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Visons l’objectif le plus élevé et nous aurons le plus bas
quartz translucide « génie de l’arc en ciel »,

Glossary entry

French term or phrase:

concrétions de magnésie de Nouvelle Calédonie

English translation:

New Caledonian magnesian concretions

Added to glossary by Chris Hall
Jun 3, 2010 14:56
13 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term

concrétions de magnésie de Nouvelle Calédonie

French to English Social Sciences Geology anthropological artefacts
A text about rain in different cultures here refers to various minerals the appearance of which is reminiscent of rain, rainbows, etc.:
minéraux qui, par leur aspect, évoquent la pluie ou les phénomènes météorologiques qui y sont liés : quartz translucide « génie de l’arc en ciel », obsidienne, concrétions de magnésie de Nouvelle Calédonie…
I'm looking for the correct current term in English. Thank you in advance.
Proposed translations (English)
3 concretions of magnesia / magnesian concretions from New Caledonia
4 +1 New Caledonian magnesian concretions
Change log

Jul 1, 2010 10:58: Chris Hall Created KOG entry

Discussion

Susan Nicholls (asker) Jun 7, 2010:
Periclase looks quite hopeful. I've asked for clarification from the client.
Cleartrans Jun 3, 2010:
The modern name for magnesia is periclase (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periclase). But as Chris suggested, magnésie could be a typo for magnésite, magnesite in English. I'd say this is the more plausible option: polished magnesite was (and is) used as a gemstone bead, either as found in nature or polished afterwards.
(A word of caution regarding your specimen image: one mineral can have many different appearances.)
Susan Nicholls (asker) Jun 3, 2010:
Thank you everybody for your input. As I mentioned to Chris, I have now seen a picture of the object in question, it is a lumpy rock looking like a cloud. Not translucent, no rainbow effects. I have no knowledge of geology but it looks like a fairly porous volcanic rock - could that be right? I can't post the picture I'm afraid. It is part of a museum exhibit, I cannot risk an incorrect description. I had imagined there might have been a more common name. Thank you all wholeheartedly for sharing your thoughts on this.
liz askew Jun 3, 2010:
Chris, good question. Only the asker can decide.
chris collister Jun 3, 2010:
Liz, does this get us any closer? The concretions referred to are manganese, not magnesium, but it does appear from the paper that New Caledonia is rich in magnesium carbonate, which is a crystalline material capable of refracting light to produce the characteristic rainbow colours mentioned in the text.
liz askew Jun 3, 2010:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:7Y5poY0...
chris collister Jun 3, 2010:
Magnesite?? It is possible that, in this context, "magnésie" refers to the crystalline form of magnesium carbonate. The more usual meaning of magnesia is of course the oxide, ie MgO, but my basic geology suggests to me that this mineral is too soft to form concretions, and also liable to evolve into the hydroxide under the action of water. See ref. below: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnesium for the various compounds of Mg.

Proposed translations

8 mins
Selected

concretions of magnesia / magnesian concretions from New Caledonia

Two options:

1. concretions of magnesia from New Caledonia
2. magnesian concretions from New Caledonia

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Note added at 32 mins (2010-06-03 15:29:03 GMT)
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Susan - not many refs out there, I agree. Here goes:

1. concretions of magnesia = 4 Google results.
2. magnesian concretions = 8 Google results.

Sorry that I could be of no more help. Good luck with the rest of your translation. Chris.



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Note added at 51 mins (2010-06-03 15:48:49 GMT)
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Susan - I believe that there are not very many results for this term ("concrétions de magnésie"), because it is a highly specialised and slightly uncommon term.
Note from asker:
Thank you for your prompt answer! I can't find any web references to fit my context though.
Thanks Chris, actually I've just found a picture of the thing in question, it's a lumpy looking rock that looks like a cloud.
Something went wrong...
2 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks Chris. Still no feedback on this, I'm still wondering about "periclase"... Thank you again."
+1
4 hrs

New Caledonian magnesian concretions

* essentially CH's answer, but I think this is a slicker presentation. Sorry Chris.
Peer comment(s):
agree Antonio Tomás Lessa do Amaral
5 days
Thank you.
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