“English-speaking clients always want to look like they’re close to their customers and use ‘tu,’ but in French, it’s really used only for the younger crowds. Being too formal creates an unnecessary distance (or renders you “uncool”), but being too familiar can be impolite or inappropriate. Translators have to balance the level of formality appropriate for a French audience which may seem too formal from an American or English point-of-view.

In French, as in other romance languages, it’s appropriate to address spouses, friends, and peers differently than doctors, managers, customers, and professors. For native speakers, this is automatic - it takes some getting used to when translating from English, which doesn’t have a built-in formality in grammar (though we do use addresses like sir or ma’am). The French language has more than one level of formalityĬulturally, the biggest difference between English and French is the level of formality. It’s also why we ensure you get to know the translators assigned to your account - so there’s continuity in how your brand sounds and feels to your audience in that target market. Smartling’s translation tool also automatically creates a glossary and translation memory for reference. That can be through images, notes, or broader strategic information about the word placement and what information is conveyed - all of which you can store directly in your Smartling account. That’s why it’s so important to provide context with translations so that translators know exactly where and how a given word or phrase will be used. The word 'added' could have 4 different translations depending on whether the subject is singular, plural, masculine, or feminine because our words always bear the mark of gender and number.” - Osmose M. EnglishĬould be rendered as Supprimé, Supprimée, Supprimés or Supprimées in French depending on what it is referring toĬould be rendered as 'Ajoutez cet élément' (for a prompt) and 'Ajouter cet élément' (for a CTA) depending on intentīecause of this, even simple words or phrases for marketing slogans require line-level decision-making on the part of the translator. Unlike English, French uses gendered nouns that changes based on the speaker, the noun, and the plural and has different agreement rules when it comes to verbs and adjectives. One of the biggest differences between a language like English and a romance language like French is the level of complexity. Otherwise, you’ll end up spending extra time and money de-bugging presentations and application pages after translations are already completed.Īt Smartling, we integrate directly with design tools like Figma so that anyone using the platform for design can incorporate real or pseudo-translations into the design process from the beginning, fine-tuning any text expansion before development begins. With French, it’s important to stay flexible with your content length and limits for document translation and work directly with the design team. Translation has to fit in a restricted space while staying accurate and convey the same message as the source.” - Marie-Hélène P. This is a problem translators often face when they are asked to observe character limits, like in a PowerPoint presentation. “In French, you need more words than in English to express an idea. That means it’s important to make sure you’ve internationalized your website and application code ahead of any translations and that your designers have built a UI that can handle longer word length and more words for any given amount of space. In general, a foreign language like French will expand text compared to its English counterpart: EnglishĮst-ce que je peux payer avec une carte de crédit?ĭécouvrez et réservez le meilleur restaurant

This comes with its own set of challenges, which is why we interviewed four of our top-notch translators at Smartling to review everything you need to know about translating from English to French. They need to understand your target audience, intent, and overall meaning you’re trying to convey. Going from an English translation to your target language requires more than just translator fluency. Five common challenges when translating English to French (and how to solve them) That’s why we turned to our expert French translators for a little advice. It’s no surprise considering the term “ lingua franca,” meaning a common language, refers to a mixture of French, Italian, and other Mediterranean languages.īetween grammar differences, cultural preferences, and style and tone for modern translations, there is plenty to learn about translating content between English and French. As the official language in 29 different countries and the United Nations, over 275 million people speak French around the world.

English to french translator sentences