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Translation of messages in a program - French
Thread poster: gulperi
gulperi
gulperi
France
Local time: 23:22
English to French
+ ...
Jan 11, 2009

Dear all,

I can't make-up my mind for the translation of a program messages into French. Let me explain :

In my file some words have a character limitation e.g

Zero calibration (no limit) = so I decide to translate into French as Calibrage Zéro

CH color (has an 8 character limit) = so I decide to abbreviate the word in French as Coul. CH

Start Music on/off (has an 18 character limit) = Démar. Mus. on/off seems a bit wierd as an ... See more
Dear all,

I can't make-up my mind for the translation of a program messages into French. Let me explain :

In my file some words have a character limitation e.g

Zero calibration (no limit) = so I decide to translate into French as Calibrage Zéro

CH color (has an 8 character limit) = so I decide to abbreviate the word in French as Coul. CH

Start Music on/off (has an 18 character limit) = Démar. Mus. on/off seems a bit wierd as an abbreviation so I decide to keep the English for its French translation as Start Music on/off

Now my question is the following, If I decide to translate the messages into French, must I translate all the words with their French equivalents for the sake of coherency or can I mix English and French for the sake of character limitation?

Thanks all for your kind replies. ▲ Collapse
 
E.Plisson
E.Plisson  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 23:22
English to French
+ ...
re Jan 11, 2009

Il me semble que garder du français peut être intéressant (départ mus. o/n ? musique on/off ?) et plus cohérent, mais après tout, on comprendrait même avec certains mots anglais.

Cordialement,

Manu



Zero calibration (no limit) = so I decide to translate into French as Calibrage Zéro

CH color (has an 8 character limit) = so I decide to abbreviate the word in French as Coul. CH

Start Music on/off (has an 18 chara... See more
Il me semble que garder du français peut être intéressant (départ mus. o/n ? musique on/off ?) et plus cohérent, mais après tout, on comprendrait même avec certains mots anglais.

Cordialement,

Manu



Zero calibration (no limit) = so I decide to translate into French as Calibrage Zéro

CH color (has an 8 character limit) = so I decide to abbreviate the word in French as Coul. CH

Start Music on/off (has an 18 character limit) = Démar. Mus. on/off seems a bit wierd as an abbreviation so I decide to keep the English for its French translation as Start Music on/off

Now my question is the following, If I decide to translate the messages into French, must I translate all the words with their French equivalents for the sake of coherency or can I mix English and French for the sake of character limitation? ▲ Collapse
 
milinad
milinad  Identity Verified
Local time: 02:52
German to English
do not mix two languages Jan 12, 2009

I do not think it is a good idea to mix English & French languages in one message. You can use any of the following three alternatives

1. English messages which are universally understood can be kept in English
2. You can try to abbreviate the message to fit the character limit. But the abbreviated message should make sense.
3. Translate the message (in briefest possible way) without considering the character limit so that it makes sense. Then highlight the same and r... See more
I do not think it is a good idea to mix English & French languages in one message. You can use any of the following three alternatives

1. English messages which are universally understood can be kept in English
2. You can try to abbreviate the message to fit the character limit. But the abbreviated message should make sense.
3. Translate the message (in briefest possible way) without considering the character limit so that it makes sense. Then highlight the same and request the client telling him to increase the character limit otherwise the message cannot be properly translated. For a programmer it is not very problematic to increase the limit and display the message if necessary in two lines. In any case decision regarding the character limit is left to the client. ▲ Collapse
 
Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 22:22
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Option 3 Jan 12, 2009

milinad wrote:

I do not think it is a good idea to mix English & French languages in one message. You can use any of the following three alternatives

1. English messages which are universally understood can be kept in English
2. You can try to abbreviate the message to fit the character limit. But the abbreviated message should make sense.
3. Translate the message (in briefest possible way) without considering the character limit so that it makes sense. Then highlight the same and request the client telling him to increase the character limit otherwise the message cannot be properly translated. For a programmer it is not very problematic to increase the limit and display the message if necessary in two lines. In any case decision regarding the character limit is left to the client.


To me, Milinad's Option 3 makes the most sense. The program should be designed so that the user can understand what he/she is supposed to do. If the boxes aren't long enough, the programmer should redesign them. Politely point this out to the client.
Mixing languages would be a muddle, although I well understand your dilemma.
Best wishes,
Jenny
 
acidula
acidula
Local time: 00:22
Romanian to English
+ ...
Universal... Jan 29, 2009

milinad wrote:

... English messages which are universally understood can be kept in English...


There is no such thing as a "universally understood English message".

You either translate everything or nothing.
 


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