{"id":3068,"date":"2017-09-08T11:27:31","date_gmt":"2017-09-08T15:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anglocomprod.wpengine.com\/?p=3068\/"},"modified":"2017-11-19T18:59:47","modified_gmt":"2017-11-19T23:59:47","slug":"translating-for-quebec-8-essential-rules-to-follow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglocom.com\/en\/translating-for-quebec-8-essential-rules-to-follow\/","title":{"rendered":"Translating for Quebec: 8 Essential Rules to Follow"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This article originally appeared in The Chronicle, the journal of the American Translators Association<\/em><\/div><\/div>\n

Just north of New England lies the Canadian province of Quebec. Unlike other parts of Canada that bear some resemblance to the U.S., Quebec is never mistaken for an American state. It is a completely different world, mainly because of the widespread use of French.<\/p>\n

Quebec\u2019s St. Lawrence River Valley was colonized by the French and has remained French-speaking to this day. Although the British conquered it in 1759, they were afraid the inhabitants would ally themselves with the American rebels to the south, so they allowed them to keep their Catholic faith and continue using French as the language of instruction. As a result, the 60,000 residents of New France grew to form the basis of modern-day Quebec, where over 6 million people have French as their mother tongue and another 1.5 million speak it as a second language.<\/p>\n

A Great Translation Market<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This island of French in North America\u2019s sea of English is a wonderful translation market. It is the reason that Canada\u2019s federal government translates almost every document it produces. It is also the reason that companies who do business there call on translators. If you translate between English and French, Quebec can be a great source of work.<\/p>\n

Before you start, however, know that there are traps. Some can ensnare any translator, while others are a specific danger to either French or English translators. Fall into them, and you may lose clients as fast as you find them.<\/p>\n

Rule #1: Know the Geography<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You need to know your geography even if you never translate geographical texts. Consider the story of our summer intern a few years ago who had to translate en Virginie<\/em> into English and, mystifyingly, wrote in the Virginias<\/em>. When questioned why she put Virginia in the plural, she answered, \u201cWell, the French didn\u2019t specify whether it was in West Virginia or East Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, get out a map and familiarize yourself with Quebec. Learn the names of all of the major cities and towns and their locations in relation to each other. (While you are at it, why not study a map of the U.S., too? It will almost certainly make you a better translator. I bet that more than one person reading this article did not know there was no such state as East Virginia!) If you translate into English, find out if any of the place names get translated. (Yes, some do, but most do not.) Also learn about the main geographical points of interest\u2014the St. Lawrence River, the Ottawa River, the Laurentian Mountains, the Saguenay Fjord, and the Gasp\u00e9 Peninsula, to name a few.<\/p>\n

Here are a few tips to keep in mind:<\/p>\n