un bougnoule restera un bougnoule

[JClaudeK]

Yes but it's good to get the sense he is likening it to Arab food as the ultimate insult.

Je rejoins les autres qui disent que « de la cuisine de bougnoule » ne signifie pas "Arab food" mais « de la cuisine de qualité médiocre » - cf.

See Un travail (d')arabe – Expressio par Reverso
He just precised cuisine (as a work) instead of the generic travail and added an insulting word synonym to arab.

The next problem I have is can you use wog for an Arab?

Selon la définition du Cambridge Dictionary

an extremely offensive word for someone who does not have white skin

oui, d'après moi. Ce qui compte avant tout (dans les deux cas), c'est le côte péjoratif.

 

[syrita]

Yes, but it's the historical use of it and context as much as the precise definition...

ps Thankyou!

 

[Itisi]

'Arab food' is too precise - not a good idea... 'Wog food' is more general (since 'wogs begin at Calais!', as the saying goes ).

I would prefer 'foreign rubbish'...

 

[syrita]

Yes, foreign rubbish is very good. The thing is 'bougnoule' is used throughout, later when describing how 'immigrants' don't need to read and write to be able to work on a factory line. Algeria looms large in the book and eventually the son learns to cook North African food and incorporates it into his repertoire of classic French dishes, so I would like to try and keep it but not sure I can...

 

[ain'ttranslationfun?]

Steve McQueen the actor (White) or Steve McQueen the director (Black)?

"that crap/slop/garbage the Ay-rabs/ragheads eat"? (I like couscous.)

'foreign rubbish'

 

[JClaudeK]

Comment concilier

his cuisine is real vintage French cooking of that era (chicken chasseur, steak-frites, fromage de tête etc).

et 'foreign rubbish' -

 

[broglet]

I don't know about wog but bougnoule is very offensive for maghrebin or French people from maghrebin descendance (therefore try to avoid it when addressing them if you are trying to make friend ). Equivalents include rital for people with Italian blood, schleu for German or rosebeef for English.

J'ai un ami italien qui a dit "Je suis rital et j'en suis fier" et je suis content quand on m'appelle un rosbif -- je suppose que bougnole est beaucoup pire

 

[JClaudeK]

je suppose que bougnoule est beaucoup pire

Oui, c'est vraiment insultant!

 

[Itisi]

I think the only solution is 'rubbish food'. There will be plenty of opportunities elsewhere, it seems, to bring in the whole North African/couscous/racism thing...

 

[JClaudeK]

There will be plenty of opportunities elsewhere, it seems, to bring in the whole North African/couscous/racism thing...

Le type qui dit la fameuse phrase est un beauf prétentieux qui veut (avant tout) épater la galerie, le racisme n'est que marginal dans la scène.

cf.

 

[JClaudeK]

Suite:

 

[ain'ttranslationfun?]

There's a heckuva difference riots 14 years ago (thread starter) and cooking (starting with #18). I'd say for the former, "Once a(n) xxx, always a(n) [xxx]." - not so much "what's bred in the bone will come out in the flesh ("la caque sent toujours le hareng") but "that's the way things have always been there [in that country] - and that's not going to change".