English to French IT Translator Blog

CAT tools are complex and not always programmed as well as they should be. Some of their bugs can be hard to understand and in the end the tools that are supposed to save use time actually cost us some.

It’s particularly clear when visiting translators forums: most of the threads are about problems using translation tools, looking for features or trying to resolve critical bugs.

To help these people out, I am starting a translation help column. My IT knowledge means I can have a good technical understanding of some problems translators have to face, and I will use it to address some of their questions. I will regularly post help tickets for some of the problems (and their solutions, of course) I stumble upon on translators blogs or forums.

Working with a glossary or list of terms is essential to ensure consistent translations. Sometimes, I am asked to use certain glossaries, but most of the time I am allowed to choose freely the terms I use for IT projects.

In these cases, I try to employ words and expression that are commonly used in the IT World. The Microsoft language portal is a nice resource for that. I don’t use it uniquely for the translation of Windows-related strings, but also to know how certain terms are translated in general. If you don’t have any specific terminology to follow, it’s always nice to stick to the terms of the OS most people use.

Apple doesn’t have such a website unfortunately. They do however have a very well done support website, where you can switch from a language to another quickly and easily. It’s a less direct, more time consuming way to search for terms, but it helps a lot when translating software for Mac.

2019 update: After a few years working on several dozens of cloud-related projects, I can confirm “cloud computing” and “cloud” are the most common forms in French as well. “informatique en nuage” and “infonuage” do occasionally show up, but the original English is definitely more widespread and understood by French audiences.

With constant developments in the IT industry, new terms and concepts can be hard to translate. For a rather long time, there was no real, universally accepted way to translate “cloud computing”. There have been attempts to convert it in French, with contenders such as “informatique en nuage” or “infonuage”, but they never really manage to stick.

Currently, you will mostly find “cloud” left as it is in French, with or without “computing” depending on the source text (some will choose to omit it regardless). You will generally see it written with a lower case ‘c’, although I have seen some translators and translation guides recommending the use of an uppercase ‘C’ (update: from my experience, this spelling appears to be less frequent lately). Unless explicitly requested otherwise, you can use “cloud” in French safely.

I am often asked what tools I use or can use for translation and checking my work.

I will work with SDL Trados Studio 2011 most of the time, because it can handle pretty much all the types of files I need. Its embedded OCR features are also very decent, which is great for the translation of PDF-type files.

That being said, I also regularly work with the following CAT tools:

• SDL Trados 2011
• Passolo 2011
• WordFast
• Idiom WorldServer
• MemoQ

I can work with other tools on demand and file formats are generally not a problem. If necessary, I can use tools to convert source files and translation memories from a format to another.

For QA, I use a series of tools, including:

• Antidote, a powerful spell/grammar/syntax checking tool
• XBench, which helps detect any potential inconsistencies in translations, terms, formatting and others
• Trados QA checker, that shares some of XBench’s features and also looks at some more technical points

Although I will be available for new translation projects for most of the winter holidays (and winter in general), please note that I won’t be available at all on December 5th and December 26th. These days off won’t affect my translation schedule and general availability, but please note that I won’t be able to reply your messages immediately.

We’re already in the “heat” of the season and it’s a pleasure to be working on so many interesting projects. Recently, I started working with a UK-based partner with ties to major companies for more IT projects.

This week I had the chance to translate Mozello, from Blumentals Solutions, into French.

Mozello is an extremely user-friendly and convenient CMS for creating websites, blogs and more. It allows people who don’t have any IT/computer knowledge to create their own website within minutes. You get to choose between several cleans designs and layouts, and you can easily customize the apparence of your page. It is also very simple to add different types of subpages and even your own blog.

Mozello offers both free and Premium plans. With the free option, you can get a free subdomain, which means you can get started without paying anything. Of course, you can switch to a Premium account anytime and ask Mozello to buy and set up your own domain.

A great alternative to the other major CMS for small business and freelancers.

Check it out in French!

Here are a few links to profiles I have online, describing my background and my work history as a professional English to French translator:

http://www.proz.com/profile/1426501

http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/member178802.htm

http://www.translatorstown.com/profile/42860

http://www.translatorpub.com/sections/misc/freelancer_details.asp?freelancer_id=15529

My profile on JAT’s website

And the one on JTF’s website

https://www.iapti.org/anthony-teixeira/

http://www.foreignword.biz/cv/15396.htm

https://freelancersunion.org/members/account/anthony-teixeira-1/

Branded.me

PixelHub

And finally my new Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ITTranslator/

Feel free to consult them to know more about my services and contact me! I will keep updating this page so that you can be sure not to miss me online.