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Episode 13: Financial Translation Tips and Tricks with Amanda Williams

Angela Benoit: Hello, and welcome to the continuing education series, a podcast produced by the French Language Division of the American Translators Association as a benefit for our members and those interested in joining us. Our series strives to offer educational content about the craft of French-to-English and English-to-French translation and about our division. I’m your host, Angela Benoit, and it is my pleasure today to welcome Amanda Williams of Mirror Image Translations. Amanda is an ATA-certified French-to-English translator. She specializes in corporate communications, accounting, finance, and international trade. And, as a bonus, Amanda and I are recording this podcast together over a cup of tea in beautiful Annecy. Amanda, welcome!

Amanda Williams: Thank you so much for having me!

AB: Thank you so much for being here! So, we are going to discuss this series of financial terms that all have one thing in common. Their translation is not what a lay person would have expected it to be, and I believe we are going to see just incollable Amanda is at financial terminology. Now, before we get started, would you like to tell us a little bit about the universe of a financial translator?

AW: Yeah, so, when Angela first reached out to me to ask me to do this podcast, I started thinking about what I wanted to talk about, and it turns out what I originally had put together was not what you talk about on this podcast.

AB: Uh oh! [laughter].

AW: But Angela was super nice and said, “Hey! Why don’t we just throw that into the introduction? So, we’re going to start by going over something a little different, and it’s really what I like to call “How to Do Financial Translation Right.” Instead of pitfalls and tricks, I want to going to talk about how to do it right.

AB: And that is super important. You do want to do it right. [laughter]

AW: How to be better, okay?

AB: Yes, yes.

AW: So, just so I don’t waste all that original work I put together.

AB: Oh, no, no, no! It was great! We just had to bring the nerdiness back, but we’ll get there.

AW: Alright, so, I want to talk about some tips. Consistency, as a financial translator, is essential. Sometimes we get so focused on the section we’re doing, and sometimes, you know, if you’re translating a document de référence or a document de base, or shareholder meeting notices, CSR reports, you know these huge reports that can be five or six hundred pages long, and you’re working on a 50,000-word section, it might seem like you’re doing the whole thing, but you’re not. You’re only doing a small section, and you might be consistent in that one section you’re doing, but you’ve got to think about the whole big picture. So, consistency, both in what you’re working on and the big picture, is just key. And then, also, client terminology is more important than you think. We all have our favorite words, words that we like more than others, but what we like isn’t important. What the client likes is what is important.

AB: Mmhmm.

AW: So, we have to make sure that, as translators, we understand what our client’s corporate voice and corporate culture is, and that we are accurately transmitting that into what we’re writing. And then, this seems basic, but I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen the opposite in, you know, reviewing, revising, and just looking at other reports over time. Little things like dialects, not being consistent through a report, not only with spelling but tiny little things like the UK says “as at” with the date, and we say “as of” instead of “as at,” things like that.

AB: Which I tripped over in the preparation of this podcast. I thought it was a typo.

AW: Yeah, you know, I didn’t like it when I first saw it, but I had to get over it. “As at 31 December,” they just say that, okay.

AB: There you go.

AW: But you’ve got to keep those things consistent and keep them in mind, not just for your section, but the entire report, right?

AB: Mmhmm.

AW: And, not getting caught up in translating everything exactly how it is in the French. Yes, we’re crunching through a lot of volume, but you still have to translate things like they’re supposed to be translated. You know, we put verbs with the rest of the clause. We don’t break things up as much as they do in French. You know, you rearrange sentences, as needed.

AB: Mmhmm.

AW: So, it’s important to remember to do those type things even if you’re crunching out 3,000-plus words a day, and, if you don’t have any experience in business, accounting, or finance, then don’t translate about business, accounting, or finance. And we’ll go over that in a little bit more detail later on. [laughter]

AB: We’re going to find out exactly how it’s possible to trip up and make mistakes, just for lack of knowledge and lack of experience, and, you know, it’s… we need great financial translators, but we need those financial translators to go out and gain that experience, I think.

AW: Yes, yes.

AB: In the real world, before they attempt to do the very difficult exercise that we’re going to be doing now. And I get the easy job. I’m so lucky. I’m going to throw out some financial terms, which I did not find. Amanda found them for me. I’m going to throw them into the air, and Amanda’s going to tell us what they mean, and how we translate them, and also how we do not translate them. So, I think our first one is relatively easy. Are we ready to get started?

AW: Yeah, let’s do it.

AB: Okay, here we go. Let’s talk about “les procédures de contrôle interne.”

AW: It’s funny, because you’d think that the knee-jerk translation would be to translate it as it looks, but it’s not. What I see all the time is that people translate this as “internal audit procedures,” but you really actually should translate this as “internal control procedures.” Sarbanes–Oxley is the reason why. And what that means is the SEC started requiring small companies to document their internal control procedures over financial reporting back in 2007. And, so, companies are required now to put together internal control procedures showing that they have control over their financial reporting, and the term “internal control procedures,” in fact, has kind of leaped over into other domains as well. Back in my prior career as a trade compliance manager, I had to create and implement internal control procedures for customs compliance as well.

AB: Wow.

AW: So, it is a term that you use in industry, and it’s not, nine times out of ten, it’s not going to be audit, it’s going to be internal control.

AB: Okay.

AW: But we think of “contrôle” being “audit,” and, generally speaking, it’s not.

AB: No. Is this because the “contrôle,” the control procedures happen inside the company and the audit would be from an external party coming in and auditing?

AW: Yeah, and sometimes companies do internal audits as well, but in this context, they’re talking about control. Like, do you know what’s going on in your company. Do you have procedures in place that show and document how you handle and manage risk, how you handle and manage your reporting, you know, and your finances, things like that.

AB: And, as translators, we’re told so many times that “control” is not “contrôle” and “contrôle” is not “control.”

AW: Right.

AB: You’re almost tempted to go and find something else just to not use it, and this is the one time.

AW: Right.

AB: This is the one time.

AW: Tricky!

AB: Yup, very tricky. Alright, next up. We actually have a small family of terms that go together. Now in preparing for this episode, Amanda mentioned to me the IFRS. And I had to sheepishly go look it up, because I had no idea what she meant. I didn’t want to admit that to her. It stands for “International Financial Reporting Standards,” and we’ll put that up on the website for those of you who are interested and going to look it up so you don’t have to scramble for a pen just right now. So, let’s take a look at a few IFRS terms. We’re going to start with “secteur opérationnel.” What is this, and what do we do with it?

AW: So, this is just one of those terms, you know, you’re not going to use the word “sector,” you’re going to call this an “operating segment.”

AB: Okay then. I would have had no idea.

AW: It’s what it is.

AB: I would not have known to look at the IFRS for lack of knowing of their existence. Okay, next up we have “participation ne donnant pas de contrôle.”

AW: That’s called a “noncontrolling interest.” It used to be called a “minority interest,” but a few years ago the IFRS said, “Nope, we’ve changed our mind. We don’t want to call it minority interest anymore, we’re going to start calling it “noncontrolling interest,” so, over the past few years, we’ve had to start pushing clients who have been reluctant to change from “minority interest” to “noncontrolling interest,” and say, “Alright, guys, IFRS doesn’t want us to use this word anymore. We’re going to have to start using “noncontrolling interest.” So, little by little, we have to get customers on board with the correct terminology.

AB: And this is the translator pushing the client to use their own industry-specific terminology.

AW: Yeah.

AB: That’s amazing.

AW: If you want to be a good translator, you go, you go…

AB: …the extra mileage. You have to know that before your client even knows it.

AW: Right.

AB: That’s outstanding. The next one, it sounds simple, but wait until you hear the proper way to translate it: “immobilisation corporelle.” What happens here?

AW: So, I see this a fair amount of time. The term in translation for “immobilisation incorporelle” is “intangible asset.”

AB: Okay.

AW: So, one would think that “immobilisation corporelle” is “tangible asset.”

AB: Mmhmm.

AW: But, the good old IFRS says that this should really be “property, plant, and equipment.” That’s the proper accounting term for this word in French.

AB: And if you are not intimately familiar with the IFRS, you would completely… that one would fly over my head. I would have not gotten that right in a million years.

AW: Yeah.

AB: And then, you take an English–French translator, and… “propriété, plante et équipement…”? Euh, pardon, “propriété, usine et équipement.” [laughter] You have to be able to figure that one out in either direction. That one’s amazing. I can’t believe I just said “propriété et plante.” And we can’t go back and erase that. It’s immortalized. It’s not immobilized, but it’s immortalized.

AW: Okay.

AB: Our next term is right up there with the “contrôlé/control” question. We hear it everywhere, to say everything, but in the financial universe, “activité” means something very specific.

AW: Yeah, this one’s fun. And it doesn’t help that French clients really love this word, and I think they prefer just a straight, literal translation into English, but it drives me crazy because we do not use this word in English much. We just don’t. If you go and you look at the annual reports of Facebook, of Pfizer, of Amazon, of Google, of Proctor & Gamble, you’re not going to see the word “activity” hardly at all because it’s just not something we say. Yet, if you go to the annual reports of a French company that’s been translated into English, you’re going to see it 5,000 times.

AB: Mmhmm.

AW: This word is usually going to be “business.”

AB: Yes.

AW: Sometimes, it can be “operations,” especially in an industrial context, if you’re talking about a company that has manufacturing processes or industrial services, like logistics or something like that, then you very well in some contexts say “operations,” but “business” a lot of times can replace “activity.” I urge all of you, every time you see “activité” to think, “Could ‘business’ or ‘operations’ go here?” And if your client argues about it, try to fight it.

AB: Yeah, yeah. Provide some examples.

AW: Yeah.

AB: With texts written directly in English, there’s no “activities” in them at all.

AW: Yeah, I’ve had this fight before, and I have won. It can be done, you guys, I promise.

AB: Amazing. We’ve got another one that sounds simple. What should be aware of when we run into “conformité”?

AW: I see “conformity” all the time, and I don’t get it, you guys, I just don’t. It’s going to be “compliance.”

AB: Okay.

AW: “Compliance,” “noncompliance,” and then, sometimes “en conformité avec” or whatever, that’s going to be “in accordance with,” too, not “in conformity with.”

AB: Interesting.

AW” Or “pursuant to.”

AB: Mmhmm.

AW: You know, but yeah. Let’s stay away from the “conformity.”

AB: Okay, no “conformity.” Interestingly, in the other direction, because I translate in the other direction, “compliance” naturally becomes “conformité,” we’d never think twice about it.

AW: Yeah.

AB: But that’s because we don’t have the option of another strange word hanging out there, like the “conformity” you just mentioned, but yeah, a pitfall in one direction. Great one.

AW: Yeah.

AB: Okay, so that was part 1 of our episode. Now we’re going to do, we’re going to segue to part 2, and we’re going to turn our attention to some full sentences, as opposed to just terms or expressions. We’re going to look at a French text or French sentence. We’re going to look at how to make a complete mess of the translation, and then we’re going to do things the right way, with Amanda’s help. So, I’m going to start with the first French sentence. Here it is: “Le 31 décembre 2014, elles sont essentiellement composées de créances de TVA, 3,4 million d’euros, de charges constatées d’avance, 2,7 million d’ euros, et d’avances et acomptes fournisseurs, 6,3 million euros.” Now, would you like to read the problematic English, or should I go for it?

AW: I’ll do it.

AB: Okay.

AW: Let me preface by saying that this was UK English, so we’ve got that lovely little starter “As at…” “As at 31 December 2014, they essentially consist of VAT receivables, 3.4 million, charges recorded in advance 2.7 million, and supplier prepayments 6.3 million.”

AB: Now, before I got into that, I just want to say that that sounds perfectly fine ot me. [laughter] I don’t see the problem. But I’m a lay person, so I’m going to let Amanda take this one home and tell me exactly how I’m wrong.

AW: Okay, “the charges recorded in advance” is a literal translation that should not be there, basically. So, the correct way to say this would be, “As at 31 December 2014, they essentially consist of VAT receivables, 3.4 million, prepaid expenses for 2.7 million, and supplier prepayments for 6.3 million.”

AB: I think this a perfect example of how the expert eye can pick up the problem, and everybody else…

AW: Yeah.

AB: …is just, I would have never seen that. That’s a great example. Thank you, Amanda.

AW: You’re welcome.

AB: On to the next one! The French version is, “toute re…” oh, excuse me, “toutes les autres dépenses sont comptabilisées directement en charges dès qu’encourues,” and the terrible English—I’ll go for it this time—“All other expenditure is recorded directly as a charge as soon as incurred.” Okay, what’s wrong here?

AW: “Charge,” basically.

AB: Okay.

AW: We have two ways of fixing this. We could either say “All other expenditure is reported directly as an expense as soon as incurred,” or, you could make it even easier and say “All other expenditure is expensed as soon as it’s incurred.”

AB: Okay. And do you mind me asking what the problem with “charge” is?

AW: So…

AB: I’m just curious

AW: Yeah, this is an income statement thing. So, when you’re in accounting, and you’re running a company’s accounting, every action that the company does is going to be either recorded as income or as an expense.

AB: Okay.

AW: So, basically, they’re not using the correct terminology. So, if you take a company, and you sell it, …

AB: Mmhmm.

AW: You’ve just made income. So, you would record the sale of that business as income on your income statement. But then let’s say you were sued by a company for a million dollars because you did something terrible.

AB: Oh, no.

AW: Alright. That would be an expense.

AB: Okay. And you know what, the minute I asked you that question I… something came to mind. You charge your customers.

AW: Right.

AB: That’s where that word goes.

AW: Right.

AB: I was charged this morning when I went shopping.

AW: Right.

AB: But I’m an individual not a company with an income statement.

AW: Right.

AB: That makes a lot of sense.

AW: Yeah.

AB: Alright. Next one. “Les opérations entre l’entité et une participation ne donnant pas de contrôle sont traitées comme des opérations portant sur les capitaux propres.” I’m not sure what I just read. [laughter] Do you want to give us the bad English?

AW: Sure. “Transactions between an entity and equity interest that do not provide control are considered equity transactions.”

AB: Okay. And what is wrong, and what should we say?

AW: The problem is “that do not provide control.” That’s just a very long, roundabout way of saying what you need to say.

AB: Mmhmm.

AW: The correct way would be “Transactions between an entity and noncontrolling interests are considered equity transactions.”

AB: Okay. I just noticed something with this one. Obviously, the “do not provide control” came from “ne donnant pas…

AW: Yeah.

AB: …for to give,” and, in the corrected English, we got rid of the verb, which is so unusual, like, we usually add verbs in English, and this time, we whisked him away with very elegant “noncontrolling interests,” which I’ve actually heard before. I think I know what it means.

AW: Yeah.

AB: And strangely, the correct version starts to make sense to me, even as a nonfinancial person.

AW: Sometimes you don’t need more verbs and words.

AB: Yeah, you just need more clarity.

AW: Exactly.

AB: Amazing. [laughter] Okay, next one. “En application de la norme IAS 19R, la société comptabilise les écarts actuariels, en moins des capitaux propres, en autres éléments du résultat global, net d’impôts différés.” Okay, let’s take a sip of tea [laughter], while Amanda reads us the bad one. Or would you like me to read the bad English?

AW: I can do it.

AB: Okay.

AW: “In application of IAS 19R, the company recorded actuarial differences as a reduction of equity under ‘other overall income’, net of differed taxes.” Alright.

AB: Mmhmm.

AW: So, we’ve got a couple issues here. The “application” drives me a little bit bonkers, and it’s not “overall income.” We call that “comprehensive income.”

AB: Okay.

AW: So, my sense is, “In accordance with IAS 19R, the company recorded actuarial differences as a reduction of equity under ‘other comprehensive income,’ net of differed taxes.”

AB: Wow. I was not sure what happened to this company? What did happen to this company? But this is another perfect illustration of “you need to know what you’re talking about” because, even in, like, general life, the difference between “overall” and “comprehensive,” I mean, they sound like two great synonyms, but they’re not.

AW: Yeah, “comprehensive income” is just, it’s a term that’s widely recognized, and you want to make sure that you use the term that all accountants are going to know…

AB: Yes.

AW: …and understand.

AB: Absolutely. You don’t want to send them on a journey to try to figure out what you would have said, what you should have said.

AW: Right. With translation, that’s what you’re supposed to do, is make it to where they understand what you’re saying, you know, they’re not supposed to have to interpret what you wrote.

AB: Exactly. Okay, next one. “Autorisation à donner au directoire en vue de l’achat par la société de ses propres actions (27ème résolution). The incorrect version: “Authorization to be given to the executive board in view of the company’s purchase of its own shares (27th resolution),” and I’m kind of excited to say that when I originally read that, without reading the correction, I sort of sensed what was wrong with “of its own shares,” but I will let Amanda tell us more.

AW: What I did is—“purchase of its own shares,” that’s just a mouthful, right?

AB: Mmhmm.

AW: In English, we have share buybacks, so the correct translation would be “Authorization to be given to the executive board for the company’s share buyback.” And you’ll notice, I got rid of “in view of.” “For” is good enough. You don’t have to be fancy.

AB: Nope, this is more straightforward.

AW: Yeah.

AB: And you’re not attracting attention to the wrong things.

AW: Exactly.

AB: “Share buyback.” I’ve read about that in the news, and it kind of jumped at me. I was mildly proud, for two minutes.

AW: Yay! [laughter] Hurray!

AB: And, we have one more. It’s the last one for today. “Opérations avec apparentés.” First of all, what is an “apparenté”?

AW: It’s a “related party.”

AB: [laughter] I had no idea!

AW: Yeah, when a company has subsidiaries

AB: Okay.

AW: Yeah, those subsidiaries are “apparentés.”

AB: Oh, okay.

AW: Alright, so, this is the incorrect version, it’s called “Operations with related parties.”

AB: Okay.

AW: And, the correct is “Related-party transactions.”

AB: Nice.

AW: A lot of times, “operations” should be translated as “transactions” in financial translation.

AB: Mmhmm.

AW: Not all the time, but definitely, you know, look at the context. If you’re talking about a purchase, a disposal, any kind of…

AB: Money’s changing hands?

AW: Yes, yeah, any time money’s changing hands, it’s going to be transaction, not operation.

AB: Yes. “Operation” almost sounds surgical.

AW: Yeah.

AB: We don’t want that. “Transactions.” Which, why do we even use “opérations” in French? We have “transactions,” but “opérations” is better.

AW: They always use “opérations.”

AB: Yup. For some reason. Amanda, we did it!

AW: Yay!

AB: We survived financial terminology. Well, I survived, you did awesome. [laughter]

AW: Thank you.

AB: Thank you for these examples. Thank you so much for taking the time to sit down with me today, on this beautiful afternoon.

AW: Yeah.

AB: It was a pleasure to have you.

AW: Thank you so much! It was a pleasure to be here!

AB: This concludes our episode for today. Our podcast is produced by the French Language Division of the American Translators Association. Our current administrator is Eve Bodeux. Our current assistant administrator is Jen Mercer. You can subscribe to the continuing education series podcast on Soundcloud at soundcloud.com/ata-fld, or on iTunes by searching for the words “continuing education series” in the iTunes store. You can contact the FLD at divisionfld [at] atanet [dot] org, or visit our website at www.ata-divisions.org/FLD, and make sure to put those last three letters in capital. In uppercase. You can also get in touch with us on social media. This is Angela Benoit signing off. Thanks for listening, and à bientôt !

Amanda N. Williams is an ATA-certified French to English translator specialized in business, international trade and financial translation. Prior to becoming a translator, she had a career in international trade where she held roles in sales, operations and trade compliance management.

Amanda currently serves as assistant administrator for the ATA’s Literary Division. She also served six years on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Association of Interpreters and Translators (the Georgia Chapter of the ATA). You can find her on Twitter as the Adorkable Translator (@Adorkable_Trans), on her website at www.mirrorimagetranslations.com or you can reach her via email at amanda@mirrorimagetranslations.com.

Transcribed by Joan Wallace. She has been a full-time freelance translator for nearly 30 years. She holds ATA certification from French to English and Spanish to English, and also translates from Thai to English. She works primarily in medical and pharmaceutical translation, although she occasionally wanders further afield, including an ongoing collaboration with a historian involving French-English translation of 19th-century handwritten documents. She is based in Madison, Wisconsin. You can connect with her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/joanwallace

Welcome to the 19th episode of the French Language Division’s Continuing Education Series. In this episode, podcast host Andie Ho and certified FLD member Emily Moorlach talk about Emily’s experience participating in the FLD’s ATA certification exam study group and her experience taking the online certification exam.

Emily also recently wrote about her experience for the Savvy Newcomer. Check out her post, Taking and Preparing for ATA’s Online Certification Exam.

Did you know the FLD has two study groups, one for French to English and one for English to French, to help its members ace the certification exam? If certification is one of your professional goals, you could participate. These groups are a free benefit for FLD members.

Emily Moorlach is an ATA-certified French to English translator who began her career in 2016 as the Translation and Interpretation Program Manager and freelance official document translator for a non-profit organization. In 2019, after a whirlwind trip through 45 cities in Europe, Emily returned to the U.S. to start her freelance translation business, Langue Vivante LLC. She holds a B.A. in French and a B.S. in Accounting from Iowa State University. Emily also studied at La Sorbonne in Paris and has held positions as a high school French teacher and luxury travel advisor. Her main specializations include official documents, corporate communications, and tourism industry materials. For more information, visit www.langue-vivante.com.

ATA Podcast host Andie Ho is a certified French to English translator specializing in the food industry. She earned her M.A. in translation from Kent State University and is now based in the Houston area. She currently serves as the ATA’s French Language Division administrator. You can follow her on Twitter at @JHawkTranslator or email her at andie@andiehotranslations.com.

HOW TO LISTEN

SOUNDCLOUD: You can listen to or download Episode 19 and all previous episodes on Soundcloud here.

ITUNES: This episode and all previous episodes are available on iTunes here. You can subscribe or listen online. Like what you hear? Rate us and review us! It really helps get the word out.

Par Thomas L. West III

Frédéric Houbert, bien connu des traducteurs juridiques pour ses ouvrages de référence incontournables, tels le Dictionnaire de terminologie juridique anglais-français, dont la deuxième édition est parue en 2020, montre sa belle plume dans sa nouvelle œuvre La jurilinguistique dans tous ses états (Tome I). L’auteur met en évidence sa profonde connaissance du langage du droit en nous offrant un journal dans lequel il raconte ses expériences, ses lectures et ses observations en tant que traducteur, lexicographe et passionné de la jurilinguistique. Quatre thèmes lui servent de fil conducteur tout au long du livre : le langage du droit dans la littérature, les termes juridiques anciens, la traduction juridique et les dictionnaires. Dans un premier temps, il passe en revue les congrès de traduction auxquels il a participé un peu partout dans le monde, que ce soit en tant qu’intervenant ou simple participant. Dans le cadre de ces colloques, il a fait la connaissance des grands ténors qui ont fait la jurilinguistique, tels Jean-Claude Gémar, Susan Sarcevic, Louis Beaudoin et Larry Solan et nous rappelle les contributions de chacun. Ensuite, il nous fait (re)découvrir les références au monde du Droit et aux gens de robe chez les auteurs classiques français, de La Fontaine à Maupassant, en passant par Racine, Molière et Balzac. C’est chez un autre de ces grands écrivains, Montesquieu, qu’il découvre les origines du « langage clair », qui continue de faire couler beaucoup d’encre au XXI^e siècle. Et il ne s’agit pas là de la seule mention de thèmes d’actualité. En effet, un billet de six pages est consacré à la modernisation du Code civil.

Dans d’autres chapitres, Frédéric Houbert passe en revue des livres (tels Le Droit n’est pas si vil et The Party of the First Part) sur le langage juridique qui ont vocation à faire sourire leurs lecteurs. En plus, il consacre quelque 16 pages aux termes juridiques ô combien drôles employés à Jersey, qui m’ont bien fait rire. Mais les autres pays au système juridique « mixte » ne sont pas négligés pour autant. Par exemple, l’auteur évoque les particularités du langage du Droit en Inde, au Maroc et à l’île Maurice. Et pour les inconditionnels de la culture populaire américaine, Houbert ménage une surprise : il raconte le rôle qu’ont joué les paroles des chansons de Bruce Springsteen dans les arrêts de la Cour suprême des États-Unis.

Frédéric Houbert tire de l’oubli des dictionnaires anciens qui n’ont pas perdu leur intérêt pour les passionnés du langage du Droit. Parmi ceux-ci on peut citer le Dictionnaire de droit et de pratique de Ferrière (1734) et le Dictionnaire de droit de Delbreil (1852). Il évoque aussi des dictionnaires modernes, allant de ceux qui sont connus de tous, comme le fameux Black’s, au Dictionnaire des expressions juridiques, qui n’est pas aussi célèbre parmi les traducteurs mais mérite sans doute de l’être.

Même si le livre que voici s’adresse de prime abord aux francophones natifs, les traducteurs du français vers la langue de Shakespeare y trouveront leur compte. En effet, l’auteur explique avec soin des expressions de date récente dont la traduction n’est peut-être pas encore connue des traducteurs vers l’anglais, telles « témoin assisté » et « question prioritaire de constitutionnalité », et revient sur les termes archaïques que l’on peut encore rencontrer dans les arrêts des cours françaises et qui peuvent être difficiles à traduire, surtout pour les anglophones. Les régionalismes juridiques risquent, eux aussi, d’être une source de confusion pour le traducteur accoutumé à traduire des documents franco-français. Là encore, l’auteur vient en aide en consacrant quelque sept pages aux belgicismes juridiques.

Dans sa préface, Frédéric Houbert nous promet que ce premier tome sera suivi d’un tome II. Les traducteurs, les lexicographes, les jurilinguistes et les amoureux de la langue française et de son histoire auront hâte de lire la suite, sachant qu’un vrai délice les attend.

Après avoir obtenu son diplôme de Juris Doctor à l’Université de Virginie en 1990, Thomas West a exercé comme avocat dans un grand cabinet d’Atlanta pendant cinq ans avant de devenir jurilinguiste. Il a plus de 25 ans d’expérience dans la traduction juridique et a donné des conférences sur ce sujet en Europe, en Amérique latine, en Afrique du Sud et aux États-Unis. De 2001 à 2003, il a été président de l’American Translators Association (ATA). Il est l’auteur de plusieurs dictionnaires juridiques bilingues, dont le Spanish-English Dictionary of Law and Business et le Swiss Law Dictionary (French-German-English), et a donné un cours de traduction juridique anglais-français/français-anglais à l’université Montclair State dans le premier semestre de 2021. En plus de sa langue maternelle et du français, Thomas West parle l’espagnol, l’allemand, le néerlandais, le suédois, le russe et l’afrikaans.

Welcome to the 18th episode of the French Language Division’s Continuing Education Series. In today’s episode, podcast host Cathy-Eitel Nzume and certified FLD members Matt Bunczk and Beth Smith share their experiences taking the ATA certification exam.

Matthew Bunczk is an ATA-certified German-to-English and ATA-certified French-to-English translator specializing in business, legal, and financial translations. He is based near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in French from Ursinus College and a Certificate of Proficiency in Paralegal Studies from Delaware County Community College. His undergraduate studies brought him to Strasbourg, France, various parts of Europe, and Senegal, West Africa. After providing translations to employers on an ad hoc basis starting in 2006, he decided to turn translation into a career and has been translating full-time since 2015. You can find him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewbunczk.

Beth Smith is an ATA-certified French to English translator living near Houston, Texas. She specializes in advertising and marketing (especially cosmetics and luxury goods), entertainment, and literary translation. You can learn more about her work at www.itranslateFrench.net or check out her Twitter hijinks here: @BethTranslates.

ATA Podcast host Cathy-Eitel Nzume is a certified French to English and English to French Court Interpreter, translator, Department of State Certified Linguist and legal professional. She specializes in legal and conference interpreting as well as legal and financial translation. You can find her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathyeitelnzume/ or on Twitter at @CathyENzume.

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SOUNDCLOUD: You can listen to or download Episode 18 and all previous episodes on Soundcloud here.

ITUNES: This episode and all previous episodes are available on iTunes here. You can subscribe or listen online. Like what you hear? Rate us!

By Amber Marcum Combaud

In December 2020, I took part in the French Language Division’s monthly meet-up. A longtime member of the ATA but trepidatious newcomer to the live, informal meetings held since the beginning of the pandemic, the chosen topic of discussion drew me in and motivated me to extend my normal work hours (GMT+1) to fit it into my schedule. That topic was feedback: giving and getting it, and hosted by Karen Tkaczyk. At the end of an hour spent pleasantly chatting with other members on both sides of the Atlantic and sharing our experiences—and apprehension—about feedback, the FLD announced it would launch an ATA Certification Exam Study Group in January 2021.

A no-brainer decision

After learning of this new FLD activity, making the decision to participate and integrate it into my CPD goals for 2021 was a no-brainer. After I completed my certificate in translation through the NYU SCPS’s online program in 2010, the idea of sitting for the ATA certification exam was enough to make me break out in hives. Though I now have a number of years of full-time freelancing under my belt, the added stress of having to fly back to the US to sit for it always made me push the exam to the bottom of my to-do list. The accountability, group dynamic, and the possibility of connecting with peers were all factors that convinced me that this was the perfect time to rise to the challenge and I planned to join this new group.

Certification exam practice à la FLD

The FLD was inspired by the Slavic Languages Division’s 2017 concept to form its own remote, asynchronous study group. In contrast to the SLD’s approach, the FLD’s self-study group is a less formal version, designed to suit the style and dynamic of the division. At the beginning of each month, an email is sent out by Andie Ho with a short text to translate under exam conditions, along with some context as to the purpose of the text, similar to the instructions that would be given on an actual exam. Links to the ample resources available on the ATA website are provided each month for newcomers. These cover the certification exam itself, a framework for standardized error marking, along with error descriptions. From that point, the translator is free to organize their practice as they wish. They must simply alert Andie by the stated deadline in order to be paired up with a partner for review and feedback. The pairs or groups (in the event of an odd number of participants in a given month) determine how they exchange feedback, whether via the Track Changes mode in Word, a Zoom or telephone call, email exchanges, or a combination of these. A separate, dedicated Discord channel was also created as a forum for terminology, discussing challenges and asking general questions.

How I approach the practice texts and feedback

Translation strategy

I generally complete the translation towards the end of the month so that the text is top of mind. To train myself for the actual exam, I try to stick to an hour max. for all steps in the process: reading the instructions and the full text, term identification, research, drafting, revision and a “read-aloud” review. A side-by-side comparison with the original is important for ensuring that I haven’t left out any words or ideas, a mistake that could be costly. In an exam situation, I would move on to the second passage after the revision step in order to leave time for my text to mature in my mind before doing any tweaking prior to submittal. Depending on the subject and type of text, most months I am able to stay within this timeframe, but in others I have pushed it to 1.5 hours. This would be risky in a real exam, since the time limit is three hours.

The feedback phase

Once partner assignments have gone out, I take the time to review the original passage as well as my own translation, listing any questions I might want to bring up with my partner. As I read through their text, I try to keep in mind the fact that the first item in the list explaining what the certification exam tests for is “compliance with the specifications of the Translation Instructions.” While the goal is certainly not to train as a grader, following the example of one of my peer reviewers, I now try to apply the grading framework in order to identify types of errors. This helps me to keep to the neutral side of constructive criticism. Finally, since the Framework for Standardized Error Marking does allow points to be awarded for “up to three specific instances of exceptional translation,” I make a point to highlight well-written phrases and good word choices in the person’s text as well as smart approaches to prickly issues in the original.

Regarding feedback

I’ve most appreciated when we’ve been able to create dialogue regarding the challenges of a specific text and individual choices. In general, I have received feedback in Track Changes in Word, but I have also been able to connect virtually with a few of my partners to make their acquaintance on Zoom. This has been a positive, satisfying part of my experience. Overall, the process has allowed me to open up more to constructive criticism and confront potential blind spots with humility.

Personal takeaways

A wider range of texts to translate

From the start of my career, I’ve had a pretty narrow niche, due to how I got my start as a translator in a technical field. When I began freelancing, I was able to branch out into other fields and types of documents. The study group has provided a refreshing variety of topics to work on, and not having a choice in the assignments has been beneficial to help me identify and break free from old patterns.

Style

Living in Europe, at times I am asked to conform to UK spelling rather than US. This means that my eyes have become more accepting of spelling variations, an area where losing points would be nonsense! Further, being surrounded by French speakers can prove dangerous if I allow Romance-language structure too much influence on my writing in English. Going into the practice test and any real exam sitting, I’ll know to pay particular attention to both of these points.

Unexpected situations

Through the proposed texts, I’ve encountered a few unexpected situations, like a presumed typo in a company name. While I’m not sure that this curveball was intended, I’ve been able to research how to handle this situation were it to arise during a real exam sitting. I’m also better prepared to manage the technical aspects of what graders expect in terms of deliverables.

Next steps

As summertime is quickly approaching, my next step is completing a practice test passage. I’m also considering how to take advantage of this typically slower period of the year to do more self-study. If all goes as planned, I’ll sit for one of the remote exams offered in September.

In the future, once I’ve reached my goal of certification, I’d like to join a Rev Club. I’ve really enjoyed getting to work with other translators in this non-competitive setting and enriching my own work through contact with theirs.

Advantages of the remote, asynchronous format

• You can participate on your own time, per your schedule.
• Joining the study group does not require you to translate the text each month.
• The long-term nature of the group allows you to familiarize yourself with the dense information about the exam over a longer period of time and break it down in smaller, easy to digest portions.
• Participants can choose a way to meet and give feedback that suits their personality, preferences and/or schedule.
• The Discord channel is open for discussion outside your assigned pair or group.

Limitations of a remote practice test group

• It can be hard to gauge improvement, as the type of text changes each month.
• There is no benchmark translation with which to compare your work.
• You may find that translating one text per month may not be enough practice and it could be difficult to maintain momentum.
• Feedback and interaction with peers vary.
• Not everyone sees or is connected to the Discord group.

Possible routes to refinement

Getting started

For an into-English group, it could be helpful to spend the first month focusing on the Into-English Grading Standards. This would set aside time specifically for reading the available resource materials, getting familiar with the test format and dos and don’ts, as well as questions, before starting to work on translation passages.

Fostering group interactions

Because the group is not static, and not everyone completes the translation each month, you may end up working with the same partner on multiple occasions. In this event, the Discord channel can be used to request additional input on a specific point or to share something you’ve learned. An additional benefit of doing so is that other FLD members may see your post and get involved in the discussion.

Involving already-certified translators

One particular component of the SLD’s study group cycle that stands out as a potential improvement to the FLD initiative is the Expert Feedback step. The article linked above mentions that “the organizers put together a list of challenges encountered and solicit feedback from volunteer experts… the reviewers do not grade each individual translation, but do provide overall guidance on common challenges.” I found this appealing, although it would require care so that guidelines and expectations are clear for both participants and volunteer CT.

Final thoughts

Over the past five months, the experience has given me the opportunity to meet and exchange feedback with five different colleagues, only one of whom I had ever crossed paths with in the past. This has been the most surprising benefit of committing to working towards certification. When I first joined the ATA, I lived outside a major metropolitan area without a local chapter. In spite of attending the annual conference in NYC in 2009, I found it difficult to stay in touch with members before social media was considered an essential part of our professional lives. Thus far, I’ve really appreciated feeling a sense of belonging to the FLD and developing stronger ties to the ATA by extension.

No matter the form it takes, a certification exam study group is a golden opportunity to invest in your professional development. In the end, it only requires a few hours each month. If this inside look at what the FLD study group can be has motivated you to give it a go, contact divisionFLD [at] atanet.org to sign up and specify if you would like to participate in the French to English group or the English to French group.

Amber Marcum Combaud holds a professional certificate in French to English translation from NYU and a Bachelors in French and Linguistics from UVA. She got her big break in translation thanks to a wine and cheese party. Thereafter, she spent five years working as an in-house technical and corporate communications translator–project administrator for a company in the power generation niche. Currently based in Marseille, she began freelancing in 2016 to serve a wider range of clients in the energy, industry, and construction sectors, local businesses seeking to expand their horizons abroad, and individuals. An active member of the Société française des traducteurs in PACA, she served as a delegate from 2017–2019. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, paddle boarding, art museums, and live jazz. amber [at] amc-communication.com / www.amc-communication.com

 

By Sam Mowry

How it can be March 2021 when it feels like it never stopped being March 2020, I’ll never know! But it’s a new month and a new chance to compare translations. If you need a quick refresher, you can read about the premise of the Beat the Machine mini translation slam in our inaugural post here. Very simply, we’re out to prove how much better human translators are than machines and maybe learn something from one another in the process. After last month’s technical beast, we’re going in a very different direction this month with by far our shortest sentence ever:

Le réveil fut brutal.

Yes, it really is just four words long! This is an excerpt from the book L’Insomnie by Tahar Ben Jelloun. Rather than showing you what Google Translate would have given us (feel free to check, if you’re curious!), here is the context for this sentence, which ends a chapter:

Mes rêves étaient denses et riches. Je me voyais voguer sur les flots bleus de la Méditerranée, comme si j’étais sur des skis. J’allais très vite, des oiseaux de toutes les couleurs m’accompagnaient. Je chantais, je dansais, comme dans un film de Fred Astaire ! J’étais heureux et je crois même que je m’entichai d’une femme brune à la longue chevelure. Mais quelqu’un me disait à l’oreille : « Attention, c’est la mort ; il arrive parfois qu’elle se déguise pour faire diversion ! » C’est alors que je suis tombé dans la mer, je me noyais. Le réveil fut brutal.

Despite the rest of these words before it, I’m only asking for a translation of the very last sentence there. Four words, including a tense we don’t have in English and a noun that doesn’t have a direct equivalent. There are a million ways to go with this, so let’s see what you do!

Submit your translation here by March 31, 2021, and the blog post discussing it will go up in April!

Please note the following:

• Only FLD members will have their translations posted on this blog. Membership is free for current ATA members, so if you aren’t a member yet, make sure to join before you submit your translation!
• You are free to submit your sentence anonymously, but half the fun will be crediting the creative submissions we receive by name and recognizing their authors.
• You may submit as many times as you like in case you have a stroke of genius after your initial submission. This month in particular; you are encouraged to submit as many times as you like!

Have you translated or read a particularly pesky sentence this year that you can share for this project? Please send it along! Are you interested in helping us do the same virtual translation slam, but from English to French? We’d love to have one or more volunteers to do this series, but in reverse! If you’re interested, please contact Ben Karl, the À Propos editor, at ben [at] bktranslation.com or myself, Sam Mowry, at sam [at] frenchtranslation.expert to let us know!

 

 

By Sam Mowry

Welcome to the February follow-up of our Beat the Machine challenge! In our January post, I suggested a sentence to be translated and asked FLD members to submit their own versions, presumably improving upon the machine translated option. Now it’s time to go over some of their particularly interesting solutions.

As a refresher, this is what we were working with:

La gestion des résultats hors spécification a été revue au travers du dossier suivant : n° XYXY relatif à la fiche n° 123 de maléate de trimébutine dont le point de fusion a été mesuré non conforme ; l’hypothèse d’un capillaire trop rempli pour l’analyse a été confirmée par les séries de mesure n° 2 et n° 3 qui ont donné des résultats conformes.

And here’s what Google Translate gave us:

The management of non-specification results was reviewed through the following file: No. XYXY relating to sheet No. 123 of trimebutine maleate whose melting point was measured as non-compliant; the hypothesis of a capillary too full for analysis was confirmed by series of measurements n ° 2 and n ° 3 which gave consistent results.

Isn’t that fun? No points awarded for guessing this month’s theme, which is clearly SUPER DUPER technical. If it weren’t patently obvious (see what I did there?), this sentence was supplied by our beloved FLD colleague and technical translator extraordinaire, Karen Tkacyzk. Thanks, Karen, for this fascinating glimpse into technical translation. While this sentence struck fear into many hearts this month, mine among them, it’s an excellent opportunity to reflect and appreciate how varied the world of translation is. Even within a single language pair (French into English), the range of materials to be translated runs the gamut from literary fiction to texts like this one and literally everything in between. From a marketing perspective, it’s a good reminder that it’s almost impossible to specialize too narrowly, because this kind of extremely specific text exists in the world and needs to be translated. From a competition perspective, it’s a delight to remember that the vast majority of FR>EN translators are your colleagues, not your competition. I’m just one example, but this text is so far from the kind of texts I work with, and more importantly, it’s even farther from the kinds of texts I have any desire at all to work with. There are more than enough topics for everyone—and on the rare chance that there are many translators specializing in your language, direction, and specific subject: what a gift! A community you can reach out to when you get stuck on a term!

 Karen, blessedly, provided two translations, in her words, “the first one fairly faithful and the second more me writing what they mean”:

Translation 1:

The management of out-of-specification results was reviewed through file No. XYXY regarding form No. 123 for trimebutine maleate, where the melting point was measured as nonconforming. The hypothesis given of testing having been done with a capillary that was too full was confirmed by second and third measurement series, which gave conforming results.

Translation 2:

The management of out-of-specification results was reviewed through file No. XYXY regarding Certificate of Analysis No. 123 for trimebutine maleate, where the melting point measurement did not comply. The hypothesis given, that this was caused by testing with a capillary that was too full, was confirmed by two more series of measurements, where the results complied.

 To translate this yet again into what the sentence actually means (for laypeople like myself): there was a result that didn’t fall in line with the numbers it was supposed to. It was used as a case study for how that kind of result is handled. In this case, specifically form 123 in file no. XYXY, the melting point of a specific chemical seemed wrong. The people testing hypothesized that there was too much of said chemical in the tube to get an accurate result, which they verified by doing it two more times. Then the results were good.

Due to the nature of this sentence, evaluating the submissions we received is more a case of pass/fail, “Is this correct?” than critiquing fun turns of phrase. If you submitted a translation for this sentence, thank you! I really appreciate it, and you did a great job. All the submissions we received were reasonably accurate. I wanted to highlight one that read as particularly smooth to me, as someone without a technical background:

Out-of-specification result management was reviewed using File No. XYXY relating to Sheet No. 123 for trimebutine maleate, whose melting point was found to be non-compliant. Test series No. 2 and No. 3 yielded compliant results, which confirmed the hypothesis that a capillary tube had been overfilled during testing.

I asked Karen for her professional opinion, and she noted that, “Whoever submitted it knows what’s going on and is a decent technical translator.” Congratulations, anonymous submitter! Karen said that the only thing she’d change is that “during testing” at the end of the sentence is ambiguous, but in the source, it does mean the first series. She suggested “…during initial testing,” or “…during the first series.”

Thanks again for all of your submissions! Stay tuned for next month, which I promise will be very different indeed!

Did you forget to submit a translation in time? Not to worry! Share your version on Twitter and tag the French Language Division (@ATA_FLD) and me, @SamTranslates.

If you would like to submit a sentence for a future slam, I would like that very much! You can contact me, Sam Mowry, directly at sam [at] frenchtranslation.expert or on Twitter at the handle listed above. You can also contact the À Propos Editor Ben Karl at ben [at] bktranslation.com.

If you’d like to help launch a similar slam but into French, please also reach out!

Par Laurence Jay-Rayon Ibrahim Aibo, PhD

Bonjour à toustes !

Si la lecture de cette formule de politesse n’a provoqué chez vous ni embolie gazeuse ni violente allergie, vous pouvez continuer à lire le reste de cet article. Âmes résistantes au changement, s’abstenir.

La représentativité constitue un enjeu majeur en ressources humaines. Que l’on traduise une offre d’emploi, une politique d’entreprise ou une nouvelle directive, il s’agit de permettre à tout le monde (et non « à chacun », tournure genrée) de se reconnaître et de se projeter dans un texte. À une époque où les entreprises investissent des sommes considérables dans leur image et veillent à assurer une meilleure parité des genres sur leurs visuels, il est de bon ton — et grand temps — que les textes que nous traduisons soient à la hauteur.

« Aujourd’hui, une offre d’emploi rédigée uniquement avec un masculin générique (par exemple, informaticien recherché) pourrait être perçue comme sexiste. Un texte qui s’adresse à un lectorat mixte, ou qui concerne des hommes et des femmes, peut être rédigé de manière à ce que les deux sexes s’y trouvent équitablement représentés. » (Druide. « Rédaction inclusive ». Points de langue. Avril 2020.)

Ceci n’est pas plus une stratégie

« Dans ce texte, le masculin englobe les deux genres et est utilisé pour alléger le texte. »

Bien entendu, la foudre ne s’abattra pas sur vous si vous utilisez encore cette formule ô combien pratique (« je n’ai pas à m’embêter et puis on a toujours fait comme ça ![1] »), mais, progressivement, votre clientèle exigera de vous, spécialistes de la langue, des solutions. « En français, l’identité de genre des personnes et le genre grammatical, féminin ou masculin, sont étroitement associés. » (OQLF, Banque de dépannage linguistique)

Force est de constater que toutes les régions francophones n’en sont pas au même stade de réflexion. Le Québec a, très tôt, commencé à se pencher sérieusement sur le sujet. Il n’est donc pas surprenant de trouver une pléthore de recommandations, de guides et de suggestions linguistiques en matière de rédaction inclusive au Québec. En France, l’indifférence et la résistance des autorités linguistiques et de certaines institutions ont considérablement ralenti la créativité linguistique. Aujourd’hui, cependant, personne ne veut être en reste et la plupart des pays francophones d’Europe ont emboîté le pas au Québec, à des degrés différents.

Dans ce qui suit, je présenterai quelques stratégies toutes simples pouvant être appliquées aux textes de ressources humaines que nous traduisons de l’anglais au français, langue qui marque plus fortement le genre que l’anglais et dont l’évolution se heurte à des résistances de tous genres. Partant du principe que la traduction est une forme de rédaction contrainte, les mots « rédaction » et « rédiger » utilisés ci‑dessous engloberont automatiquement l’activité de traduction. Je précise que ce billet n’a aucune prétention à effectuer un recensement exhaustif de toutes les ressources des régions francophones évoquées.

Le Petit Robert en ligne précise que l’écriture inclusive s’efforce « d’assurer une représentation égale des hommes et des femmes dans les textes. » Aussitôt dit, aussitôt fait ? Pas si vite, pas si simple. Féminiser un texte consiste à utiliser des formes féminines en le rédigeant, ce qui peut passer par la féminisation des noms de professions (informaticien ou informaticienne, informaticien(-ne), informaticien·ne) ou par le choix de certaines formes grammaticales (tous et toutes). On reviendra sur le choix des formes à notre disposition dans quelques instants. L’écriture épicène, c’est-à-dire qui ne varie pas en fonction du genre, constitue l’une des autres stratégies pouvant être mises en œuvre. « Le nom journaliste, l’adjectif pauvre et le pronom je sont épicènes. » (Dictionnaire Usito). La prolifération récente des guides et manuels d’écriture épicène montre que cette stratégie est aujourd’hui recommandée partout et par tout le monde, car elle permet d’alléger le texte sans imposer de changement et, par conséquent, sans provoquer de résistance audit changement.

Examinons quelques stratégies de rédaction équitable, puis quelques exemples de stratégies de rédaction épicène.

Doublets

• Les conseillers et les conseillères

Alternance de désignations à caractère dit « générique »

• Utiliser à tour de rôle « infirmier » et « infirmière »

Accord de proximité

• Les rédacteurs et rédactrices sont préparées.
• Les rédactrices et rédacteurs sont préparés.

Notons au passage que l’accord de proximité est encore loin de faire l’unanimité et qu’il est encore difficile, dans le milieu de la traduction, de le proposer à sa clientèle, bien que la règle d’accord du masculin générique n’ait pas toujours existé. En effet, l’accord de proximité a été appliqué dans la langue française pendant plusieurs siècles.

L’utilisation de la troncation, encore appelée doublets abrégés, constitue une autre stratégie d’équité linguistique, dont les formes préconisées varient en fonction des sphères géographiques et des préférences personnelles. L’auteur·e de l’article « Rédaction inclusive » publié dans Points de langue en avril 2020 conseille de les réserver « à des contextes exceptionnels où l’espace manque (tableaux, formulaires) et où aucune solution de rechange n’est possible », et propose un classement des formes de troncation en fonction de leur « nuisance croissante », dont voici la distribution :

« adjoint(e)s
résident·e·s
salarié[é]s
plombier/ière/s
réviseur-euse-s
étudiantEs
lecteur.trice.s »

La troncation avec point médian, comme dans « les candidat·e·s » ou « les candidat·es » (notons que la seconde formule, avec point médian unique où la marque du pluriel est accolée à la marque du féminin, semble être aujourd’hui davantage préconisée que la première), est beaucoup utilisée en sciences sociales et dans la presse française. Les doublets abrégés, comme dans « autorisation du (de la) directeur(‑trice) » ou « signature du [de la] sauveteur[-euse] », sont préconisés par l’Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF). Le Bureau de la traduction, au Canada, déconseille fortement tout signe de troncation, position assez problématique lorsque l’on traduit un texte avec de fortes contraintes spatiales, tel qu’un formulaire, et que des doublets complets ou une tournure épicène sont impossibles. Avant d’aller plus loin, précisons que les partisans du point médian font valoir que ce signe typographique était disponible, au sens de « pas encore pris », tandis que le point traditionnel marque la fin d’une phrase, que les parenthèses indiquent un propos secondaire (connotation problématique lorsque l’objectif désiré est l’équité), que la barre oblique fait référence à la division et que le tiret est déjà utilisé pour le trait d’union (dont la connotation est cependant nettement moins problématique que les parenthèses).

Qui fait quoi ?

Au Québec, la plupart des universités publient des guides sur la féminisation et sur la rédaction inclusive. L’Office québécois de la langue française, le Bureau de la traduction et Druide, l’entreprise de services linguistiques qui est à l’origine du logiciel Antidote, mais aussi du blogue Points de langue, offrent une pléthore de ressources, dont certaines figurent dans la liste de références qui suit cet article.

En France, les multiples résistances de l’Académie française ont considérablement retardé l’entérinement de la féminisation des noms de métier. L’écriture épicène et la troncation avec point médian sont aujourd’hui préconisées par certains organismes publics, dont le Haut Conseil à l’Égalité, qui publie un guide pratique intitulé Pour une communication publique sans stéréotype de sexe. Le point médian semble être rentré dans les mœurs de certaines rédactions et l’agence de communication Mots-clés publie un Manuel d’écriture inclusive recommandé dans certaines universités françaises.

En Suisse, des efforts conséquents ont été déployés en la matière, notamment par l’Université de Genève (Guide romand d’aide à la rédaction administrative et législative épicène) et par le Canton de Vaud (« Exemples et conseils pour la rédaction épicène »).

Quelques solutions toutes simples en ressources humaines

On trouvera ci-dessous quelques suggestions de traductions neutres ou épicènes propres au domaine des ressources humaines :

Le personnel, le personnel salarié (employees)

Cadre, direction, responsable, supérieur·e, dirigeant·e (Manager/management/supervisor)

La clientèle (clients)

La main-d’œuvre (workers, workforce)

L’effectif (workforce)

Les collègues (coworkers)

Le corps enseignant (professors)

Son ou sa supérieur·e (their supervisor)

Son ou sa responsable (their supervisor)

La personne

• La personne salariée (employee)
• La nouvelle recrue (new employee)

La personne, cette formidable désignation

Le mot épicène « personne » constitue une stratégie d’écriture aussi simple qu’efficace, comme l’illustrent les quelques exemples qui suivent.

Droits de la personne (Droits de l’homme)

Exemples d’utilisation du mot « personne » au Québec et au Canada :

• Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (QC)
• Charte des droits et libertés de la personne (QC)
• Tribunal des droits de la personne (QC)
• Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne (CA)

Cet extrait de la Trousse d’accueil et d’intégration en emploi des libraires publiée par le Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en culture fait une belle démonstration de la simplicité d’utilisation de l’écriture épicène en ressources humaines[2].

« On peut saisir la culture organisationnelle d’une librairie à partir du choix du fonds de livres, des livres qui sont mis en évidence, des caractéristiques des personnes sélectionnées pour y travailler, de la nature des conseils prodigués à la clientèle. »

• Toute entreprise a avantage à définir de manière précise les conditions de travail des personnes qu’elle embauche.
• Conseiller la clientèle sur des choix possibles de lecture et répondre à des demandes particulières. Écouter attentivement la demande formulée par la personne.
• Soumettre à la personne responsable des achats dans la librairie la liste des livres à acheter.
• L’employeur[3] peut effectuer une retenue sur le salaire si elle est consécutive à une loi, un règlement, une ordonnance du tribunal, une convention collective, un décret ou un régime de retraite à adhésion obligatoire. Il doit obtenir un consentement écrit de la part de la personne salariée pour toute autre retenue. »

L’utilisation de noms collectifs (clientèle, auditoire), du nom des services d’une entreprise (la direction, la comptabilité, le service du personnel) ou de mots épicènes (spécialiste, bénévole, collègue) permet de facilement dégenrer le texte. On retrouve d’ailleurs souvent ces stratégies d’écriture dans la presse de langue française, qui évoque « le milieu de la traduction », « le patronat », « la rédaction », etc.

Le Canton de Vaud, dans son excellent « Exemples et conseils pour la rédaction épicène », propose quelques trucs fort astucieux en matière de tournures non personnelles. Il s’agit ici de mettre l’accent non pas sur la personne en elle-même, mais plutôt sur son autorité, sa compétence, son activité ou son état, éléments d’ailleurs beaucoup plus pertinents que le genre en milieu de travail.

• Date de naissance (plutôt que « Né/Née le… »).
• Le tribunal fixe les sanctions de sorte que… (plutôt que « Le juge fixe »).
• Les secours sont arrivés (plutôt que « Les sauveteurs… »).
• En cas de blessure, ne pas laisser l’élève sans surveillance (plutôt que « ne pas laisser l’élève blessé seul »).

Le Manuel d’écriture inclusive de l’agence Mots-Clés illustre les possibles à partir de la déclinaison suivante :

Formulation genrée initiale :

« Merci à tous d’être à leurs côtés. »

Formulation inclusive fléchie :

« Merci à tous et à toutes d’être à leurs côtés. »

Formulations inclusives épicènes :

• « Merci d’être à leurs côtés[4]. »
• « Merci à vous d’être à leurs côtés. »
• « Merci à tout le monde d’être à leurs côtés. »
• « Merci à l’ensemble de nos collègues d’être à leurs côtés. »

Au-delà des tournures ci-dessus, assorties de degrés d’économie variables, les spécialistes de la langue que nous sommes disposent d’une autre tournure, très économique, mais nouvelle. Les personnes présentant une résistance naturelle au changement sont susceptibles de sursauter. Cependant, posons‑nous en toute honnêteté la question essentielle : qui ne comprend pas le sens de « Merci à toustes » ?

Il en va de même pour les pronoms non binaires « iel » et « iels », qui sont les formes les plus fréquemment utilisées pour traduire en français le « they » non binaire, même si quelques variations orthographiques sont parfois observées (« ielle » et « ielles »). Bien que ces pronoms n’aient fait leur apparition que tout récemment, ils se comprennent parfaitement en contexte.

Progressivement, les textes que nous traduirons en ressources humaines reflèteront une volonté d’intégration de toutes les personnes, au-delà du masculin générique et du binaire traditionnel. La langue doit suivre, y compris la nôtre, et elle suit déjà. Il suffit d’observer son usage actuel pour s’en rendre compte. Il est donc important de pouvoir être force de proposition vis-à-vis de notre clientèle. Par ailleurs, en mettant en avant cette compétence, nous nous dotons d’un atout supplémentaire de taille, qui ajoute de la valeur aux services que nous offrons.

Merci à toustes de votre attention.

[1] Oui, la terre était plate aussi pendant longtemps.

[2] Caractères gras ajoutés par l’auteure.

[3] « Employeur » est ici utilisé au sens de personne morale (entité juridique), et non de personne physique.

[4] Palme de la tournure économique.

Laurence Jay-Rayon Ibrahim Aibo est titulaire d’une maîtrise et d’un doctorat en traduction de l’Université de Montréal. Elle est traductrice agréée par l’OTTIAQ, au Québec, et interprète médicale agréée par la CCHI, aux États-Unis. Elle exerce depuis une trentaine d’années et a commencé sa carrière en Europe, puis en Afrique avant de se tourner vers les Amériques. Aujourd’hui, elle enseigne la traduction à l’école de traduction Magistrad, à Québec, et l’interprétation et la traduction à l’Université du Massachusetts Amherst. Ses domaines de spécialisation comprennent le secteur médical, les ressources humaines, les sciences humaines et sociales, la culture et le sous-titrage. Elle dirige le projet de traduction d’archives coloniales intitulé Colony in Crisis in Haitian Creole et sa première monographie, The Politics of Transaltion Sound Motif in African Fiction, est sortie en mars 2020 chez John Benjamins Publishing. Coordonnées : laurence@intofrenchtranslations.com | https://intofrenchtranslations.com/home/

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Liste de références

ARTICLES

Auteur anonyme. « La bataille de l’écriture épicène ». https://cursus.edu/articles/43843/la-bataille-de-lecriture-epicene. Thot Cursus. 7 octobre 2020.

Auteur anonyme. « Rédaction inclusive ». Points de langue. Druide. Avril 2020. https://www.druide.com/fr/enquetes/redaction-inclusive

Bruno. « Pourquoi utilise-t-on le point milieu dans l’écriture inclusive ? Le Figaro, 23 novembre 2017 https://leconjugueur.lefigaro.fr/blog/point-milieu-ecriture-inclusive/#:~:text=Le%20point%20milieu%20(aussi%20appel%C3%A9,%C3%A0%20la%20place%20des%20espaces.

Eschapasse, Baudouin. « Écriture inclusive, on caricature le débat ». Le Point, 29 octobre 2017. https://www.lepoint.fr/societe/ecriture-inclusive-on-caricature-le-debat-27-10-2017-2167914_23.php

DICTIONNAIRES SPÉCIALISÉS

James, Christopher, et Antoine Tirard. Dictionnaire des Ressources humaines : français-anglais/Dictionary of Human Resources: English-French. 4^e édition. Rueil-Malmaison : Éditions Liaisons, 2009.

Ménard, Louis. Dictionnaire de la comptabilité et de la gestion financière. Version numérique 3.1. Institut canadien des comptables agréés, 2014. [Une nouvelle version numérique sort en décembre 2020]

Peretti, Jean-Marie. Dictionnaire des Ressources humaines. 7^e édition. Paris : Vuibert, 2015.

DOCUMENTS TYPES ET GUIDES DE RÉFÉRENCE EN FRANÇAIS

Agences Mots-Clés (France). Manuel d’écriture inclusive. https://www.motscles.net/ecriture-inclusive

Association Divergenres. https://divergenres.org/regles-de-grammaire-neutre-et-inclusive/

Haut Conseil à l’Égalité (France). Guide pratique pour une communication publique sans stéréotype de sexe. https://www.haut-conseil-egalite.gouv.fr/stereotypes-et-roles-sociaux/bibliographie/

Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en culture. Trousse d’accueil et d’intégration en emploi des libraires

Canton de Vaud (Suisse). « Exemples et conseils pour la rédaction épicène ». https://www.vd.ch/guide-typo3/les-principes-de-redaction/redaction-egalitaire/exemples-et-conseils-pour-la-redaction-epicene/

Université de Genève (Suisse). Guide romand d’aide à la rédaction administrative et législative épicène. https://www.unige.ch/rectorat/egalite/files/9314/0353/2716/charte_epicene_GE_ecrire_genres.pdf

LEXIQUES, GLOSSAIRES, RECOMMANDATIONS AU QUÉBEC ET AU CANADA

Office québécois de la langue française. Articles sur la féminisation et la rédaction épicène.

Office québécois de la langue française. Formation sur la rédaction épicène. (2018)

Bureau de la traduction. Recommandations sur l’écriture inclusive dans la correspondance

Bureau de la traduction. Lexique sur la diversité sexuelle et de genre : https://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/publications/diversite-diversity-fra.html?fbclid=IwAR34q_vFMc4vVSngX9RxO_mYLTvmlbz3sHP78y3igMctQVjyBVJDKj-eU8w

 

By Kate Deimling

How do we know if a translation is good? Most people probably think of accuracy first, but we shouldn’t forget about style. Of course, a translation must accurately reflect the meaning of the source. But the way it expresses this meaning is also important.

The style should always be tailored to the context and the audience: a marketing text needs a certain kind of writing, while an international development report requires a very different tone. Style is especially important for writing that wants to inform and convince: to convince someone to buy something, to convince someone of an argument, or simply to convince them to continue reading! After all, the reader will close the book or navigate away from the screen if they don’t feel engaged.

Here are some translation strategies for dealing with common features of French style, along with tips for efficient revision. For this post, I’ve cherry-picked points from a talk I gave at the October 2020 virtual ATA conference. Examples are all from my own translations.

Creating Contrast with Si

Si is a very common connector word in French that can be translated a variety of ways. When si is used for contrast, the word “if” is a lot weaker in English, and alternatives will make a stronger impression. Here’s an example:

French: Si la Baigneuse est un sujet traditionnel de la peinture et de la sculpture, Picasso l’investit d’une manière toute singulière. 

English translation 1: While the bather is a traditional subject in painting and sculpture, Picasso treated it in a very unique way.

English translation 2: Although the bather is a traditional subject painting and sculpture, Picasso treated it in a very unique way.

English translation 3: The bather is a traditional subject in painting and sculpture, but Picasso treated it in a very unique way.

These are all acceptable choices for translating “si,” though the second two versions are probably more common in US English.

Don’t “Bury the Lede”

“Burying the lede” means hiding the most important information later in the news story, instead of emphasizing it at the beginning. Here’s an example where the translator should move the essential information to the front of the sentence in English:

French: Au fil des années, sous l’impulsion de ses directeurs et de ses ingénieurs qui, sous l’influence du terrain et des chantiers, ont créé leur propre champ de recherche, le LRMH a grandi.

English translation: The LRMH has grown over the years, spurred on by its directors and engineers who have created their own field of research through fieldwork and major projects.

Reordering sentences improves the translation more often than you might think. Here’s a sentence from a report on young people and the internet. It took me some time to figure out how I wanted to rework it for a stronger effect in English:

French: La nécessité de mieux comprendre le rapport des jeunes à Internet, aux plateformes et aux réseaux sociaux apparaît d’autant plus forte dans la période actuelle où les mesures de confinement liées à la crise du Covid-19 impliquent une utilisation plus grande des outils numériques.

My initial translation followed the French sentence structure:

English translation 1: The need to better understand young people’s relationship to the internet, social media, and online platforms appears even more crucial in the current period, when isolation measures due to the Covid-19 crisis involve increased use of digital tools.

When revising, I thought this sounded a bit stilted. So, I asked myself: how would this sentence read if I saw it in an English-language report? I decided to rearrange the relationship between the two key elements: “in the current period” and “even more crucial.” This is what I came up with:

English translation 2: Today, when isolation measures in response to the Covid-19 crisis have increased the use of digital technology, it is more crucial than ever to understand young people’s relationship to the internet and social media.

What’s the Best Way to Revise for Style?

Does this mean we should revise our translations over and over again to perfect their style? No. With tight deadlines and a demanding workflow, this just isn’t practical. Plus, you can tinker with a translation forever without coming up with a single “right” version. So, how can you approach revising in a way that’s both effective and efficient?

Here are a few tips:

• If time allows, set your translation aside and revise it later when you can take a fresh look at it and catch any phrasing that sounds awkward.
• Read over your translation while putting the source text aside. Read aloud to check for readability. This can help catch proofreading errors too!
• Make stylistic changes in the context of surrounding sentences. For instance, instead of repeating the conjunction “but” in two adjacent sentences, rephrase one sentence with “although.”

Extra Tips

• Know yourself and your tendencies!
• If you translate fast, you may have produced an overly literal translation. Make sure to set the translation aside and read it afresh when revising. This will help you focus on issues of style.
• If you tend to be a perfectionist, estimate how long revising should take. (You’ll need to come up with your own sense of this timing, based on the fee for the job, client expectations, the purpose of the translation, and so on.) Then set a timer. Check the timer and pace yourself as you revise so that you don’t spend too long on any one section.

Now you’re ready to polish those translations until they shine!

 

An ATA-certified French-to-English translator, Kate Deimling loves learning new things, whether she’s translating a museum audioguide or a report on climate change or writing copy about gemstone jewelry. She holds a Ph.D. in French and previously worked as a French professor and an art journalist. She has translated six books and her volunteer activities include serving on the PR committee of the ATA and directing the mentoring program of the New York Circle of Translators, an ATA chapter. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, cooking, and playing word games. You can find her online at katedeimling.com.

By Sam Mowry

It’s a new year and a new chance to learn from our respected colleagues to improve our translations through the Beat the Machine Mini Translation Slam. If you need a quick refresher, you can read about the premise in our inaugural post here. Very simply, we’re out to prove how much better human translators are than machines and maybe learn something from one another in the process. This time we’re going a different direction, with a sentence submitted by technical translator extraordinaire Karen Tkaczyk, so you know this is going to be a wild time:

La gestion des résultats hors spécification a été revue au travers du dossier suivant : n° XYXY relatif à la fiche n° 123 de maléate de trimébutine dont le point de fusion a été mesuré non conforme ; l’hypothèse d’un capillaire trop rempli pour l’analyse a été confirmée par les séries de mesure n°2 et n° 3 qui ont donné des résultats conformes.

Not exactly poetry! This is what Google’s output looks like:

The management of non-specification results was reviewed through the following file: No. XYXY relating to sheet No. 123 of trimebutine maleate whose melting point was measured as non-compliant; the hypothesis of a capillary too full for analysis was confirmed by series of measurements n ° 2 and n ° 3 which gave consistent results.

The technically minded terminology sleuths amongst us should have a field day with this one!

Submit your (obviously) much better translation here by January 31, 2021, and the blog post discussing it will go up in early February!

Please note the following:

• Only FLD members will have their translations posted on this blog. Membership is free for current ATA members, so if you aren’t a member yet, make sure to join before you submit your translation!
• You are free to submit your sentence anonymously, but half the fun will be crediting the creative submissions we receive by name and recognizing their authors.
• You may submit as many times as you like in case you have a stroke of genius after your initial submission. I will only discuss one submission per person in the review post.

Have you translated or read a particularly pesky sentence this past year that you can share for this project? Please send it along! Are you interested in helping us do the same virtual translation slam, but from English to French? We’d love to have one or more volunteers to do this series, but in reverse! If you’re interested, please contact Ben Karl, the À Propos editor, at ben [at] bktranslation.com or myself, Sam Mowry, at sam [at] frenchtranslation.expert to let us know!