French: Specialist translation & consecutive interpreting

French is a world language. It has been called the language of diplomacy and is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. It is estimated that there are over 270 million people worldwide who speak French. French is an/the official language in 35 countries. It is one of the most popular languages and is taught at many schools and universities.

The French language is derived from Latin and is one of the Romance languages, which are part of the Indo-European language family. French has influenced other languages within this group but also outside of it. English, for example, has borrowed a multitude of words from French, many of which can be easily detected by the suffix -ette (brunette, cigarette). In the German language, you can find words like Charme, Journalist and Margarine which are of French origin.

There are many country-specific and regional variants and dialects as French is spoken in more than 30 countries. Consequently, French spoken in France can strongly differ from that spoken in Canada. This is why we always recommend, especially with interpreting jobs, to employ a language mediator who has in-depth knowledge of the differences and characteristics of the dialect group or variant involved.

The experience and competence of the interpreter are also factors which need to be considered. This is why it can take a lot of time and energy to find the right language expert. We at AP Fachübersetzungen, however, are happy to give you some relieve: we have a largedatabase and an excellent network of specialist translators and interpreters for the French language at hand. For certified translations, we only engage certified, publicly appointed and sworn translator for the French language to ensure the flawless quality and accuracy of your French translation. To guarantee the best outcome for your French interpreting project, we employ our best court, consecutive, liaison, conference and simulatneous interpreters. Your interpreting and translation projects are in reliable hands at AP Fachübersetzungen.

The development stages of the French language can be roughly divided into the period of Old French (l‘ancien français), which was spoken from about 842 to 1340, and Middle French (le moyen français) from 1340 to approx. 1610.

French was widely used as the language of diplomacy and politics for many years due to France’s foreign expansion. Moreover, French was the language of the English Parliament for 300 years after England had been conquered by the Norman William the Conqueror in 1066. Until 1539, Latin was the official language of France, until King Francis I declared French the official government language. France grew and developed into an empire, extending its influence to many countries in Africa and the Caribbean.

In the 19th century, French had a status similar to the one English holds today: people were not considered educated if they did not speak French. However, with the growing influence of other empires, the spread of the French language declined: English came to the forefront as the language of diplomacy and trade around the world.

Since 1994, the law dictates that all government publications in France must be in French and all printed ads and billboards in a foreign language must include a translation into French.

The French pronunciation can initially be quite a challenge for English native speakers as there are several sounds in the French language, such as the nasal sounds, which are uncommon in English. Since pronunciation and spelling have developed differently throughout the centuries, the French typeface may seem intimidating at first. But when taking a closer look, it becomes clear that the assignment is regular in most cases. Especially the great number of silent letters at the end of the words can be a little bit unusual at first.

Just like in German (and in English), there are definite and indefinite articles in the French language. In French, however, the indefinite articles can also have a plural form which is different from German. While adjectives always stand before the noun in German, this is rather an exception in French: most adjectives come after the respective noun.

In both languages, the adjective has to be adapted to the gender of the noun. Whereas there are three genders in German, French only knows two: masculine and feminine.

On top of that, there are more tenses and modes in French than in German which is why it can often be challenging for a translator and interpreter to find a suitable German equivalent.

Based on all these grammatical peculiarities and the special expressions in the French language, we always recommend to employ a native speaker or an experienced linguist for the translation of your documents or your interpreting job to ensure 100% accuracy. The Nuremberg interpreting and translation agency AP Fachübersetzungen only uses competent and highly-qualified specialist interpreters and translators to guarantee the flawless quality of its language services. At AP Fachübersetzungen, you will receive a professional consultation and high-quality translation – and all that at a fair price.