Examples of Translation from English to French

 If you've checked my blog, you already know that translating cannot be literal, it isn't just a matter of looking up a word in the dictionary. Context matters, Culture matters, Style matters, Grammar matters, so that the finished 'product' will sound like a text written in the target language while translating the original source document as faithfully as possible.

Some fields are more standard than others. But what's certain is that you will come across some sentences which require some and at times a fair amount of thinking.

1 - Here is an example taken from the fashion industry:

This year, green will grow on you.

Translators, don't you dare start translating this right away! STOP! You should always pause first! Think about what the main problem is here in order to translate into French. Got it? Yes, the main problem is 'will'. We're always taught that will is the auxiliary used for the future tense. But 'will' also conveys the idea of a will, a strong intention. It's a modal, i.e., it expresses a mood. I cannot agree with grammars which merely state that will is the auxiliary of the future tense and then provide a huge list of exceptions. It's far too reductive, it is a will and a will conveys the idea of the future because it is an intention, and at times even a characteristic or a fact.

So, what does the English above actually state? We have 'this year' so this is hardly a future tense since this year is now. 'Will' here states an intention presented as a fact. Therefore I suggest to translate it in the present tense or in the near future tense. There are always different ways of translating, go back to my first post entitled 'Translators are Traitors and rightly so!' if you are not convinced of this.

So here is a possible translation for: 

This year, green will grow on you:

Cette année, on passe au vert.

Present tense, this is a fashion fact. And no, 'grow' will not be translated literally. The translation conveys a similar meaning though 'grow' is implied in the French. The sentence is quite idiomatic in French, and yet, if you were to translate it literally back I to English, it would sound nonsensical and wrong. 

OK, I'll give you another possible translation: 

Cette année, vous allez vous mettre au vert.

Here, I have used a near future while stating a fact. It's not quite as idiomatic but it also works. So if a translator used any of these 2 French sentences, I would give them a pass.

The English sentence couldn't possible be in the present tense as this is not how English works. It uses modals to express moods, tendencies, intend and so forth.

So as you can see for those who are not translators, a simple sentence can take quite a bit of time to assess and translate. So dear clients and agencies, before you ask us to translate 10K words for yesterday, you had better think twice as you are unlikely to get a good translation if you don't give us enough time. We work as fast as we can, but we don't want to provide you with a poor translation. This wouldn't be good for your image or ours.

Now let's see what AI produces with this English sentence: Cette année, le vert va vous séduire.

Again, we have a near future since French doesn't use modals to express moods. It's a little over-translated and not quite as idiomatic. I would give it a pass but I'm not keen on it as it's generally not what one would state in fashion magasines and the like. But on this one, AI didn't do too poorly.

How would you translate the above English sentence into French and which translation do you prefer and why? Your comments are welcome!