wedotranslation DOCUMENT TRANSLATION GUIDELINES
GENERAL RULES TO FOLLOW (FOR TRANSLATORS) |
ENGLISH → FRENCH TRANSLATION ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES
- General policy on the feminization of text in French:
From time to time a client asks us what the 'rule' is with respect to applying both the masculine and the feminine to gender related nouns. A typical question would read like "Should the passage in our document not read ÉTUDIANT/E". In other words, should it not be in both the masculine and feminine form?"
The use of the combined masculine/feminine is optional according to the Office Québécois de la langue française.
Grevisse and Larousse (essential French 'bibles') are more definitive: avoid masculine/feminine spellings when it's obvious that both genders are the objects/subjects of the content.
Accordingly, our standard is to stick to the masculine; it avoids weighing down the texts with redundant material.
For more info on ths subject see this excerpt from
Le Ramat de la typographie.
See also: Faut-il prendre rendez-vous avec la professeur de maths, la professeure ou madame la professeur ?
Finally, in the TERMIUM there is a comprehensive section dealing with La féminisation des textes where it is stated: Il est fortement déconseillé d’avoir recours aux parenthèses, au trait d’union ou aux barres obliques pour l’inscription du féminin. Ces formes télescopées ne sont pas conformes aux règles grammaticales et nuisent à la clarté de la communication. The section provides a wealth of information and guidelines on the subject of feminization.
- English Titles With No Known French Equivalents:
Our preferred approach for the handling of English titles for which an official French translation does not exist (or cannot be found).
For doument titles (reports, manuals, and the like), event names (conferences, workshops, training sessions) and idiomatic expressions, a liberal translation should be provided in brackets following the English title. The French title should also be placed in quotation marks, i.e., « entre guillemets ».
View Example.
- General policy on the translation of university names to French:
Although few universities in Canada (outside of the province of Quebec) have official French names, the majority of Canadian English language universities in Canada have unofficial French equivalents. Most of the unofficial French language names are acknowledged in the TERMIUM. We have compiled a list of French equivalents for virtually all Canadian universities. (See: Universities in Canada - English-French Official and Unofficial Names)
Note: In French, the word "Université" should always be spelled with a capital "U" when used in conjunction with the name of a university, whether official or unofficial.
ASSIGNMENT TERMINOLOGY GUIDELINES
- Official Names, Places & Titles in Source Language:
Official names, places and titles are to be rendered in their source language unless an official translated version exists.
- Book Titles, Project Names, Report Titles & Event Names:
Book titles, project names, report titles and event names that have not been translated or when/where an offcial translation is unavailable are to be rendered in their source language along with a liberal translation in parentheses.
Where the official translation of a book title exists, the web link (URL) reference where/when available shall be provided in an accompanying comment appended to the translated title.
- Acronyms:
When the long form meaning of an acronym is not found in the source-text, the long form translation of the acronym must be inserted by way of a comment appended to the translated acronym in the target language, with web link (URL) reference where/when available.
- Web Links:
All source-text web links (URLs) must be verified for the existence of a target language web link equivalent. Where/when an equivalent target language web link exists, it shall be inserted in the target language (i.e., translated) version. Where/when no target language web link exists, then an accompanying comment shall be included with the source-text web link used in the translated version as follows (English → French example): www.source-text-web-link.com (en anglais)
CERTIFIED TRANSLATION ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES
- Faithful to the original source-text:
The translated version should reflect accurately what is displayed in the source-text. Examples: proper names that would normally be spelled with an accent but have been omitted in the source-text should not be added in to the text of the translated version; words appearing in UPPERCASE letters in the source-text, should be in UPPERCASE in the translated version.
- Layout and Formatting:
The document layout and, to the extent practicable, the formatting of the source-text should be faitfully represented in the translated version. See also: Document Translation Revision: Presentation & Layout
- All image elements accounted for and represented:
Where photographs, official seals, rubber stamps, duty stamps and barcodes are present on the source-text document, these should be identified, represented and translated in the target-language translation.
- Signatures:
All hand signatures must be identified in the translation as such, e.g., [signature], and spelled out where/when legible.
- Handwritten Elements:
All handwritten elements in the document must be translated to the extent that they are legible and be identified in the translation as such, e.g., [handwritten].
- Illegible Items:
Any marking, seal, rubber stamps, handwriting or signature that is illegible should be identified as such, e.g., [illegible].
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| LA LIBRAIRIE DU TRADUCTEUR |
 Le Ramat de la typographie est destiné à toutes les personnes qui doivent rédiger un texte en français. Il concerne les règles d'écriture de la ponctuation, des abréviations, des majuscules, des nombres, des adresses, des dates, et de la nouvelle orthographe, plus simple, plus logique et plus moderne. Le livre comprend des exercices et leur corrigé.
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| LA LIBRAIRIE DU TRADUCTEUR |
MULTI DICTIONNAIRE de la langue française NÉ Plus de 750 000 exemplaires vendus au Québec et en France! Avec plus de 2 000 articles nouveaux ou enrichis, la cinquième édition du Multi devient plus que jamais l'outil qui offre un mode d'emploi complet et actuel de la langue française sous toutes ses facettes. Après 20 ans d'existence, l'objectif reste le même : regrouper dans un seul ordre alphabétique tous les éléments utiles et fournir une réponse sûre aux diverses questions linguistiques qui peuvent se poser.
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| LA LIBRAIRIE DU TRADUCTEUR |
Guide anglais français de traduction NÉ "This book is an invaluable aid to any professional translator (English to French) who struggles with finding the right equivalent because many English words need to be translated differently into French depending on the context. It provides so many helpful and acurate equivalents. I was elated to find this updated edition even if I did so a year later than its publication in 2009. A super great reference book, not only a complement to traditional dictionaries but a complement of superior value at an extremely reasonable price."
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