Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
Black blanc beur
English translation:
Black white brown
French term
Canada
Arts & entertainment pro
Native in: French 
Works in: French to English, English to French
Black blanc beur
« ...
Alors que tu frappes mes frères
Je m'arme de patience
Bleu blanc rouge
Black blanc beur
... »
Bleu blanc rouge refers to the colours of the French flag and Black, blanc, beur to blacks, whites and Arabs, meaning that France should be inclusive and is made up for people of all backgrounds but I'm trying to find a punchy way to translate Bleu blanc rouge, Black Blanc beur.
Any ideas?
| 3 +4 | Black white brown |
Philippa Smith
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| 4 | Black White North African |
Francois Boye
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Feb 13, 2017 16:50: Philippa Smith Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (1): Yvonne Gallagher
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Proposed translations
29 years turning out perfect English
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English
Black white brown
| agree |
Tony M
: Depending on the scansion required, in En we might more naturally say 'red, white, and blue', in which case you could equally add the 'and' in the second line.
4 hrs
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Indeed. Thanks Tony
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| agree |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: This works pretty well. The idea of three colours, three one-syllable words like the original.
4 hrs
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Thank you Nikki
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Francois Boye
: Les beurs ne sont pas des latinos (Brown in US English). Ce sont des arabes qui se définissent par leur terre d'origine, l'Afrique du nord, anciennement colonisée par la France..
http://www.economist.com/node/322257
7 hrs
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I know what beur means François, as does the asker, but in a poem you can't be literal; adding in North African or Arab would not work. Brown is an apt colour description, and a cultural note can be added if necessary.
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| agree |
Charles Davis
: It wouldn't be the first time: http://spiritofblackparis.blogspot.com.es/2013/05/africa-in-... And even in US brown is not just latino: "(Often Offensive) Of or being a person of nonwhite origin" (Am. Heritage).
8 hrs
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Thanks Charles
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| agree |
Mair A-W (PhD)
: I have red white & blue / black white & you stuck in my head
16 hrs
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Haha! Thanks Mairaw
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| agree |
Yvonne Gallagher
21 hrs
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Thanks Gallagy
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United States
An economic geek with social skills
Native in: French
Works in: English to French, French to English, Spanish to English, and 1 more.
Black White North African
Football = Soccer in US English
The message is France is made up of black, white and North African people; unless they unite, France cannot win.
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Note added at 30 mins (2017-02-12 16:04:31 GMT)
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Instead of North AFrican, you can say North African Arab
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Note added at 8 hrs (2017-02-13 00:31:58 GMT)
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beur
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Note added at 9 hrs (2017-02-13 00:50:10 GMT)
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An explanation in English of the origin of the expression 'Black Blanc beur':
http://www.economist.com/node/322257
Discussion