Sample from an interview with a French Pediatrician Pronunciation

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www.fluentfrench.com Echoing recordings since 2001
Interview with a French pediatric neurologist
Sample from an interview with a French Pediatrician
Comment est-ce que vous alternez
How
is it that you alternate
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et qui est-ce qui vous fait alterner ?1
and who is it who makes your alternate?
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Alors les urgences, c’est, effectivement,
Well
the ER,
it is,
indeed,
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un endroit assez2 cocasse3 de l’hôpital parce que...
a fairly picturesque place
in the hospital because…
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parce que c’est... c’est, entre autres, la grande zone
because
it is… it is, among other things, the large zone
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d’interface entre l’hôpital et puis... et puis l’extérieur.4
of exchange between the hospital and (between) the exterior.
Et puis surtout parce que les urgences
And also above all because
the ERs
Alors vous avez notamment travaillé
So
you have, in particular, worked
ont beaucoup évolués sur les vingt dernières années avec
have greatly
evolved over
the last twenty years
with
aux urgences.1
Quel est le rythme de travail ?
in emergency departments. What is the
work rhythm?
un afflux de gens vers l’hôpital qui est...
an influx of people toward the hospital which is…
On a l’impression que vous vivez là-bas. ...
We have the impression that you live
there. …
qui est problématique, hein ? Parce que c’est vrai que l’hôpital
which is problematic, you know? Because
it is true that the hospital
Comment s’organise2 le planning ?
How
is the schedule organized?
— surtout l’hôpital de spécialité, surtout les gros hôpitaux —,
— especially specialty hospitals,
above all the big hospitals —,
Vous avez le droit de3 travailler combien d’heures,
You are allowed
to work
how many
hours,
combien d’heures de repos ?
how many
hours of rest?
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les urgences is short for le service des urgences, or le
département des urgences. Une urgence = an
emergency.
s’organiser : literally, “to organize itself.” So, literally,
Comment s’organise le planning ? would be “How does
the schedule organize itself?”
avoir le droit de faire quelque chose = to have the right to
do something; to be allowed to do something
3
4
An explanation in case this is not clear: the interviewer is
asking how the shifts work and who decides who is on shift
and for how long, etc.
assez : by itself, it means “enough." Used in combination
with another word, it means “fairly” or “quite.” See an
example of “assez exceptionnel” on page 8.
cocasse means comical and can sometimes be translated by
wacky or madcap. The speaker is insisting upon the
unpredictability of ER work.
entre… et puis… You might ask about the “et puis.” It is
not necessary to the comprehension of the sentence. Et puis
means, literally, “and then.”
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www.fluentfrench.com Echoing recordings since 2001
Interview with a French pediatric neurologist
finissent par être submergés par une activité de gestion de
finish
by being submerged by an activity of management of …
dans des périodes d’épidémie. Et à ce moment-là1, c’est vrai
during
periods of epidemics. And, at that point,
it is true
problèmes de santé... banals1 de la vie de tous les jours2
common health problems
of
everyday life
que ça se transforme en2... en une espèce de3 grand forum
that it is transformed into…
into a
sort
of grand forum
qui seraient gérés aussi bien et plus économiquement ailleurs.
which would be managed as
well and more
economically
elsewhere.
où il y a.... il y a... il y a trois cents personnes qui
where there are… there are…there are three hundred persons
who
vont4
passer pendant la journée.
are going to pass through during the day.
C’est à dire
aux urgences, donc
That is to say (that) in the ER,
then,
on peut être amené3 – dans les urgences d’un grand...
we can be called upon to… in the emergency services of a large….
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grand hôpital pédiatrique —, on peut voir4... on peut voir
large
pediatric hospital —,
we can see…
we are able to see
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une trentaine5 d’enfants dans la nuit, ne pas dormir6 entre
thirty
children during the night, not to sleep
between
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dix-huit heures le soir7 et, et huit heures du matin, surtout
6PM in the evening
and, and
8 AM,
especially
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banal = commonplace.
le vie de tous les jours = everyday life. Literally, “the life of
all the days.” tous les jours = every day. See another
example on page 10.
on peut être amené à…, literally, one is able to be led to….
Here, the à is not heard because the speaker cut himself off.
on peut voir : we can see. Literally, one is able to see.
Pouvoir = to be able. See the previous footnote on peut on
page 1.
une trentaine = about 30. Compare to une dizaine (about
10) and une vingtaine (about 20).
Some learners may ask, “Why does the speaker put dormir
in the infinitive and say ne pas dormir instead of “on ne
dort pas?” Answer : because the speaker is saying that
doctors are “able not to sleep…” Look back to the beginning of
the sentence and recall that he is continuing the idea of “on
peut…” (literally, one is able.) So the idea is “We are able to
see 30 children…, able not to sleep from 6PM to…”
dix-huit heures le soir : literally, 18 hours (in) the evening.
Compare to dix-huit heures ce soir (6PM this evening.)
Thank you for listening,
David Tolman
[email protected]
Echoing recordings since 2001
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à ce moment-là : literally, “at that moment there.” See
other examples on pages 11 and 12.
se transformer en : becomes, is transformed into; literally,
“transforms itself into….”
une espèce de = 1) a species of; 2) a sort of, a kind of, a
type of. Compare to ce genre de… on page 12.
Another example of aller (to go) being used to show that
something is going to happen soon. See the footnote on vont
aller voir on page 4.
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