In the style of the book, the translation would be "Theater of boulevard" but... Denis is a quite serious young guy...

~~

Back home, I led some research and sent him this email:

Re-bonsoir Denis,

Quelques réponses concernant la traduction de théâtre de boulevard :

- “farce” selon mon dictionnaire Hachette-Oxford

- “light comedies” sur http://dictionnaire.reverso.net/francais-anglais/collaborative/594892/th%c3%a9%c3%a2tre%20de%20boulevard”

- “mainstream popular theater” sur http://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais-anglais/th%C3%A9%C3%A2tre/76758

- “farce” sur Word Reference

Je vais tacher d’interroger des personnes autour de moi pour savoir si le genre existe hors de France.

Bonne soirée,

Gérard

Denis' response:

Bonsoir Gérard et merci de ces informations.
Je vais également poser quelques questions à ce sujet autour de moi.
Le fait qu'il semble exister plusieurs traductions éveille le soupçon que ce genre théâtral est bien français et n'a que peu ou pas d'équivalent original (peut-être des copies?) dans la culture anglo-saxonne. Ce dernier point de nature culturelle était mon interrogation d'origine dont je constate que tu vas creuser la réponse. Une telle absence d'équivalent ne pourrait que générer des difficultés de traduction.
Et s'il s'avère qu'effectivement le théâtre de boulevard n'a pas d'équivalent chez les anglo-saxons, la question qui me vient alors est: "les anglo-saxons ont-il un ou des genres de théâtre qui nous sont inconnus?". Je n'ai rien noté dans les pages que tu m'as indiquées qu'il semblerait indiquer cela, mais.... Qu'entend-on par "théâtre de l'absurde" / "Theater of the absurd"? Mais bon: là c'est peut-être de la simple ignorance de ma part et pas un sujet ayant trait à la langue anglaise ou à la culture anglo-saxonne.
On en reparlera, in English of course.
Merci encore de t'être penché sur le sujet.
Cordialement,
Denis

Krystyna told me this kind of plays existed in Sydney but to a lesser extent than in Paris and live theaters tended to disappear as the audience was going down.

She thinks "farce" is too much. The translation would rather be “comedy theater”.

~~

By the way, the word "theater" in the United States means "cinema".

Hi everyone,

Please, could you help respond to Denis?

Several questions:
- the translation of "Théâtre de boulevard"
Do you agree with "comedy theater"?
- does this type exist in England
I remind you that "théâtre de boulevard" is a very popular type of plays that we have in Paris, all week long and in several theaters.
The typical play is a lady + the husband + the lover and you can imagine the scenario: the husband comes home unexpectedly...
Does this type of plays exist in England? What is its name?
- Do you have in England some sorts of plays that we don't have in France?

- as found in a dictionary, what is "théâtre de l'absurde" / "Theater of the absurd"?

Thanks!