Celine receive a doctorate Honoris Causa, August 21 - Laval University

[Lizzy]

Thanks Tam and Thomas for the pics

[nickyrenaud]

i just finally came across this video and was wondering if anyone translated it

thanks so much for your hardwork excellent job!!

[DionFanAlways]

Here's the English version:

 

I couldn't translate the welcome of the people of the ministries and the university. I'm not used to this formal language. Could somebody translate this paragraph for me? "«Madame, la Ministre, responsable de la culture, des communications, de la condition féminine. Monsieur le Maire de Québec, Monsieur le recteur de l'Université Laval, Monsieur le président de l'administration de la société du 400ème anniversaire de Québec, distingués invités, parents et amis." I'd really like to know.

 

"I'm very happy to express my deep appreciation for the great honor you give me, Mr, Brière, to allocate me this honorary title. And for spelling mistakes, I'll be brief and honest. With this gesture you welcome me into the big family of the Université Laval. I receive this family gift with a lot of emotions. It's something that touches me and which follows the spirit which was assigned to me while you offer me a place amongst you, you meet the families which are mine. The family by blood and the friends family, the professional family and the family of mind as they let us cross with people who have the same values as we have, the same battle, the same hopes.

If you allocate this honour to me because I've well done the homework life had put on my way, then, I accept, with pleasure, even with pride.

One thing guided my life: It is the desire to overtake myself and to go further, to the maximum of my capacities, at the end of my ideas, of my hopes and my dreams. I haven't stopped dreaming yet.

The voice is a gift of God. The rest is the question what you do with what heaven has given to us. It's quite a big honour for the little girl of Charlemagne that I am. Because we always stay the child which we are carrying inside us. It is because of her that I get this doctorate because it was her, so young, who saw bigger and further, who had the desire to hug the earth and in the dreams, she overhauled her 14 years. It is her. I thank this child having trusted the right people, the right moments.

I want to share this honour with my masters. The ones who built me and who always made me think, reflect and who learned me through their examples to go further and to do always a bit more.

In the school of life, I went to the classes in the middle of adults older than naturally, simple people, but exceptional beings. I'm talking about my parents. Maman, here tonight, Papa, who left us 5 years ago, and my brothers and sisters who are in the hall as well. My family by blood. I learnt to calculate with them. The brothers and sisters (secondent sur un toit d'une main -> didn't understand at all what she was saying). In geography, everybody should have its own place. History, the small one, the one of my ancestors. The music, we sang and danced every day. Civic mindedness, which was at home to take care of the other and finally, love which we don't learn in classes but at home. And later, my professional family, even bigger, I'm thinking about Eddy Marnay my father in this business. The one who learnt me the French of France through lyrics he wrote me in their language, so beautiful, so pure and which sounds in my ears like music. And to the writers who took his dissemination with the same strictness and the same love for language. My friend, Luc Plamondon, Jean-Jacques Goldman as an accomplice in the turn of my life and some others and which I am still loyal to. Who I am still loyal to, do I say that right? I'm thinking about the men and women who work in the shadow and in the daily routine so that everything always looks perfect. Something nobody sees because all the light is always on me. Without them, nothing would have been possible and will never be. To those who recognize themselves, I say thank you. Here and now.

Thanks to the sportsmen, to the Olympic athletes who always made me dreaming and who learnt me the taste of effort, the conquest of oneself, and to (et de s'élimer surtout -> couldn't understand exactly what she was saying) always give 100 percent of yourself.

Thanks to the press in general, to the TV, to the radio who often opened the doors for me and their heart. Sometimes.

Thanks to the public who has been so faithful and has been so present for a very long time. How can you think about conquering the world if your own people don't love you? And they're still here for me every time we meet again and that's still luck to recover the path to my house.

Thanks finally and especially to René, my husband, my love, my manager for ever. Without him, nothing of this would have been arrived. He's here, attentive since the first day and I appreciate him for having given the life I've always dreamt of and of having made an endlessly happy mother every time I hold our son René-Charles in my arms.

Today, I give to him, me, I give to him a doctorate of honour for all the talent and this work. I may say this lifework.

And to conclude on song lyrics. I chose the one of Jean-Loup Dabadie which was written for Jean Gabin: "The day somebody loves you, it's very beautiful." I can't say it better. It's very beautiful. It's everything I know, but this, I know.

[Applause]

Before I leave you, I'd like to thank also Mr Régis Labeaume for the medal of Québec City and also Mr Jean Leclair for the commemorative medaillon of the 400th year anniversary of Québec. Your invitation to me coming to celebrate this four centuries of history with everybody who love Québec touched me a lot. Ms Minister, it was a great honour for me to be the godmother of the French language contest, she's quebecois as well.

To you, dear laureate. [in French, there's the distinction between the feminine (lauréate) and masculine (lauréat) form. She confused is and so she says: Excuse-me, my eyes are a bit misty. I repeat, if you will excuse me. To you, dear laureate (then in the correct feminine and masculine form)] congratulations and thank you for having shared with us your passion for the French language. Thank you."

 

This is beautiful! I was never able to understand. Thanks.