Oh so many people chatting

So is it valid to ask in here for translations for those of us looking for pet names who don't speak French?

pet names?

@Jez Oui?

what do you mean?

I want to say "goodnight my sweet kitten" where kitten is a pet name for a female friend

In this case, if it translates into something less than platonic (or more than platonic, depending on your definitions) and ventured into nearly vulgar without being crude, that would be fine

This being one of those situations where eventual toplessness or clothelessness won't be a negative issue

bonsoir ma chienne

It's my understanding that doesn't translate in quite the same way as what I want

goodnight my bitch?

Or is there a cultural element I'm missing?

sounds appropriate

Yeah, not so much

Maybe it's where you're a Brit and I'm not, but here "bitch" isn't a term of endearment.

Hence my question if this was a French subtelty

we have jokes in the UK

Aye, that you do.

> What can we chat about? This site is an extension of The Stack Exchange Network, so discussion should more or less revolve around the same topics you'd find at The Stack Exchange Network — but in an interactive, less strictly Q&A focused way. Do have fun, but please keep it professional and always be respectful of your fellow community members. All chat occurs in a room; each room has a defined topic.

From the faq

While my question may be of a personal and therefore not professional nature, encouraging someone to directly humiliate themselves is not professional at all

meh

i've always thought this place took itself waay too seriously

feel free to see yourself out?

now you're being nasty

im sure there's something in the FAQ i could throw against you for that

How am I being nasty?

You're the one lamenting that the professional attitude makes the site less fun? I'm only encouraging you, if you're here for "fun" and not "professional", since apparently they don't go together, to leave.

That is a common practice across the network.

not in ELU chat

i'd hardly call that professional, and frankly it's a bit unrealistic to expect chat to be

I believe the EL&U chat has had members kicked and has entered a cooldown before

However, this is neither the EL&U chat, nor am I a moderator on either that site or FL&U. I just ask that people keep it neat when those moderators aren't present for the site in question.

it's also highly unprofessional to talk about topless women

I noted that?

so what's your point? i have to be professional but you dont?

Hang on, I'm on the phone, need to focus on that for 2 minutes

The difference is I asked a specific French Language understanding question. I didn't give my pre-existing phrase as I didn't want to dilute the conversation unduly at the beginning. I have a phrase, but think it wrong for the situation. So I asked if this is the place to ask for that, then asked the question when prompted. I gave ancillary data to the question after asking, thinking that ancillary data may encourage an appropriate answer. I didn't come here to talk about topless women.

You were deliberately suggesting I be an ass to another human being, as your first response to me in answer to the question.

Ancillary data != unprofessional, even tho the end-goal of the conversation might be. Being an ass = unprofessional.

@jcolebrand No it is not.

@LeVieuxGildas is there an appropriate term for what I want?

@jcolebrand Maybe you could be a little more specific about the situation, as a lot of factors could be important ?

Female friend, romantic interest, heavy flirting, kitten as a pet name in English?

Are you saying goodbye with that sentence ?

@LeVieuxGildas No, just goodnight, sleep well, that sort of thing

I never flirted in english, so I'm not sure about kitten's exact implications

Hmmm

kitten is associated as sweet and tender, but playful

how formal do you talk ?

very informally?

/want it to be ?

so much for très chère, then.

She and I were discussing, she suggested ma petite chouette

yeah… any cute animal could do, somehow

I started with bonsoir doux chaton as I suck at French

but I believe that's a male kitten?

hmmm, I agree that's a good start

indeed

there was a topic related, lemme find it

So then chatte for female kitten?

duh

Using chatte and criticizing bitch will get you into trouble.

Check fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chatte

@jcolebrand @Jez chienne would be completely inappropriate. It's not the same as bitch, but it's not far from whore

chatte is ok as a pet name. It can also mean cunt, but only as in female sex organ, not as in an insult. Calling your girlfriend ma chatte does not imply that she is a sex object, but if she says “ma chatte” she is talking about her sex in a very crude register.

calling anyone other than your girlfriend (or wife or whatever) chatte is inappropriate

Sorry, went AFK

@Gilles Yes, and it all depends on the background, and on the tone put into that, also.

I wouldn't mind using it, in a few situations.

Suffice to say this is a potentially highly sexual situation, if that influences your statements @Gilles @LeVieuxGildas

@jcolebrand Also it depends a lot on how she will understand it

@jcolebrand chienne can be used in sex talk, but don't call her chienne if you wouldn't be comfortable calling her whore

I imagine she'll read more into my intent than my language skills, knowing that French is my weakest core Western language

It's hard to know what subtelties a sentece can carry in a conversation without knowing what happened before.

@Gilles I might not be comfortable calling her that one the couch watching TV, but at other times ...

Is she french herself ?

No, but she does live in the only state in the US that speaks any French

And how is that very french related to the one we natives usualy know ? ^^

(Louisianna ?)

I lost the question?

Yes, that's the state

There are many things in this state in French, and a fair part of the state speaks some French, and in the Southern part of the state they speak a LOT of French, or bastardized French, depending on the region.

I'm afraid standard france french petnames might have lost themselves during the trip to the US.

ok…

Laissez les bon temps rouler

etc

I…'m not sure I even understand that sentence.

let the good times roll

ok

Just demonstrating one of the more common corruptions of the French spoken

would (mon) bébé be problematic ?

baby is likely out, so yes

likely out ?

hmmm

likely a name I wouldn't use anyways?

ok

not really a good idiom, just me being silly

I wouldn't try and learn that as an idiomatic phrase

don't worry ;) (I guess you just forgot some "already" for me to understand)

@LeVieuxGildas hahahah

Darn

Is the play on words with chère / chair possible with your accent ? :D

That would imply high nakedness with heavy subtelty.

@LeVieuxGildas haha, not so strong with my accent, but when it's understood my intent it would come across. I would text it more than say it anyways

@LeVieuxGildas oh do tell?

She may not know that much French then :p

oh

well

chair is flesh

and chère is dear

aye

Do you know the singer Cher in the US?

not

Do you know the English word "share"?

both doesn't pronounce exactly the same in france french

yah, sure

I'm trying to figure the prononciations for these two words that you're describing

the ch is not the same as in english

hence the share

maybe that's some sort of irish ch

I understand it's more like to that

@jcolebrand that's as close as it gets while sticking to English sounds

and the difference between both french words

is the final -r

@Gilles so how would you recommend pronouncing the two words he's describing

keep in mind my strong Southern accent

for one has an e after it, so that hears, while the other is sharper. And still, that's the french -r, almost unpronounceable for anyone with a sane throat.

@jcolebrand listen to recordings (Wiktionnaire has some). As I said, assuming a US English accent, share is a good approximation

@Gilles I'll do that

But maybe if you text "bonne nuit ma chair", something happens.

haha, interesting

ty

and the alternative is ma chére?

it'll look like you made a mistake

yes

hehe, ok good

bonne nuit ma chère would be usual, g'night my dear

I don't mind making it a pun anyways

that's sort of a regular way of how we talk

so I could be:

bonne nuit ma chair
ehhh, ma chére
ehhh, ma chair

she would laugh

if she understood the play

if she's a professor, you can add ma chaire to the list

You can also look for “Chair de ma/sa... chair.” there at the CNRTL

@Gilles she isn't yet, but she has her aspirations, either that or producer/director

would ma chair -> my flesh ?

kinda

But again, I'm not familiar enough with what “my flesh” could very exactly imply.

In French

would it be possessive him owning her flesh, or would it be female nude body or ?

errr, I'd guess once she makes abstraction of the meat point of view, that could be like she'd be a part of your body, or something

is there a way to express it "ownership of her body"?

and still stay in this friendly space?

I think the possessive ma stays in the expression bonne nuit mon amour, and doesn't imply you possessing anything

Don't expect me to go anywhere in the direction of owning bodies.

hahaha, awwwwe

(I'm not even near sorry, in fact)

hahahaha