French Language Translations

French language translations have come to be highly important these days thanks to the populations that use the language. French is the second most widely used language in the world, after English. It even has more speakers than that of Spanish, Chinese and Arabic. Because of the number of nations that use the language, it is quite common to find language translations that take French on a daily basis.

Working with French language translations proves to be more convenient than relying on dictionaries and translation books. Even those who use French as their native tongue seek for translation services whenever necessary, as they themselves find it difficult to use the right grammar and structure on their written works.

Forms of French Language Translations

These days, French language translations are used on projects such as:

• Personal translations. Personal translations include that of personal letters and non-academic work. These are essential especially between relatives and families that have been divided by language differences due to their geographic locations.
• Entertainment translations. Entertainment translations are popular among films, movies and shorts that are originally done in French and are translated to benefit English audiences. Translations involve insertion of subtitles or scripts for dubbing purposes.
• Business translations. Business translations involve various business papers, such as proposals, feasibility studies, marketing strategies and presentations. A lot of businesses, both from French and English-speaking nations, seek translation services in order to reach out to each other’s domains. Through business translations, firms are able to establish partnerships, and better communication ties regardless of their language differences.
• Legal translations. Legal translations are highly popular these days, particularly for foreigners who wish to establish their residency in French-speaking nations. These involve immigration papers, such as birth certificates, passports, valid IDs and licenses, as well as patents and other related documents. Legal translations take a number of days to complete, as they not only have to be coherent in terms of text; they must also comply with the formats and styles of French legal documents.
• Website and software translations. Website and software translations are also becoming highly popular these days thanks to the expansion of ecommerce and social networking. Website translations are sought by smaller businesses that wish to reach out to French speaking markets without actually settling in their territories. Software translations have also been proven essential these days, as software applications are no longer used in computers only; a lot of consumer electronics products require various applications for them to be used properly, such as tablets, laptops, mobile phones, media players and gaming consoles.

Countries that Speak French

There are over 15 countries across the globe that speaks French. France is the country where most French native speakers are found, while Canada follows second in the most number of native speakers. Other countries that speak French include Switzerland, Luxembourg, Gabon, Madagascar, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Niger, and Benin, to name a few. Because of the geographic disparities of the language, one standard form of French is used for translations.

At the same time however, French language translations have two distinct variants, that of Standard French and Canadian French. Standard French is used in all other countries that speak the language except for Canada. Canadian French meanwhile holds somewhat different vocabulary words and grammar rules, thus clients have to be specific when it comes to their French translation projects so that the proper variant will be used.

Stages of French Language Translations

French language translations go through a number of stages to complete, and clients should take these aspects into consideration so as they get to understand what they are paying for. Unlike human translations in which projects undergo only direct transliterations, professional French language translations meanwhile make it a point that their translated drafts adhere to standard language protocols and at the same time client requests.

The stages in which French language translations go to include:

• Examination of projects. Prospective projects are screened and examined by the translation team in order to see how long they can finish the translation work, as well as see the tasks that will be used on them. This way, translation service providers can provide adequate price quotes to clients.
• Initial draft composition. Projects that are accepted by the translation service provider will be distributed to teams that are most knowledgeable about the topic and required forms. they will then work on composing drafts for the translation works, which will be followed by organizing the text in their prescribed formats and style templates.
• Proofreading and editing. After the drafts are finished, they will be submitted to editors for grammar and coherence checks. The necessary improvements will be done to polish the translated drafts and make them ready for release.
• Certification and notarization. There are some documents which have to undergo certification and notarization processes, and these include patents, immigration papers and other forms of legal documents.
• Technical modifications. There are certain translation projects which require modifications, such as that for websites and software applications. Translated drafts will then be attached to the pages in which they are assigned. Some clients however, no long seek technical modifications and do the said procedures themselves.

Timeframes and Costs of French Language Translations

The costs and timeframes of French language translations vary depending on the quote estimates of the service providers. There are also a number of factors that contribute to the costs of translation projects, such as the type of translation required, the tasks that will be used, topics to work on, and as well as client preferences.

Regular timeframes for French language translations are three to ten days for simple and non-academic projects. Bigger or more complex projects meanwhile require longer timeframes to complete, as they undergo a series of phases and tests before they can be submitted back to clients. Legal translations usually take the longest completion time, alongside website and software translations.

Certain client specifications, such as rush jobs, also cost extra; clients may be required to pay a separate fee to speed up the process of their translation projects.