# très forte en iode (climat, air)



## Jane Austin

I would appreciate your help in translating: "très forte en iode". The context is a description of a coastal village "très forte en iode". "Iode" is "iodine". I suppose here this refers to the beneficial qualities of sea air. Perhaps we could say "where you benefit from the sea air".


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## Philippides

Hello Jane, 
Your guess seems OK, but could you give us the whole sentence and some context?


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## lingobingo

Well, “rich in iodine” works well as an adjectival phrase, but I’m not sure that you can apply it directly to a village? As you say, the sea air there might be rich in iodine, but not exactly the place itself.


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## Jane Austin

The whole sentence is :" Une commune au coeur de la baie du ....., entre ..... et ....., première commune balnéaire, très forte en iode recherche....."
I don't want to give exact place names as I don't want everyone on the forum to know my location.


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## tartopom

Une commune très forte en iode ?? Sounds funny - whereever the town / village is located.


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## Enquiring Mind

Hi JA, we don't need the precise details of where the village is, but what/who is the commune looking for? Why would they feel it necessary to mention that it's "très forte en iode"? How is that relevant? Can you supply the rest of the sentence (omitting any precise details you would rather not have publicised)?


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## Philippides

Comme le dit Tartopom, l'expression est étrange. 
J'imagine que c'est une façon imagée de dire en même temps que la commune est forte en caractère et qu'elle est attachée à son caractère maritime (ou à ses produits de la mer comme des huîtres, qui sont appréciées pour leur goût iodé).


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## Jane Austin

The village is looking for medical staff in a health centre.


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## archijacq

offrant un climat/air riche en iode
with an iodine-rich climate/air


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## wildan1

Jane Austin said:


> "where you benefit from the sea air".


Yes, that is much more satisfactory than anything directly mentioning iodine.

Or: _"Where you'll enjoy the fresh ocean air"_, as suggested on this page.


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## Nicomon

I found the ad and wonder if this couldn't have something to do with the salt marshes that can be found in that area?
Could it be that the air/climate there is more "full of iodine" than any other place?

Reading about the location, I found : _ végétation iodée, atmosphère iodée, flore saline et iodée des pâturages côtiers._
And this sentence : 





> Son immense grève [...] offre aux enfants une totale sécurité et *un climat fortement iodé* particulièrement *recommandé par le corps médical.*


 So this is pretty much what archijacq wrote, and I wouldn't exclude the idea of "_iodine_".  Or may be "_iodized_" if that can be said.

On peut très bien dire en français :  _... profiter de_ _l'air frais de la mer/de l'océan. _Sauf que ce n'est pas ce qui est écrit.


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## Itisi

Yes, you can't just leave out the iodine!


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## Uncle Bob

If they are seeking medical staff perhaps it means  the candidates should be up-to-date with thyroid problems in which case it would be "with high iodine levels".


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## SteveD

Would "...benefit from the bracing sea air" fit the bill?  As you probably know, "Bracing" was used to good effect by Skegness for its iconic posters.


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## Jane Austin

I rather like Steve's suggestion: "benefit from the bracing sea air".


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## Santana2002

archijaq suggested "iodine-rich", which is acceptable.  Perhaps it sounds ever so slightly odd, but in the context of job vacancy anouncement the technical specificity might be importantfor potential applicants: "An iodine-rich resort nestled in the the bay of X, between Y and Z is looking for ...". 

However, if it was an ad for the general public trying to drum up tourism I'd definitely go for something more natural like "Sample the bracing sea air of X resort, nestled in the bay of ... ", and not go into the specifics of iodine-rich at all.


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## Soleil_Couchant

Yeah, I agree it seems the iodine itself is important and IS part of what they're using to advertise the area. So maybe go back up to what LingoBingo said.....rich in iodine (or archijaq, iodine-rich).

And no offense but, "benefit from the bracing sea air" sounds odd to me and isn't really what it says in French.


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## Itisi

That would have been 'l'air marin vivifiant'!  



Jane Austin said:


> The village is looking for medical staff in a health centre.


The mention of iodine is there for a purpose.


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## Keith Bradford

Itisi said:


> Yes, you can't just leave out the iodine!


Of course you can, because it's a nonsense cliché in French.  Neither the town nor its air are rich in iodine. 

The "healthy, tangy, bracing smell" we notice at the seaside is in fact dimethyl sulphide, a chemical derived from rotting seaweed.  The French call it "iodine", the Brits call it "ozone".  See more at Ozone Smell at the Seaside  › News in Science (ABC Science).

If you must translate it, the cultural equivalent is therefore "ozone".  A better translation is "bracing atmosphere" or "healthy air".

Unless, of course, we can be told the location of the town and discover that it's in Chile, Japan or Oklahoma, where most iodine is found.


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## Itisi

It's not a brochure to attract tourists!


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## LART01

Keith Bradford said:


> Of course you can, because it's a nonsense cliché in French.  Neither the town nor its air are rich in iodine.
> 
> The "healthy, tangy, bracing smell" we notice at the seaside is in fact dimethyl sulphide, a chemical derived from rotting seaweed.  The French call it "iodine", the Brits call it "ozone".  See more at Ozone Smell at the Seaside  › News in Science (ABC Science).
> 
> If you must translate it, the cultural equivalent is therefore "ozone".  A better translation is "bracing atmosphere" or "healthy air".
> 
> Unless, of course, we can be told the location of the town and discover that it's in Chile, Japan or Oklahoma, where most iodine is found.



Hi
I agree-I like _bracing atmosphere_. Perhaps _bracing( seaside) air _would also fit the bill, here?


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## Uncle Bob

I do think that the OP's explanation  (#8) should be taken into consideration.

For me that indicates that the environmental iodine is a bad thing (in this context).

Oops, *Itisi* (#20) got there first.


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## Soleil_Couchant

Hmm. No, rather I think it's like Nicomon quoted in #11, how the iodine climate is particularly recommended by medical professionals. If you google Thalassotherapy, it's a therapy that uses seaweed (with lotsa iodine)....so I think...the iodine is supposed to be a draw... There is a region of France that seems to be marked by thalassotherapy but I'm also not trying to "out" the OP lol...


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## Keith Bradford

What on earth is an iodine climate?  OK, there's iodine in seaweed, but it takes a very high wind to fill the air with seaweed !

I'm not disputing the virtues of iodine; it's essential in treating thyroid deficiency and illnesses such as goitre, and is also useful as an antiseptic and antioxidant.  But you buy it at a pharmacy, you don't breathe it in the air.

I am saying that the French "climat iodé" and "l'air sent l'iode" are meaningless journalistic clichés.  They bear as much resemblance to the truth as their erroneous English equivalent "ozone".

And I live in an area where thalassotherapy is a major industry.


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## Itisi

It may well be a journalistic cliché, but the person who wrote that sentence chose to use it...


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## Keith Bradford

And a good translator must choose to use something that is proper to English.  Translate the meaning, not the words, and don't tell your reader lies!


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## lingobingo

You can legitimately describe the coastal village as being in “an area rich in iodine”.


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## Nicomon

I think you guys aren't curious enough.  The short ad is pretty easy to find and was written by the village baker, not a journalist.
There's a reason why I mentioned salt marshes.   I don't think that « forte en iode » is negative.

I do agree that it's there for a purpose and that *iodé* can be said about the (smell of) the air or a climate.  





> Qui contient de l'iode. [...] _Il avait respiré, pendant quatre heures au moins, et délicieusement, *les émanations iodées du large *_(Mirbeau, _Journal femme ch.,_1900, p. 148)


  I suggested _iodized_ without conviction, but I found this about a nearby place (two sources) : 





> - Turned towards the wide open sea, XYZ is a famous seaside resort. Its *iodized climate *and the beauty of its coastal landscapes makes XYZ a place to visit all year around.
> - Youth Hostel is a true holiday place: relaxation, water sports, gatherings... In a dynamic and *iodized atmosphere*!


   That said, I think that  _iodine-rich_ or _rich in iodine _would sound right. I agree entirely with lingobingo.
I like Santana's take on it (second line of #16) but would replace "resort" with "seaside municipality" or whatever best translates « commune balnéaire ».


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## Itisi

Agency for Toxic SUbstances and DIseas Registry: "The oceans are the most important source of natural iodine in the air, water, and soil. Iodine in the oceans enters the air from sea spray or as iodine gases."

So it doesn't seem to be a lie, *Keith*!

Natch, I too agree with *lingobingo*!


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## Santana2002

The aim surely is to translate to what a native speaker would say in the same situation ?  This is an article aimed at enticing a professionnel to move to the area and is listing the benefits of the place.  In any everyday exchange I find it hard to imagine two anglophones referring to an iodized or iodine-rich environment, however encouraging potential candidates to apply by describing the bracing sea breezes, or the invogorating, healthy climate definitely sounds more plausible to me.  We have a choice: technically correct (-but ridiculous), or actually using standard terms that are perfectly normal and apt.  Personally I'm all for being realistic and natural than for being technically correct and sounding either pompous or ridiculous.


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## Philippides

The original text is an ad to hire a doctor. The village wants to attract the person. The reference to "air iodé" has nothing to do with thalassotherapy or any other technical specificity.
I fully agree with *Keith Bradford*  and *Santana2002 *that the translation should remain at the same language level. 


Nicomon said:


> I suggested _iodized_ without conviction, but I found this* about a nearby place*


 If this is about a nearby place, one can imagine that the same translation principles were applied starting from "_climat iodé"_


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## wildan1

Nicomon said:


> I suggested _iodized_ without conviction


The only contexts I have heard this word used--and that most people would associate with--is _iodized salt_, commonly sold here to prevent goiters.

EDIT: And then for those old enough to remember, there was _tincture of iodine_, a disinfectant that my granny used to liberally apply to any cut or abrasion. Its "POISON" label always impressed me as a kid--another reason why applying this term to healthy sea air makes so little sense in English...

We've all seen this word on supermarket shelves, and some in the drugstore back in the day--but not really anywhere else.

I agree with Keith--the idea is to convey the idea of a healthy atmosphere created by proximity to the sea--which in English isn't related (even if it exists) to iodine or iodide.


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## Itisi

Well, why use that cliché, 'bracing sea air'!  It should be quite obvious just from the location!


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## Philippides

Itisi said:


> Well, why use that cliché, 'bracing sea air'!  It should be quite obvious just from the location!


Pourquoi utiliser un cliché comme "iodé". C'est assez évident du fait de l'emplacement du village, non ?


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## Itisi

That was my line, you're stealing my line! 

PS - Tata, rather than getting more bloody-minded, I'm going out to breathe some iodine-rich air, since I have that opportunity!


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## Nicomon

@ wildan : Once again,  I suggested _iodized_ without conviction. I wrote in # 11 : ... if that can be said.
As a non native, I don't always know what sounds right or not in English. Hence my providing examples, chosen from many similar ones that can be found if you google
"iodized climate" or "iodized atmosphere".  If that doesn't work, well... so be it. 


Philippides said:


> If this is about a nearby place, one can imagine that the same translation principles were applied starting from "_climat iodé"_


  May be. 

Je rappelle que l'annonce a été écrite par la gentille boulangère du village, qui a aussi fait une vidéo.
« Commune balnéaire très forte en iode » n'est pas habituel en français...
Je ne vois pas de raison de traduire comme si elle avait écrit « profitez de l'air marin vivifiant ».

Je continue de penser que "rich in iodine" tient la route. lingobingo, qui l'a suggéré, et Itisi, qui approuve, sont bel et bien anglophones.
À Jane Austin de choisir.


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## Soleil_Couchant

Santana2002 said:


> The aim surely is to translate to what a native speaker would say in the same situation ?  ...  We have a choice: technically correct (-but ridiculous), or actually *using standard terms that are perfectly normal and apt. * Personally I'm all for being* realistic and natural *than for being technically correct and sounding either pompous or ridiculous.



Okay, but, was the French phrase _une commune très forte en iode_ actually "realistic and natural" and "perfectly standard and apt?" I'm getting the impression from some of the francophones that it wasn't. Thus, the English wouldn't be either.

I found/read the ad, too, and it seemed somewhat haphazard, not some professionally, technically written thing.

Also, for what it's worth, "rich in iodine" makes more sense to me than referring to sea air/atmosphere as the "ozone." That makes zero sense to me. Maybe that's a BE thing...


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## broglet

Keith Bradford said:


> And a good translator must choose to use something that is proper to English.  Translate the meaning, not the words, and don't tell your reader lies!


I quite agree Keith.  You have to translate the meaning. Iodine is an entirely English word and if this commune wants to make a big thing of being "forte en iode" then that's what it wants to do, whether or not it has any value or validity, and I do rather agree with you that it's a load of nonsense.  But when translating I don't think you should rewrite things because you disagree with the author's opinions.


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## Soleil_Couchant

broglet said:


> ... if this commune wants to make a big thing of being "forte en iode" then that's what it wants to do, whether or not it has any value or validity... But when translating I don't think you should rewrite things because you disagree with the author's opinions.



Exactly!


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## swift

Nicomon said:


> « Commune balnéaire très forte en iode » n'est pas habituel en français...
> Je ne vois pas de raison de traduire comme si elle avait écrit « profitez de l'air marin vivifiant ».



D’après l’article paru sur le site de _Ouest-France_, le but est de trouver un médecin car il n’y en a que deux au village et ils sont en passe de partir à la retraite. Personnellement, la référence au iode prend du sens du moment où il est question de médecins. Ceci n’est pas une annonce touristique, mais un appel à candidatures, et le lexique est choisi pour attirer des spécialistes ayant une connaissance des bienfaits de cet oligo-élément pour le corps humain.

[...]


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## Keith Bradford

So the idea is to attract a doctor?  And what?  It's to be translated into English to attract an English-speaking doctor?  So can anyone imagine an English-speaking doctor who would be attracted to a village because it was "rich in iodine"?     Who would even believe it?  (Unless he thought this would reduce the chemists' bills.)

What Santana said in #30.


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## Soleil_Couchant

The idea is we're translating what's being said! Whether we think the idea of iodine attracting people is stupid or not!


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## Keith Bradford

You shouldn't be translating what's been *said*, you should be translating what was *meant*.

Otherwise, every idiom would be rendered word for word, every misspelling would be transcribed even it it makes no sense, and every translation would become pidgin.

Haven't you read "Sky, my husband!"  Are you trying to take us all in a boat?  I enrage!


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## Soleil_Couchant

Okay. It seems there's obviously two camps of thinking on this thread. Half of us think that what was *said and meant* is that the town/climate is rich in iodine, which was intentionally written and specific, and thus should stay the same in English. The other half think that it must be some random, meaningless idiom or cliché that just simply means "sea air." Can a native French speaker confirm either way? Is "riche en iode" a normal, everyday phrase like salty sea air? Or is it something specific (particularly considering the region)? Nicomon thinks it's specific, and tartopom also thought it was unusual. So...


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## Philippides

Bonjour, 
L'expression "forte en iode" n'est absolument pas idiomatique. 
En revanche, parler d'air iodé pour désigner l'air marin est très courant. A titre d'exemple, je viens de taper ces 2 mots dans G..gle qui me renvoie 483 000 résultats, traitant pour la plupart des bienfaits de l'air marin sur la santé (la totalité de ceux de la 1ère page).
L'expression riche en iode est plutôt utilisée pour des aliments. 

Je suis donc totalement dans le camp de ceux qui considèrent qu'aller se faire des nœuds au cerveau parce qu'il est question de médecins est hors de propos et qu'il faut traduire en préservant le sens global et en ne tenant pas compte de la maladresse de la boulangère. Donc quelque chose autour de "salty sea air", "bracing atmosphere" voire "ozone smell".


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## Soleil_Couchant

Thanks for your response and for breaking it down, Philippides! (and sorry that I neglected to mention you before as a native French speaker on this thread!)

(If going this route, I reiterate though that if it's an American audience by any chance, "ozone smell" means absolutely nothing! Just go with "salty sea air" or something like that, which makes sense to all English speakers.)


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## Nicomon

Philippides said:


> L'expression "forte en iode" n'est absolument pas idiomatique.
> En revanche, parler d'air iodé pour désigner l'air marin est très courant.


D'accord partout. C'est ce que j'ai tenté de dire dès le post 11, avec exemples, et répété au post 28. Assurément plus proche de "salty" que "bracing".
Retour aux posts d'archijacq (#9) et de lingobingo. (#3 et 27). 





> Keith Bradford a dit: ↑
> You shouldn't be translating what's been *said*, you should be translating what was *meant*.


 And how can you affirm that she meant "bracing atmosphere" or "healthy air" without actually contacting her? That's an interpretation.

Once again, she could very well have written _«... à l'air (marin) vivifiant » _or «_ ... où l'air est sain _». But she didn't.  
So either you rewrite and then translate, or you translate what's written.


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## broglet

Keith Bradford said:


> You shouldn't be translating what's been *said*, you should be translating what was *meant*.
> 
> Otherwise, every idiom would be rendered word for word, every misspelling would be transcribed even it it makes no sense, and every translation would become pidgin.
> 
> Haven't you read "Sky, my husband!"  Are you trying to take us all in a boat?  I enrage!



Please stop digging, Keith.  This is embarrassing.  None of us knows what was meant in this case and as translators our job is surely not to pretend we do.


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## Itisi

Well, a Pole, at any rate, would understand what it's about: http://veturo.pl/article/208/iodine-seaside-secret/


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## broglet

My father used to put tincture of iodine on cuts to disinfect them.  'Cor blimey!' he would say, '... iodine stings like hell which proves it does you good'.  Of course it wasn't the iodine that was stinging but the alcohol it was dissolved in.  But if I were translating what he said I shouldn't first rewrite it as ' ... iodine doesn't sting like hell but the alcohol it's dissolved in does, which proves nothing at all about iodine' should I? Keith?


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## Soleil_Couchant

No broglet, you should say "bracing air stings like hell" 

Anyway, now I'm curious to go to Unnamed City in France to see if I notice the iodine. I want to soak it in!


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## Nicomon

Good one S_C. 

Besides, "healthy air" could also be said of mountain air. 
And these sample sentences with "bracing atmosphere" / "bracing air" have nothing to do with "salty sea air" : 





> - Owing to the altitude of this region, and its *bracing atmosphere*–redolent with the resinous odours of the pine and balsam, it is a great natural sanitarium, where consumptives may recover lost health and vigor.
> - With winter frosts decorating the countryside, wrap up snug and warm and breathe in the *bracing air* as you explore.





wildan1 said:


> Its "POISON" label always impressed me as a kid--another reason why applying this term to healthy sea air makes so little sense in English...


  Poison if ingested.  Not if you can (nearly) smell iodine in the salty seaside air and/or from  the sea algea and salt marshes.
I don't think people treated for iodine deficiency swallow tincture of iodine either.


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## Keith Bradford

broglet said:


> Please stop digging, Keith.  This is embarrassing.  None of us knows what was meant in this case and as translators our job is surely not to pretend we do.



Perhaps the point is that for 30 years I've been translating tourist blurbs for Breton places proud of their "climat iodé", their "écrins de verdure" and their "plages de sable fin" and have come to the conclusion that I know a cliché when one bites me on the knee. So I adopt the cunning translator's trick of throwing in an equivalent but English cliché. "Bracing climate... Wooded landscapes... Miles of golden sand..."


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## ForeverHis

Embarrassing? Hardly! Good point Keith. It really it all comes down to the skill of the translator and the desires of the client.  If the OP (or client) wants to stick close to the original, I'd opt for _iodine-rich environment, _even though that sounds pretty bizarre in this context. Any doctor worth his/her salt is aware that the ocean is the largest source of natural iodine and that iodine is absolutely necessary for the health of human beings. They don't need to be reminded and that might come off as a bit patronizing. 



Santana2002 said:


> In any everyday exchange I find it hard to imagine two anglophones referring to an iodized or iodine-rich environment, however encouraging potential candidates to apply by describing the bracing sea breezes, or the invogorating, healthy climate definitely sounds more plausible to me. We have a choice: technically correct (-but ridiculous), or actually using standard terms that are perfectly normal and apt.


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## Nicomon

Santana2002 said:


> In any everyday exchange I find it hard to imagine two anglophones referring to an iodized or iodine-rich environment


  And I find it equally hard to imagine two francophones from that area referring to it as : « _commune balnéaire très forte en iode_ » in an everyday exchange.
   And yet, that's what's written. 

So, I wholeheartedly agree with broglet :


> Iodine is an entirely English word and if this commune wants to make a big thing of being "forte en iode" then that's what it wants to do [...].
> But when translating I don't think you should rewrite things because you disagree with the author's opinions.
> 
> [...] None of us knows what was meant in this case and as translators our job is surely not to pretend we do.


I also agree with this copied from this page : GIGO 





> If I have a poor source document to work with and I have no way of contacting the author, then I default to an objective and rigidly accurate translation. I do believe it’s not for me to decide if an ambiguity is due to poor language skills or to a stylistic flourish.
> 
> On the other hand, if I have access to the client – and why shouldn’t I? – I can ask them what they actually meant. They’re always uniformly grateful that I take the time to do so, and in the end we have a translation that reflects the actual meaning they wished to convey, not my interpretation of it.


So, call the person who wrote the ad, to ask her what she really meant and whether or not she's referring to the "bracing sea breezes" and/or "healthy climate".
If she confirms that it's her different way of saying « _l'air marin vivifiant/l'air sain de la mer » _or _« le climat sain _» then fine.
But if you can't reach her, don't just guess her intention, and say _rich in iodine / iodine-rich.
_
55 posts and counting, to translate two little words.


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## ForeverHis

True, Nicomon. People have the right to express themselves in idiotic ways and possibly undermine their own purposes.


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## Soleil_Couchant

Well, the claims of iodine magic in this area has actually intrigued me more than boring ol' "sea air" would have...just sayin


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## Itisi

By now I agree with everybody/am past caring... Since it's a 'commune balnéaire' in Brittany, why bother to mention 'bracing sea air' - it's obvious anyway... (But I repeat myself...)


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## Itisi

*Keith, Philippides*, I looked up online 'What is the smell of ozone?', and this is one of the answers (the others say the same thing in different words):

_"It's hard to describe the smell of ozone exactly. It has a chemical smell similar to chlorine, but is more "electrical" or "metallic" to the nose.
 I've smelled it in several places: indoors where people use those ionic air purifiers (they create ozone, which is ironic since ozone is an air pollutant down here at the ground), and outdoors in summer when we have high ozone air pollution (from cars). They say you can sometimes smell it around electrical equipment like toasters, or anything that makes a spark, but I haven't noticed the ozone smell with these sources." 
_
Others say it's odourless, and the smell comes from the spark, or whatever, when the ozone is being produced... (As you can tell, I'm not a scientist...)
_
*So, it's nothing like sea air...*_


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## Philippides

Itisi,

Comme l'a dit Keith, il ne s'agit ni pour "l'air iodé" ni pour "the ozone smell at the sea side" d'une référence à l'odeur véritable ou au contenu effectif de cet air. On parle ici de formules imagées, utilisées dans le langage courant.
J'ai découvert "ozone smell" grâce à ce lien très clair fourni par Keith. 
L'air iodé me semble suffisamment courant pour être persuadé qu'il ne s'agit ici que de l'utilisation (maladroite) de cette image par la boulangère et suis donc convaincu qu'il ne faut pas se focaliser sur l'élément chimique de numéro atomique 53, de symbole I !

Mais nous tournons en rond. Comme il a été dit plus haut, il y a sur ce fil deux camps, aux points de vue apparemment irréconciliables. 
Les prochains lecteurs pourront se faire leur propre opinion et choisir ce qui leur convient le mieux. 

Pour ma part je m'abstiendrai dorénavant d'intervenir ici.


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## Itisi

Tu m'as mal comprise, *Philippides*.  Comme je l'ai dit  à #58, je n'ai plus d'opinion!  Ce n'est pas un argument pour ou contre le texte de la boulangère - ras le bol (d'air marin) !

Mais comme je me suis moi-même posée la question,j'ai voulu savoir quelle était l'odeur de l'ozone. C'est vu d'un autre angle que celui du lien de* Keith*.


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## Nicomon

ForeverHis said:


> People have the right to express themselves in idiotic ways and possibly undermine their own purposes.


 What you call "idiotic" is what I called "different" and what Philippides called « maladroite ».  I could have said « imagé », as Philippides initially wrote (#7).
Not everybody has a literature or chemical background, so I find "idiotic" a bit much.

Et j'insiste :  on n'a pas à corriger son français avant de traduire, sans au moins lui demander à quoi elle fait vraiment référence.

Bon... assez radoté. Jane Austin écrira bien ce qu'elle veut.
Vous aurez compris que je ne traduirais pas « très forte en iode » par "bracing air". Ça manque de sel.


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## Soleil_Couchant

Nicomon said:


> Not everybody has a literature or chemical background, so I find "idiotic" a bit much.



Totally agree. It's no wonder the OP fled-the-thread (or maybe she just got what she needed already; I think she chose bracing sea air...)


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## Santana2002

The thing is, a French person who is strolling along the seafront will easily say to their buddy beside them "ça sent l'iode", but an English-speaking person in the same situation would not mention iodine at all and would probably say "Smell that lovely fresh sea-air", and therein lies the problem.


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## Reynald

Santana2002 said:


> The thing is, a French person who is strolling along the seafront will easily say to their buddy beside them "ça sent l'iode", but an English-speaking person in the same situation would not mention iodine at all and would probably say "Smell that lovely fresh sea-air", and therein lies the problem.


Exactement ! J'entendais souvent mes parents dire cela lorsque nous arrivions en vacances au bord de l'Océan. À leur façon de le dire et de respirer profondément je l'ai toujours interprété comme positif (odeur agréable, air sain) sans me poser la question de la scientificité de la remarque.

Keith parlait de cliché. Je pense aussi qu'on est dans le même cas de figure que lorsqu'un Français dit qu'il a "mal au foie" ou a une "crise de foie". Le foie n'est pas coupable. Les Anglais accusent dans ce cas (et plus justement, je crois) leur estomac. Il y a aussi le fameux "rhume de cerveau". 

(Intéressant débat)

Ajout (exemples de l'emploi courant de l'expression).

1936, les congés payés, de nombreux Parisiens modestes découvrent la mer :


> 1936 avait généré un fol espoir, une bouffée d'oxygène qui se confond avec l'air iodé et, comme l'expliqua, Léon Blum, en 1942 devant les juges de Pétain, "une espèce d'embellie, d'éclaircie dans des vies difficiles et obscures...


TRAIN DU PROGRÈS ET ANNIVERSAIRE DE 1936: POPULAIRES, TOUT SIMPLEMENT POPULAIRES ! - Le blog de Jean-Jacques THOMAS

Histoire d'une station balnéaire :


> Jadis petit village de pêcheurs de quelques âmes, la station balnéaire a connu un essor fulgurant dès 1860, notamment avec l'explosion de la mode des bains de mer. Grâce à la ligne de chemin de fer Paris-Le Tréport (Compagnie des chemins de fer du Nord), des familles entières de Parisiens aisés découvrent les bienfaits des bains de mer et de l'air iodé.


Les maisons de Mers sur mer ... - Le blog d' Iris et de Narcisse


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## broglet

Oh my God!  I was hoping to escape from this endless topic but here I am again.  Clearly this whole iodine thing is a cliché.  But the advertiser referring to the commune "forte en iode" might actually believe that iodine is creating the characteristic smell of the sea and that the iodine has beneficial properties.  Without interrogating him/her we will never know.  So how we translate it, if at all, will just have to depend on guesswork.  That's it.  I'm finished here.  Goodbye.


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## Soleil_Couchant

What I'm concluding from all this is that the French put more importance on the concept of iodine being in sea air than English-speakers do. Even still, I read an article saying an area with a lot seaweed had a population with higher levels of iodine than other areas...so like I said 100 posts ago (which seemed to instantly get dismissed), the seaweed-iodine connection could possibly be a thing, especially considering it's Brêtagne we're talking about...  The sea air is good for your thyroid

But overall, no, English-speakers don't say "mm, breathe in that iodine-rich air!" while at the beach, whereas it seems like some French people do. We just say the sea air, salty sea air, etc. We English-speakers (most of us) have not caught on to the iodine aspect being appealing yet. So I've decided I'm going to coin it in English. Next time I'm on a beach (with lots of seaweed), I'm going to comment on how amazingly rich in iodine the air is. Let's see if it catches on... ;P


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## Nicomon

Yep.  She wrote : 





Jane Austin said:


> I rather like Steve's suggestion: "benefit from the bracing sea air".


 Which is actually just one extra word  - _bracing _- from her own initial suggestion. 





> "where you benefit from the sea air".



That's what I call rewriting the orifinal « _très forte en iode _» as if  the ad read :  « _où l'on peut profiter de l'air marin vivifiant_ ».

And never mind the vegetation, salt marshes, sea oysters, etc.   Oh well... it's not as if I haven't tried.


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