French term (edited): esp�rer un Au Revoir

In the Bush context, it could be hoping for a good-bye for Bush...for him to leave the presidency for good?

French term (edited): esp�rer un Au Revoir

expectations

here's hoping....
It has nothing to do with "goodbye"!

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Note added at 2005-04-01 08:12:24 (GMT)
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Dusty: Very interested in your comment. In truth I see absolutely no negative inference in my proposal. The thought never crossed my mind. For me, in the French, it is clear that they are saying \"here\'s hoping\" = we will go on hoping that one day we may meet again. I don\'t see any \"let\'s go on hoping\" however in there. The more I think of it, the less I see the \"who cares\" element that you seem to read into my suggestion. But maybe I\'m alone in my thinking

French term (edited): esp�rer un Au Revoir

Could the "Au Revoir" have anything to do with the "jeune interprète", as in the writer is hoping for a farewell from an unwanted house guest? This might be too fanciful.

French term (edited): esp�rer un Au Revoir

I feel sure this is referring to a renewed personal encounter, as so many answerers have already said; I just wanted to add that the 'on continuera à espérer...' not only seems to confirm this theory in my view, but also deserves not to be just overlooked --- it seems to me the writer is saying "let's keep our hopes up" or "let's not give up hope of one day seeing each other again"


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Note added at 4 hrs 2 mins (2005-04-01 07:42:17 GMT)
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In response to CMJ\'s comment:

I didn\'t feel my suggestion was all THAT \'stilted\' as you say, though I was deliberately trying to reflect the tone and style of the original. But I do think there is an important distinction to be made in the meaning between mine and your own answers. I do like the colloquial way you\'ve chosen to express it, but at the same time I feel you may have added an unwanted nuance. For me, the problem is that \'maybe\' --- it kind of suggests \"And hey, you never know, maybe we just might see each other again one of these days...\" --- in other words \"..but I\'m not holding my breath, and I really don\'t care either way\"

But my interpretation of the French was very much more that the writer genuinely DOES wish to see the person again, even if the chances are fairly slim: \"We must keep our hopes up that, despite all the odds, we are going to see each other again one of these fine days\"

I\'d be very interested to hear from others whether or not they read the same into it as I do, and whether they think this distinction is important or not?

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Note added at 5 hrs 37 mins (2005-04-01 09:16:47 GMT)
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Writeaway and CMJ have brought up some very interesting points there! Isn\'t it funny how someone can read something into a text (or a reply) that another person doesn\'t see at all?

I\'d thought that \"on continuera à espérer...\" was intended in the sense of \'nous\', i.e. BOTH the writer AND the recipient, and hence I\'d read it in the sense \"Nous devrions continuer à...\"; but perhaps as CMJ suggests, it is the expression of only the writer\'s wish (a more literal use of \'on\' = \'one\')?