Translation agency: French language
French is an official language of 29 countries and it is the seventh most widely spoken language worldwide, with more than 280 million speakers. About 80% of them are native speakers and the rest learned it as a second language (Statista, 2023).
French has not only been the language of diplomacy throughout history, but also the most commonly used language for communication between nations. It is currently an official language for international organizations such as the UN, the UNESCO and the IMF, as well as one of the main languages used in online and offline business and commerce. This explains the high demand for translators from Spanish to French and French to Spanish in order to make headway in French-speaking countries.
The origin of the French language
French is a Romance language and its origins can be traced back to the years 51 and 58 BC, with the Roman invasion of Gaul. It was then that Vulgar Latin spread throughout the region, replacing the Celtic language spoken there.
Later, as the Roman Empire weakened, Gaul was invaded by the Huns, the Franks and the Visigoths, who introduced a wide variety of dialects to different areas of the country. In this way, the north eventually came under the influence of the Franks, while, in the south, Oïl languages emerged with Provençal roots. When Latin mixed with Provençal, the modern French language finally came into being.
Five curiosities about the French language
Like any other language, French has certain peculiarities or intriguing aspects that are worth knowing:
1. Silent letters
Silent letters are those that do not correspond to any sound in a given word. Examples are forêt, tête and hôpital, which were previously forest, teste and hospital due to their Latin roots. However, the “s” disappeared and was replaced by a circumflex.
In French, it is also common practice not to pronounce the last letter of a word if it ends in a consonant. For example, placard [plaka:ʀ], parler [paʀle], abcès [absε], billet [bijε], galeux [galø], blanc [blɑ̃], and poing [pwɛ̃].
Other cases of silent letters in French are
- words ending in an unstressed “e”, where the “e” is silent (être [ε:tʀ], fête [fεt], fille [fij], vague [vag]), or
- the “qu” combination, where the “u” is always silent. For example, quatre [katʀ:], quelque [kelk:], qui [ki], and quoi [k:ua],
- The letter “h” is always silent at the beginning of words of Latin origin, except in the combination “ch” and “ph”. When a word begins with a silent “h”, it is as if this letter does not exist and there is a contraction with the article (L’hésitation, L’homme, L’habit, L’herbe, L’héritage, L’hameçon, L’heure, L’habitude).
2. French was once the official language of England.
French was the official language of England from the year 1066 until the end of the 14th century. That is why words like déjà vu, garage, résumé and soufflé, potpourri, crème brûlée, au pair and camouflage are of French origin. It is estimated that 30% of the English vocabulary is made up of words of French origin.
3. Similar words
French has many words that are similar to one another, where only a few letters change, and yet they have completely different meanings. These words are called homophones. For example,
- verre (glass) and vert (green),
- pain (bread) and peint (painted),
- côte (coast) and cotte (tunic),
- père (father) and paire (pair), and
- ferme (farm / firm) and fermé (closed).
4. French was the predominant language of the Russian aristocracy.
French was the language most commonly spoken by the tsars before it was replaced by English for two reasons: the then tsarina was the granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England, and many aristocrats began to hire British nannies to look after their children.
5. French words of Arabic origin
Arabic has also influenced the French language through words like coton / quṭun, satin / zaytwn, sucre / sukkar, and hasard / az-zahr.
Why is it important to translate from and into French?
Because France is the seventh biggest economy in the world, a clear competitive edge can be gained in business by translating from and into French. For example, a high number of companies in Spain forge direct business links with France due to their proximity. According to the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), France accounts for 15.1% of all Spanish exports. Also, 11.1% of Spain’s imports are from its neighbour to the north, making it Spain’s second largest supplier.
This is important because, today, many Spanish companies focus their attention on the French language, especially in sectors where it has a bigger impact, such as the hotel and tourist sectors, the pharmaceutical industry, trade, healthcare, engineering and production.
French was used online by 3.3% of the global community in 2020, while, in 2023, 4.3% of the websites worldwide were available in French (W3Tech and Internet World Stats).
According to T-Index, French ranks sixth in world product sales, accounting for 158,332,147 Internet users and total imports worth $12,195.66.
Given the scenario, this language is of key importance in any expansion project, as translations from Spanish to French and vice versa are a genuine boost, enhancing a brand’s visibility internationally.
What are the challenges of translating from Spanish to French and French to Spanish?
Many people think that all that is needed to translate is to speak two languages, and all the rest is as easy as pie. However, translating is a very complex process and also one that requires a lot of creativity.
Like any other language pair, certain specific factors are involved in translating from Spanish to French or vice versa which can complicate the translation process.
In addition, in the case of certain specialist texts, like legal ones or others relating to the agriculture sector, relevant norms and standards can vary from country to country. It is therefore essential to confide in a translator who is a native speaker of the target language.
Why hire a specialized French translator?
Simply put, because a professional translator always bears in mind the coherence, accuracy and quality of the translation. Moreover, they are skilled at adjusting the general semantics of the source text and they have a good command of the subtle nuances of the target language, adapting the tone, style and terminology. That is why the most reliable way of translating a text from Spanish to French or vice versa is to hire a native translator able to guarantee efficient, high-quality results.
Conclusion
Nowadays, French is not only an influential language in international business and in the export market, but also on the Internet. French accounts for 15% of the world economy and 12% of international trade. This explains the high demand for translations from Spanish to French and French to Spanish.
Hence, when a translation service is needed, it is fundamental to count on a professional translator and native speaker of the target language who takes into account cultural aspects and the peculiarities of the specific variation of the target language. Furthermore, the translator must be a specialist in the relevant field (the law, medicine, the financial sector, etc.) and be familiar with any associated requirements, norms and terminology.
At sanscrit, we work with native Spanish-French and French-Spanish translators, specializing in various different fields. In this way, our translation agency in Barcelona ensures that each client receives a reliable translation, regardless of the type of content.
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