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Although "pour encourager les autres" is similar to "the floggings will continue", I do not think that it is the same sentiment, or in the same lineage. The sa
by SideburnsOfDoom 6y ago
Although "pour encourager les autres" is similar to "the floggings will continue", I do not think that it is the same sentiment, or in the same lineage.
The sarcasm lands on the word "encourage" - so that it does not mean "encourage to have better morale", instead it means "encourage to work harder out of fear of punishment".
The phrase means "to make an example of someone, as a warning to strike fear into the rest, and ensure compliance". (1) It is a crack of the overseer's whip.
On the other hand, "The Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves" expresses a self-defeating cycle of interventions that perpetuates the situation.
1 ) https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pour%20encourager%20les%20autres https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pour%20encourager...
- lwhi 6y agoI fully agree, the distinction is split between fear and farce.
- tgb 6y agoI'm not convinced. Merriam Webster seems consistent with the article's interpretation saying that it is meant ironic. The examples given by you and others in this thread of "encourage" meaning to force doesn't rule out the double meaning and irony. The modern saying is merely more transparent.
- masklinn 6y ago> The sarcasm lands on the word "encourage" - so that it does not mean "encourage to have better morale", instead it means "encourage to work harder out of fear of punishment". I feel the french "encourager" and the english "encourage" are subtly different, and while "motiver" also exists in french (with pretty much the same meaning as in english) I think "motivate" would come across closer to the original sentiment.