French Translation Service

PROFESSIONAL FRENCH TRANSLATION SERVICES FOR THE GLOBAL FRENCH SPEAKING MARKET

As with the translation of any language, translation from French or into French is no easy task. Translation into and from French, the “language of love” is much like love itself; it can be complicated. There are many more things to consider than just getting someone who knows French to handle translation into English and from French.

Spoken by about 354 million people across the globe, French is the third most spoken language in Europe, after German and English. It is also the official or second language in at least 55 countries worldwide and there are French speakers in far-reaching places like Cambodia and Vietnam.

Spreading across different continents, we are presented with multiple variations of French as it is spoken in France, Belgium, Monaco, the Middle East, Canada, the US, and some parts of South East Asia. Not only are there differences in pronunciation, but there are also variations in terms of grammar and culture. It pays to know the experience of your translators for the specific regions before deciding who should be handling your French Translation.

French is also a much longer language and most of the time, French translation tends to be 15-20% longer than the English source text. When translating into French, you have to take into consideration the space available for layout. This is especially tricky when there is space limitation for applications and UI texts.

The difference in the style of grammar between French and English can be a huge challenge when it comes to French translation. Key differences in syntax, gender rules, use of verbs, and adjective may confuse even most bilingual speakers. It certainly makes sense to have a native French translator who is more sensitive to such errors.

French also offers many variations in word order that do not make sense in English syntax. For many words, French and English both look very similar even though their definitions could not be more different.

The French language, with its subtle nuances and undertones, is very easy to bungle. One slight error in the word choice could all too easily make you sound highly rude and offensive.

FRANCE AND THE FRENCH LANGUAGE – AN INSEPARABLE ROMANCE

The French language is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. There is this interesting fact that during the French Revolution in 1793, 75% of the French citizens did not speak French as a mother tongue. Until the 19^th century, French was more spoken widely in Holland and Germany than in some parts of France. There are also different dialects in each region of France.

With a population of more than 64 million, according to the OECD, France’s economy is the fifth-largest in the world in 2016. Being home to 32 of the 160 Top European companies, the importance of the French economy and the French language cannot be further emphasized.

Today, French is one of the five official languages of the United Nations and one of the official languages of the African Union, the European Union, the Council of Europe, FIFA, the International Court of Justice, Interpol, NATO, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the International Red Cross, and the World Trade Organisation. It is the official language of the International Postal Union and the International Olympic Committee.

According to a Bloomberg report, French is the second most useful language for business after Chinese. If that’s not enough to convince you that French is one of the most influential languages in the world, how about this: It is estimated that around 50% of English words come from French??!!

Also, do you know that French, the language of romance, is ranked second just after English as one of the world’s top 10 most influential languages? When you talk about French, how can we forget Canadian French? In Quebec, French is the mother tongue of almost 80% of its population. However, québécois (Quebec French) is quite different from the French spoken in Europe.

This is evident in judicial and main international and regional courts. The influence of the French cannot be undermined, especially in its use in the journalistic, legal, and academic worlds. In Africa, French is the language of trade, education, and culture.

GOING GLOBAL? GO FRENCH!

YOUR BEST CHOICE FOR PROFESSIONAL FRENCH TRANSLATION