BS: Fantômas-- Translation?

Subject: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 09 Oct 08 - 04:51 PM

I looked at Babelfish, but got stuck when it didn't come up as spelled above-- and I'm not a French speaker. It's a fictional character-- I skimmed the Wikipedia page-- but didn't see the derivation of the name itself. And that's what I'm looking for-- can anyone help break that name down to its essence? I "get" his character, and I think the name must be an extension of "Phantom," but I'd like to resolve the distraction the name itself is giving me.

I'm embarking upon the first of two audiobooks. He's kinda like Hannibal Lecter-- I know, strange bedfellows, but it's my current bedtime audiobook! ;~)

Having some vision problems-- saw that there is a "Fantômas Lives" website, but can't do too much looking myself. Last time I looked there I got crosseyed.


Thanks for any help,

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Fant?-- Translation?
From: Jack Campin
Date: 09 Oct 08 - 07:02 PM

I presume you mean Fantomas?

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: the lemonade lady
Date: 09 Oct 08 - 07:04 PM

Imaginary christmas!

sal

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 09 Oct 08 - 08:53 PM

back in the 60s we used to watch these hilarious French movies (dubbed in Czech) with Louis Funes as a kind of bumbling police inspector..
and his evil nemesis was a character names Fantomas.

can't tell you much more other than they were really funny.
Petr

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: Monique
Date: 10 Oct 08 - 06:13 PM

Fantômas comes from "fantôme" = ghost. I feel the meaning of the word as "big evil ghost" (which he is) but I'm Southern French and we use the masculine Occitan suffix "-as", an augmentative with a pejorative connotation, in our French. Standard French only uses the femenine "-asse". So I don't know how you could translate that, there's no augmentative suffixes like that in English as far as I know.

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Oct 08 - 12:21 PM

Thanks, Monique.

Occitan?

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: Monique
Date: 11 Oct 08 - 05:36 PM

Occitan: Romance language known as Provençal in the English speaking world though actual Provençal is one of the 6 main dialects of the language. Language spoken by the troubadours and still spoken by more or less 2 million people in France, 15 Italian valleys and Val d'Aran in Spain. The French word for love "amour" is Occitan, and if you go foodshopping and buy some "mesclun salad" you'll know that "mesclun" is Occitan and means "mix" and "salad" comes from the Fr "salade" that comes from the Occitan "salada" which comes from the Latin "salata" which means "salted" in the feminine. Sorry that I sound like a teacher but that's what I've always been!

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Oct 08 - 06:01 PM

No, I'm loving learning this. Basque-related, or a whole 'nother thing?

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 11 Oct 08 - 06:02 PM

PS, pron. Oxitan? Otchitan?

Where's the accent go? Been trying to tell husband about this....

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: Monique
Date: 11 Oct 08 - 06:35 PM

It's pronounced oxitan, stressed on the "o"
Basque is related to no other language in the world. Occitan comes directly from Latin like the other Romance languages. The closest language to it is Catalan, then Italian, then French (the Northern dialects above all)

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 12 Oct 08 - 09:30 AM

Thanks. M. Fascinating!

~Susan

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: Bainbo
Date: 12 Oct 08 - 05:47 PM

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: Bainbo
Date: 12 Oct 08 - 05:49 PM

Here's a group who sing in Occitan.

(That's not what they really look like, in the video!)

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: Monique
Date: 13 Oct 08 - 03:51 AM

They actually sing in French with only one sentence in Oc. This is what they do look like.
You can hear sing in Occitan here or there, both in Western dialect.

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: Bainbo
Date: 13 Oct 08 - 08:39 AM

Do they?

Oh. I always thought they were champions of Occitan culture.

Shows how much I know.












Catchy, though, isn't it?

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 21 Oct 08 - 02:07 PM

FAHN-to-mahs or Fahn-TO-mahs?

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Fantômas-- Translation?
From: Monique
Date: 21 Oct 08 - 02:49 PM

I really don't know how it's pronounced in English. In French it's Fahn-to-MAHS. Words said alone are stressed on the last syllable if it's standard French; if it's Southern French they're stressed on the last syllable too unless they end by an "e" sound that the Northern French don't pronounce. To make a long story short, let's say: Fantômas is said Fahn-to-MAHS everywhere but fantôme is said fahn-TOM in the North and fahn-TO-meh in the South