phoques du bord de mer

[rosalind]

Hello all,

I'm translating a story for young people from French into English.

At one point, the story takes place in a village populated by beavers. One of the beavers refers to a gift given to the village by "nos cousins, les phoques du bord de mer."

I am stumped about how to translate this. "Phoques" are "seals," but Google cannot find the phrase "phoques du bord de mer" anywhere on the Web.

Any help would be appreciated. (I do have one idea: perhaps they are what we call in English "harbor seals"?)

Merci d'avance!

 

[Celebrian]

No, Harbour seals are a specific seal species which is "phoque commun" in French
Phoques du bord de mer is not a real expression. I think you can translate it with either just "phoques" or if you're looking for something more peotic, "phoques qui vivent près de la mer"

 

[Randisi.]

Hi.

It might not be a species name, but merely 'our cousins, the seals from the seaside' - or some such thing.

 

[rosalind]

Thank you for the help! I think I will just go with "seals," in that case.