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.

French english translator