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In episode 5 of the anime Hellsing Ultimate, the leader of the best organisation in the world in slaying vampires is surrounded by vampires ‍♂️. She isn’t nervous one bit. She then gives her right-hand man, her butler named Walter, the command “ Walter, to work.” Walter then kills all the vampires surrounding her.

I very much would like to know how to say the command “..., to work.” in French. Does anybody know? enter image description here

I first thought that “Walter, to work.” is short for “Walter, off to work.”. But I don’t think this is true because I feel like the command “Walter, to work.“ is formal whereas the command “Walter, off to work” is not. I feel that this is true because the sentence “I’m off to work.” isn’t formal at all.

Lol so again , how do I say the formal command “Walter, to work.” in French?

Thank you for your help!

Side notes:

(1) Her family is and has been extremely rich for generations.

jlliagre
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SFR
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  • Would you say she means "Get to work" in this context? – livresque Nov 05 '20 at 03:33
  • @livresque I don’t think so. I’ve heard the command “... to work.” many times only in formal scenarios. But “Get to work.” isn’t formal in my opinion. It’s just regular, normal speech. – SFR Nov 05 '20 at 03:37
  • @livresque But just out of curiosity, how do you say “Get to work.” in French? – SFR Nov 05 '20 at 03:38
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    You could simply say "Au travail !" or "Au boulot !" but I fear I'm answering in a comment now :/ It's maybe not the register you're looking for. – livresque Nov 05 '20 at 03:43
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    @livresque I saw your comment after having answered. I thought about au boulot and not au travail like you. I modified my answered and I included au travail as well. If you want you can transform your comment into an answer and I will erase mine. It's up to you:-)! – Dimitris Nov 05 '20 at 10:12
  • @Dimitris Thank you a ton for helping me and livresque out!!! – SFR Nov 05 '20 at 23:36
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    @livresque Thank you so much for your answer! – SFR Nov 05 '20 at 23:36
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    @Dimitris Ce n'est pas grave mais d'accord, c'est bien gentil. – livresque Nov 05 '20 at 23:38

3 Answers3

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No native speaker. Just my two cents:

Walter, au boulot ! Au boulot, Walter !

or even better (following user @jlliagre suggestion)

Walter, au travail ! Au travail, Walter !

(see the comments of users @livresque and @jlliagre).

Dimitris
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As I mentioned in a comment and then neglected, you can simply say:

« Walter, au travail ! »

« Walter, au boulot ! »

Au travail is probably the more formal, but not by much. Both would work.

Thanks to @Dimitris and the community for the nudge.

livresque
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  • Out of your two constructions and LPH’s 3 constructions, which is the most formal? Or are all 5 as formal as each other? – SFR Nov 05 '20 at 23:57
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    There isn't much more to add; I agree with the other comments. Boulot is a little more colloquial than travail, but it seems like tone and keeping it short are what convey the most meaning here. – livresque Nov 06 '20 at 00:21
  • Thank you for your help! – SFR Nov 06 '20 at 21:08
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Here are some possibilities.

  • Mets-toi à l'œuvre, Walter !

  • À l'œuvre, Walter ! — , Walter, à l'œuvre !

  • Walter, mets-toi à la tâche !

LPH
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  • Walter, au boulot ! Il convient, non ? – Dimitris Nov 05 '20 at 09:52
  • @Dimitris Ça dépend du registre de langue que vous voulez ; « boulot », c'est pop. – LPH Nov 05 '20 at 09:58
  • @LPH Thank you so much for your help!!! Which is the most formal or are they all as formal as each other? – SFR Nov 05 '20 at 17:34
  • @CubbyKushi There is not at stakes in this usage (yours) a question of formality; both are equally formal and should not be used for a common purpose, such as for instance setting out to wash up the piles of dishes after a dinner party. The idea is that the formal term conveys a notion of poise in the approach to the task, the notion of something done in an efficient, cold and unrepentant manner. This is so only because of the particular task at hand; speak about a sculptor starting a new statue and that is not at all inferred any more. – LPH Nov 05 '20 at 17:59
  • @LPH Thank you for responding! (1) I don’t understand what “There is not at stakes in this usage (yours) a question of formality...” means. (2) Also, are you saying that the three constructions you gave are as formal as “Au-travail.” and “Au-boulot.”? – SFR Nov 05 '20 at 18:04
  • @CubbyKushi 1/ I mean that the translation is intended for the particular mission of eliminating vampires (if you agree that a special context is relevant here); therefore, formality is secondary; by saying that the character is not being formal but there an exploitation of the formalism so as to produce another effect than formality, and that is not jocularity. 2/ No, they are formal in normal circumstances only, whereas "travail" and "boulot" are not. – LPH Nov 05 '20 at 18:11
  • @LPH Please bear with as I’m still quite confused. I’m embarrassed to say I’m not understanding you due to the much more intelligent vocabulary and sentence structures that you use. So from answer number (2) what I understand is that your three constructions are formal whereas « Au travail. » and « Au boulot » are not, is this correct? – SFR Nov 05 '20 at 22:51
  • @LPH Part (i) *“Water, to work.”* is a much more formal command compared to “Get to work.” and “Off to work.”. You said and I quote “ The idea is that the formal term conveys a notion of poise in the approach to the task, the notion of something done in an efficient, cold and unrepentant manner. I very much agree with this quote. – SFR Nov 05 '20 at 23:08
  • @LPH Part (ii) Therefore, my question is are your three constructions as well as « Au travail » and « Au boulot » examples of the formal terms that you spoke about in the quote above or is it just your three constructions which are formal terms because « Au travail » and « Au boulot » are not formal? I think an answer to this question will remove my confusion. Thank you again so much for all your help LPH. – SFR Nov 05 '20 at 23:11
  • @CubbyKushi "Au travail" is not formal (courant) but does carry some connotations because the activity to which it is applied is not really a job (those connotations are not very different from those I mention in my comments). Similarly for "boulot", except that the register is not "courant", it is "populaire" or for certain people it is "familier" (colloquial). I must repeat, if properly understood, the constructions I propose are not formal in the context you are discussing. You say that "to work" has a formal feel and that is what I thought it would be possible to render, (1/2) – LPH Nov 06 '20 at 08:42
  • @CubbyKushi but the formality you sense in English in this context is being put to use, I think, so as to produce an effect (explained in my other comments), and the reader forgets about the formality, which does not have its true aim; what remains is the effect that has been sought; this seems to be a rhetorical figure but I don't know which or even if it has a name. (2/2) – LPH Nov 06 '20 at 08:43