French Language Translator: Think Global, Go Local

If you have been a French language translator for any length of time, you have almost certainly been asked to help with a website localisation project.  The Internet is expanding its reach at an almost frightening rate. Every day more sites and more users are added.   Individuals and businesses from more and more different countries and language groups are hearing about the exciting products and services that can be found on the Internet.  They all want their piece of it – but can they get the access they want?

From the point of view of the business owner, from the very small to the global giant, being without a web presence nowadays is virtually unthinkable.  But more than this, it is looking increasingly short-sighted to retain a website only in English - or whatever its language of origin may be – and designed to appeal only to one’s home market.  People in this position are increasingly realising how much business they are losing out on.  That’s why the demand for localisation is booming – and the French language translator will be part of this.

Localisation of course involves a lot more than just translating the text on the site into a different language – though this is important - and it’s why the French language translator is required.  It is the process of remoulding the whole site to ensure that it is acceptable to, and usable by, visitors from another culture and language group. The aim is to make the site personally and culturally relevant so that the visitor has a positive experience and feels welcome – and of course will then be more likely to purchase the product or use the service.

So some of the points to consider are:

• User friendly.  You need to ensure the site is readily usable by people from the country you are targeting.  This includes making sure it supports credit card transactions from that country and that your product can be shipped to that area.  It is not very encouraging to log on to a site only to receive the message “Sorry this service is not available in your area”!
• Images.  If the site is originally targeted to the UK or US market, the graphics or images will have been designed to appeal to that market.  It is essential to look at what kind of images will be acceptable to users from the target culture.  For instance, if it is a travel site, it may contain pictures of scantily clad women reclining on a beach.  This would immediately repel visitors from a Muslim culture – not just in the Middle East but located in Europe, UK or USA.  The French language translator should have the necessary knowledge of what will appeal to the French market.
• Navigation.  Languages that use different scripts – Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic – may require either more or less space, so the number and size of pages will change.
• Dates, currencies, measurement.  It is essential to check that dates, currencies and units of measurement are presented in the way that they are used in the target area.

These are all part of the process of localisation. But of course translating the text is a very big part too.  So the French language translator has a major role in the localisation process.  Ideally of course it would be much better for the webmaster to provide the content directly to the audience concerned, but obviously this is not feasible in most cases. So the website owner is placing a great deal of trust in the translator.

As the French language translator you will be a native speaker of the language and it will be assumed that you will be familiar with the best way to communicate with website visitors in French.  However, even the skilled French translator will need to carry out some research:

• Discuss with the website owner, or your client if not the owner, how closely they require you to stick to the original text.  If they insist on an exact translation, you have to respect their wishes.  But try to gain some latitude to express the message rather than the exact words.
• Consider the product and who would be the target audience. For instance, if it is something that would be of interest primarily to business people, young people, mums with children, or elderly people, adapt the style accordingly.
• Be aware of national sensitivities around language.  For instance, if it is a French translation, it needs to be in very accurate French.  Web copy written in English, especially for a US audience, is often very informal and chatty, and frequently there is more emphasis on getting the message across than on correctness of grammar.  This cannot be carried over into French if it is to be acceptable to a French audience. 
• Be careful of any linguistic or cultural differences according to the areas where the site is being targeted – for instance if the site is aimed at French speakers in France, Belgium, Canada etc.

When translating web copy into another language, for instance from English into French, one major thing for the good French translator to be aware of is search engine optimisation.  The English text will, or should, contain the right keywords in the correct frequency to be found by the search engines.  However, translating into French could change this completely.

• It is unlikely that the keywords that have been selected for the original website can be translated exactly into French.
• Users in the French-speaking countries may not necessarily search on the same keywords as users in the country of origin.
• If as a French language translator you are translating the web copy to communicate the message rather than the exact words, some of the keyword optimisation will be lost.

To make sure that the localised site is properly optimised, you need to get the keyword glossary translated before even starting to translate the web copy.  Once translated, get it checked by a marketing specialist in the country for which the site is being localised.  This person should be able to carry out keyword research to ensure that the keywords used are the ones that are searched on in that country.

Once this is done, the French language translator needs to put the translated keyword lists into an electronic glossary, so that you are prompted with the electronic French version of the keyword whenever you are translating the English equivalent.  It is too important to be left to chance.  When the text is translated, check the keyword frequency in the translated version to ensure the frequency is correct.