French Translations
Dialects & Regional Variations

French translation services are our specialty at Art One Translations. We have more specialists working in French than in any other language, and each year they translate close to 1,000,000 words to and from French in a variety of specialized fields.

But you may not know that we work with two completely separate French teams – one in France and the other in Québec (French-speaking Canada).

Let’s take a closer look at why we treat the two dialects so differently and how they affect the French translation process.

Need French Translations? Which Market Are You Targeting?

While some people may not realize it, the French spoken in Canada and in France is radically different in many ways.

Differences in spelling, punctuation and phrase construction distinguish the two dialects. In other words, French translations into the wrong dialect will not read naturally to their target audience as the original text intended.

Both dialects of French are heavily regulated. The French in Québec is governed by the Charter of the French Language, while in France, the Toubon Law mandates the use of French in a variety of professional and business contexts.

The Role of Vocabulary in French Translations

Vocabulary is one of the most significant differences between European and Canadian French.

Generally speaking, European French speakers are more comfortable adopting Anglicisms, leading to commonly used words such as le week-end and le parking (parking lot).

In Québec, they would use the expressions fin de semaine and terrain de stationnement. The French used in Québec also includes borrowed words from Native Canadian languages, especially for local flora and fauna.

Idioms, Sayings, and Slang

Moreover, differences in idiom and phraseology can lead to misunderstandings between speakers of the two dialects. Many Québecois sayings will be understood literally by European French speakers.

For example, Il n’a pas le goût de sortir ce soir means “he doesn’t want to go out this evening” in Quebec, but in France, it would be taken literally as “he doesn’t have the taste to leave.” Similarly, while parler à travers son chapeau means “to beat about the bush” in Quebec, a Parisian is unlikely to catch the idiomatic meaning. And when it comes to slang and swearing, the two are famously different: many curses in Québecois French are religious in origin. For instance, someone in Paris might use the mild “Zut!” when they forget something, but in Québec they’re more likely to exclaim “Baptême!” — literally, “baptism.”

Grammar and Usage in French Translations

In general, the grammar of European and Canadian French is very similar, with just a few key differences for translators to keep in mind. One clear difference is pronoun use — in France, the formal “you” (vous) is more common, while in Québec, people often use tu even in professional settings.

Another difference is Québec’s approach to inclusive language. Traditionally, a mixed group takes the masculine form by default — for example, an all-female group of salespeople is vendeuses, but if one man joins, they become vendeurs. In Québec, it’s increasingly common to say vendeuses et vendeurs to clearly include women.

French Translations Tailored to Your Specific Region

The Importance of French Translations for Website Content

Search engine optimization, or SEO for short, is another critical reason to ensure that your French translations focus on a single target market. It’s often said that users search the way they talk. In other words, they are searching for common, everyday terms rather than thinking of synonyms used elsewhere.

For example, a user in Québec searching for information on spare parts for their bicycle will use the word bicyclette. Their counterpart in France will use the word vélo. If your website is using the wrong term, it may never come up in the search results for that user.

Our French Translation Process

Because of the considerable differences between European and Canadian French, we select English to French linguists who live and work in the country in which the dialect into which they translate is spoken. Beyond assigning every French translation to a native speaker of French who specializes in the subject matter of the text being translated, we have an equally qualified linguist who proofreads every text. This TEP (Translation, Editing, Proofing) QA Process ensures that terminology is used consistently, resulting in an error-free text that reads as naturally as an original document. Our areas of specialization software localization. Among subject domains in which we offer French translations are technology, telecommunication, software and hardware, ERP electronics, manufacturing, engineering, automotive, and machinery. Learn more about our QA Procedures in Translation. We work with many file formats and provide desktop publishing services (DTP) to give each final product the same layout as the original on which it was based, saving clients time and hassle due to file conversion. We keep our rates reasonable, have cost-saving tools, and offer cost-free quotes. Contact us to learn more about our market-specific French translation services and how we can help you with your translation needs. You may also be interested in learning about the differences between Canadian English and the English spoken in other English-speaking countries.

Ensure your French content reflects the right variant and cultural nuances. Work with Art One Translations to adapt your message for audiences in Canada, Europe, and beyond.

French Translations Dialects & Regional Variations