People assume that all language is the same, however anyone who understands a language from the region they live or work in will tell you differently. Recently a company that we do work with created a training system that needed to be delivered to a French audience from Quebec. The company being global thought they could bring a French speaking trainer from Paris France. Easy right, French presenter to French audience, wrong! The presenter began to present in his native tongue and the audience looked odd, as though they couldn’t understand what the person was saying. The whole audience that was French had trouble understanding the presenter. They ended up asking the person to present in English so they could understand the content. It was like the person was speaking in a foreign language other than French or English. So the moral of the story is don’t think because someone is French they will automatically understand another person speaking French from another area or country. A region’s dialect or slang may cause words to be changed or used in a different context. When looking for translation in a region use a translator that is from the area and understands the way people talk so that your documents and presentations will be understood.
About the Author
Carmen Outridge has been in the translation industry for over 25 years and is from the Province of Quebec. She understands the language of the region. For more information on the services of Outridge Translation Services visit their website at www.outridgetranslation.com
Outridge Translation Services-French Translation Services 