Glossary

 

Us  -> Nous

« Us? I say. There is an us then, there’s a we. I knew it»

Law -> Lois

«I have to let you go, he said. It’s the law, I have to» 

Compucount (not a real word) -> equivalent = Compte Banquaire  

« Luke can use your Compucount for you, she said. They’ll transfer your number to him, or that’s what they say»

Magazine -> Revue

« So far I’ve been through a Mademoiselle magazine, an old Esquire from the eighties, a Ms., a magazine that I can remember vaguely as having been around my mother various apartments while I was growing up, and a Reader’s Digest.»

Mayday->  M’aidez

«”Mayday”, she says. I tried it on you once»

 

The Ceremony -> La Cérémonie

"This is the one good thing about these evenings, the evenings of the Ceremony: I'm allowed to watch the news." (p.93)

 

I’m going bats -> Je deviens folle

"I've got to get out of here, I'm going bats." (p.102)

 

Unbabies -> non bébé

"We didn't know exactly what would happen to the babies that didn't get passed, that were declared Unbabies." (p.129)

 

Unwomen -> non femme

"Back then, the Unwomen were always wasting time." (p.137)

 

The Colonies -> Les Colonies

"But she'll never be sent to the Colonies, she'll never be declared Unwoman" (p.146)

Salvaging – Particicution

“The football stadium is down there too, where they hold the Men’s Salvagings.” (Page 35, line 5-6)

Guardians – Les Gardiens

“In the driveway, one of the Guardians assigned to our household is washing the car.” (Page 19, line 7-8)

Angels – Les Anges

“A close shot of a prisoner, flanked by two Angels in their neat black uniforms.” (Page 93, line 20-21)

Eyes – Les Yeux

“Perhaps he is an Eye.” (Page 20, line 25)

Saunter off -- marcher sans se presser, avec désinvolture. 

“Moira begins to saunter off, not glancing around.”

Wobble -- osciller, ne pas marcher droit ; instable.

“I get up, wobble across the room.”  

Ungrudging -- généreux, donner sans attendre rien en retour

“The woman hands over, ungrudging.”

Wreath -- couronne  

“I look up at the ceiling, tracing the foliage of the wreath.”

Snivelling -- pleurnicher

“She thought all Janine’s snivelling and repentance meant something, she thought Janine had been broken, she thought Janine was a true believer.”