Talk:Voulet–Chanoine Mission

trying to help

hi, i wanted to fix up the grammar of this sentence for you, but i can't figure out what it means, and don't want to ruin the intended meaning.

"For this he had actively campaigned among French politicians, and even if hampered by the contrasts that divided the Minister of Colonies André Lebon and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabriel Hanotaux, and the political crisis generated by the Dreyfus Affair"

does it mean: he campaigned among the politicians, even though the campaigning consequently hampered his career? or: he campaigned among the politicians, and also he was hampered by conflicts that divided andre lebon and gabreil hanotaux, plus the dreyfus affair? Cindery 03:25, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

also: "semi-desertic"--do you mean "semi-deserted," or "like the desert"? Cindery 03:32, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

First, let me thank you for your help; English is not my native language, so I generally need helpin cleaning up. Now, awnsering your questions 1) this means that V. searched support among the politicians for his projected expedition, but had difficulties in obtaining attention because of the conflicts among the 2 ministries (that did not regard Voulet and his mission), and because of the Dreyfus Affaire, that was dominating all political activity in France; to be clearer, V. had big difficulties in obtaining attention, but was eventually able to find someone interested in his project. What is NOT the case, is "he campaigned among the politicians, even though the campaigning consequently hampered his career?"; quite the contrary. 2) "semi-desertic" means he was in a very arid region, with little water and people; it's the Sahel, the arid lands that are right south of the Sahara desert.--Aldux 14:23, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

you're welcome

...I saw you listed at "requests for feedback." Thanks for clarifying the meaning of the sentence. I will try to do more work for you, copyediting. I asked my friend Mumblio to help too. It's a good article--thanks for writing it. I learned a lot. I also admit that I like your style of writing, even though it is not standard English usgae--you have a lyrical/narrative flair that is appealing, and I feel bad "standardizing" it! Cindery 04:46, 15 September 2006 (UTC)

Cleanup

Firstly, congratulations on a fascinating article! I learned something about a period I knew little about, and for that please accept my thanks ;-)
Secondly, congratulations to Cindery et al for their copy editing - I came here in response to the requests for feedback and found there was very little left to do. I have made some minor changes to the grammar and spelling in a few places - I hope I have not altered the sense of the article. Please feel free to correct/revert if necessary!
Lastly - the section concerning the meeting of Joalland, the Foreau-Lamy expedition and Gentil is a bit confusing (especially Gentil, who appears from nowhere!). I hesitiate to attempt to rewrite it though, as I don't know enough about the episode to do it justice.
I look forward to more articles from you! EyeSerene 20:21, 28 September 2006 (UTC)