French English Translation: What Is It Actually For?

What does French English translation mean?  You can define it very simply as transferring material from a French text to an English text.

But obviously it is much more complicated than that.  It is possible for French English translation to operate at very different levels.  The level at which translation is done largely depends on the purpose for which the translation is required.

• Literal or word-for-word.
  This is the type of French English translation that is often produced by a machine.  It is done by simply taking each word of the French text, or whatever the source text is, and substituting a word from the target language, in this case English.  It is often of very little use as a translation as it simply deals with the words and not the real meaning.  Often it does not even make grammatical sense.  However, this is what many people who don’t know much about translation work – or even sometimes people who are just starting translation – think translation is!  That’s why you hear people saying “Why do we need to pay someone to do this – it can all be done by computer nowadays, can’t it?”  This level of translation can be of a certain limited use if you just need to get the general gist of what the text is saying.
  
• Translation for information.   
  This is French English translation that is designed to get information across, which can be quite important.  It will probably be correct at the grammatical level as well as the meaning level, but the translation doesn’t need to be particularly pleasing to the reader in English, or very concerned about the cultural context.  It won’t look at the underlying meaning of the text so it could be misleading.  It is acceptable if it is speed rather than price that is important to the client.
  
  
• Translation for publication. 
  This is a French English translation that is accurate at the overall level of sense as well as grammar and lexicon.  This is not one which can be done at speed – it will be needed by a client who is concerned about quality and is prepared to pay a good rate.  For instance, the client may have written a book about a particular specialist interest, such as dog-breeding.  Or it may be required for a travel brochure or a guidebook to a particular country or city.  This is not a literary piece of work but accuracy and quality are important.
  
  
• Technical translation. 
  This is covering French English translation produced for a reader in any particular specialism – law, medicine, any branch of science, computer technology and so on – any subject which has its own specialised vocabulary.  A client requiring this type of translation won’t be so concerned about elegance of style in the finished translation.  What he/she will be concerned with is absolute correctness of terminology.  Wrong use of a single term can have a disastrous effect, so it is essential that a translator has an in-depth knowledge of the subject, as well as expertise in translation.  French English translation at this level attracts higher charges because of the degree of knowledge and expertise required.   The translator will be expected to have a high level of knowledge of the subject, and translators at the technical level specialise in just one subject, or one or two closely related ones, not several.


• Literary translation. 
  The main aim of literary translation is to enable the reader in English to enjoy the piece of literature in the way that the reader of the French original would do.  This is also a highly specialised type of French English translation as the translator needs to have an understanding of literature and perhaps also some literary ability.  It is necessary to rise above the lexical and grammatical sense and capture the spirit of the original.  This of course can be very difficult especially if the work being translated is from another historical period.  Difficult decisions have to be made all the time, about what effect a particular passage or figure of speech would have had on the original reader and how best to ensure a similar effect on the reader of the translation
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• Specialised forms of literary translation. 
  A particularly specialised form of literary French English translation is poetry.  This can be done in two ways: either in prose, to enable the reader to gain a detailed understanding of the actual meaning of the original: or in poetry, to try to capture the feeling and spirit rather than the detailed meaning.  Then of course there is drama, where the translation has to find ways of capturing the emotion and power of the original, not just on paper as in most types of translation, but in a way that will transmit itself to an audience when performed on stage.  Both of these types of translation can be combined as in translating the plays of Racine into English or other languages.  The translator obviously requires creative talent as well as ability in translation and languages.
  
  
• Marketing/business translation.  This again is a very specialised type of French English translation.  It is essential to have not only a completely up-to-date knowledge of  English but also a 100 per cent understanding of the culture of the target area.  There are many famous examples of how the wrong use of a word has totally destroyed a company’s image - for instance the notorious slogan for Electrolux in an ad for the American market: “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux!”  This must have seemed like a brilliant slogan to the originator!  Then there was the example of Colgate introducing toothpaste in France called Cue without knowing that it was the name of a notorious porn magazine in France.  These are examples of companies trying to”do it themselves” without wanting to go to the expense of using a translation agency.  It can be a seriously false economy!  If it’s important in any type of translation, it’s ultra important in marketing translation for the translator to be using his/her native language AND for the translator to be living in the country where the translation is targeted.  The French English translation needs to take account of not just national, but local, concerns about religion, local politics, customs, taboos, and ethics.  If the translation is to succeed in its purpose, there also needs to be an awareness of the market – what consumers want and don’t want, and what messages will appeal to them.  If the translation is aimed at another business, it is essential to know what local expectations are and to ensure that no offence is given.