mandarin

English translation: academic (expert) / professor

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

French term or phrase:	mandarin
English translation:	academic (expert) / professor
Entered by:	Héloïse Ki (X)

17:49 Jan 8, 2009

French to English translations [PRO]
Marketing - Marketing / Market Research

French term or phrase: mandarin

"Les professeurs ont le « log in », ils détiennent la clé. Les élèves peuvent imprimer les choses mais ne peuvent pas intervenir. Donc en fait on a un mouvement que je pourrais appeler la révolte des professionnels contre les ***mandarins***. Le ***mandarin*** c’est l’expert et on lui demande son expertise, donc on reconnaît son mandarinat, mais derrière il n’est pas l’expert final, il y a tous les utilisateurs qui peuvent intervenir. Je pense que l’originalité de cette initiative pourrait être économique et donc pourrait être payante. C’est qu’elle s’adresse plutôt au privé, aux professeurs qui pourront acheter les illustrations et d’une certaine façon peut-être ce genre de système très démocratique risque-t-il d’introduire justement le text book à 2 vitesses : le text book du pauvre et du ***mandarin*** d’une part, le text book du fun, de l’illustration, du ***mandarin*** et de l’argent d’autre part. "

Another rather rambling discussion, this time of a website offering free online textbooks (but audio, video and illustrations have to be paid for). It compares this site, where only teachers can modify content, with ones where anyone can get involved.

My query is partly terminological (who are the 'mandarins' referred to here??); but if anyone could also help me make sense of the last sentence I would be extremely grateful for that too. It doesn't seem to make sense to me (why is it the textbook 'du mandarin' in both cases?).

Thanks in advance!

Héloïse Ki (X) KudoZ activity Questions: 98 (none open) (3 closed without grading) Answers: 29 United Kingdom
Local time: 02:38

academic (expert) / professor

Explanation:
among otrher things, a mandarin is an academic (or person with great knowledge and power) or an exalted professor and this seems to fit the context here
try
http://www.collectif-papera.org/spip.php?article33

Selected response from:

carolynf
France
Local time: 03:38

Grading comment

Thanks very much for your help!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +2

mandarin

David BUICK

tyrannical mandarin

Mollie Milesi

academic (expert) / professor

carolynf

Answers

13 mins confidence:

tyrannical mandarin

Explanation:
In French university history, rebellion against the power of the 'mandarins' was a major theme of May '68. The 'mandarins' were the Heads of Department who held all the authority, the power, the influence and were seen as unmovable, un-removable, stuffy, old-fashioned, ego-centric and tyrannical... It is still used, by our students, about...us!

Mollie Milesi
Israel
Local time: 04:38
Native speaker of:

English

4 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

mandarin

Explanation:
For the term, see the article below. For your sentence, my guess is that it may be a question of poor punctuation:

"le text book du pauvre et du ***mandarin*** d’une part, le text book du fun, de l’illustration, du ***mandarin*** et de l’argent d’autre part. "

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_(bureaucrat)

should read

"le text book du pauvre et du ***mandarin*** : d’une part, le text book du fun, de l’illustration ; du ***mandarin*** et de l’argent d’autre part. "

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Note added at 5 mins (2009-01-08 17:54:55 GMT)
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sorry, form would not accept link which is now in the middle of my answer!

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Note added at 14 mins (2009-01-08 18:04:00 GMT)
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re: meaning of mandarin: I think it has a broader meaning of "expert who monopolises information but is not an expert" which seems to apply here.

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Note added at 16 mins (2009-01-08 18:06:10 GMT)
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ah I see what Tony M means. The new system just gives the mandarin two ways of controlling not one. In which case the point about it being "a 2 vitesses" is really a separate tangent (or a poor use of *that* phrase imnsho).

David BUICK
Local time: 03:38
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 14

Notes to answerer

Asker: But doesn't 'mandarin' in English refer to civil servants/bureaucrats. How do they fit in here?

32 mins confidence:

academic (expert) / professor

carolynf
France
Local time: 03:38
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 6

Grading comment

Thanks very much for your help!

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