It is March 20th, 2018, and we’re celebrating French Language Day here at PTIGlobal. This day is special, not only for those who provide translation services or localization quality assurance from French to English, but also for everyone who interprets this as an opportunity to learn a new language.
If you’re someone who loves translating and reviewing content or who’s interested in engaging translation services, then you have EVERY REASON to look forward to this day! Think of it as an occasion when we all celebrate language for a higher cause – that of (1) MULTILINGUALISM and (2) CULTURAL DIVERSITY. By commemorating it, you choose to support a world that embraces diverse cultures and multilingual generations.
Why the French language is widely recognized
Back in 2010, it was the United Nations (UN) Department of Public Information that gave this occasion its own spot on the global calendar. To keep up with the times, you should mark the date on your own calendars because it actually commemorates the founding of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.
Fondly known as La Francophonie, it embodies all countries and regions of the world where French is spoken. Incidentally, the French language is customarily used in 29 different countries. As of the most recent stats, there are 275 million people today who speak French.[i]
With good basis, the decision to award a special day to French was further supported by the following reasons:
- Along with English, French was one of the two first working languages used by the United Nations (UN).
- There are six official languages currently being used in the UN Organization, and one of them is French.[ii]
- Apart from the United Nations, there is such a thing as the League of Nations. It employs French as one of its official languages.
- Among nations belonging to the European Union (EU), French is recognized as “the fourth most widely spoken first language in the EU.”[iii]
- By international standards, French is not only a language of business and commerce, but it is also a language of friendship and diplomacy.
This now brings us to a very important question: When translating and reviewing content, how “friendly” are the French and the English languages with each other? Are there instances when it’s possible to have a conflict between the two (without meaning to), just by being too LITERAL?
How to avoid misinterpretations when translating
Let’s take a detour on how the English and French “borrowed” words from each other. As evidence, you see them in the common, everyday usage of terms like hors d’oeuvre, coup d’état, and déjà-vu.
Historically, however, this borrowing of words goes as far back as the time of William the Conqueror. It was during his reign as King of England that the upper class turned to Norman French as their primary language of choice; meanwhile, the masses retained English as their customary language.
With this as a background, now is as good a day as any to go down the road less traveled but often taken by translators and interpreters. On your daily telecommute, you have to navigate your way through both similarities and differences between the French language and English. Add to that the borrowing of words which leads to so-called “false friends”.
Specifically, FALSE COGNATES are French words that look and sound like English words, but they are in no way similar in meaning to each other. This is because they’re different in etymological origin.
For instance, assist means to help in English, whereas assister denotes to attend in French. Also, preservatifs may seems like food preservatives to you in English, but they actually stand for condoms in French. Thus, unless you’re pretty familiar with idiomatic expressions popular with the French, then you could translate une bouche d’incendie into a mouth of fire in English rather than a fire hydrant.
Confounding as false friends and false cognates may be, they can be downright funny – that is, until you get yourself into a serious faux-pas due to faulty translation.
How to extricate yourself through localization
Whenever we talk about localization, we always refer to the process of immersing ourselves and successfully adapting a medium to a specific market or locality. In the case of translation services, it means giving the output a look and feel that connects with the target audience, whatever its culture and language may be.
The question is: With you as the translator or interpreter and with language as the medium, are you able to achieve localization? Are you able to effectively communicate with a global audience in a way that’s both culturally sensitive and yet clear and accurate?
Fortunately, it is possible not to get lost in translation. Professionally, it can be done by conducting a comprehensive content review and achieving a high level of quality assurance. Steer clear of common pitfalls, and you’ll successfully achieve both translation and localization with more accuracy and less difficulty.
Confounding as the French language may be, it’s one of the most pleasant languages to hear. We do hope to hear from you on this; let us know what you think. After all, it will be one of the most-talked-about topics come March 20th for those who know. You definitely won’t miss out on it either, because you’re IN THE KNOW.
To French Language Day, a round of cheers…à votre santé!
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Reference:
[i] https://foreignlanguages.camden.rutgers.edu/french/why-french-matters/
[ii] http://www.un.org/en/sections/observances/celebrating-multilingualism/
