Translation – Transcreation

 

FlamingosMaking the right choice

Translators specialize and are not interchangeable.

Choose your linguist with the same care as you would choose the architect to design and build your dream home. In both cases, errors can be costly and painful.

Identifying the right translator for your specific project can be challenging. Two helpful translation buying guides are available for download in the sidebar.

My niche

I provide for publication French to English translation and transcreation services that are fit-for-purpose and specialized in corporate communications, institutional communications, marketing, business development, advertising and PR.

With solid experience within these sectors in both the US and France, I understand your challenges, speak your language and adapt your copy so it sounds just right.

Style matters. Period.

Translating copy means writing it anew. Why? Because great translations are undetectable.

How long did it take to write and polish that “Message from the CEO” piece at the front of your annual report? Did you let the piece sit to come back to it with a fresh perspective? How many revisions did it go through before final approval?

When you ask me to translate it, the process is quite similar. I have to distill the key messages and adapt the structure, content, tone, rhythm and cultural attributes to your target readership’s language, codes and norms for it to read natively. Rarely does that happen in one go!

Culture as the invisible backdrop

Translators at this end of the market are not only writers, they are intercultural bridge-builders. We have a dual responsibility: to you, the client, to be faithful to your messages and their intent, and to the reader, to be respectful of what they need to receive and understand your messages properly.

Let’s look at a just few differences between France and the U.S.:

France

high context
multi-active
implicit & indirect communication
often favors the abstract & complex
social identity stems from belonging to a group
time orientation: past

U.S.

low context
linear-active
explicit & direct communication
tendency to simplification & categorization
social identity is rooted in the individual
time orientation: future

Adapting a document or presentation designed in one culture for use in the other can be challenging. It is one of the key differences between a technically accurate translation and one that resonates.

Culture is the invisible backdrop that molds our behavior, expectations and values and gives specific meaning to words and concepts. When you want to influence, sway, persuade, motivate or change how people think and behave, working within that culture’s stories and codes is highly effective.

The native bicultural-bilingual advantage

Source language v. target language expertise is a frequent issue in the translation profession. One of the benefits of working with me is this issue becomes moot.

As a native bicultural and bilingual Franco-American, I offer both:

  • Intimacy with the source language, culture and context to grasp their most subtle nuances
  • Proficiency in the target language and culture to produce compelling copy

Want to get behind the words to communicate beyond them? Get in touch!

 


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