English to French Website Translation in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a huge range of translation and localization requests over the past few weeks. The Tomedes team has been working on video translation, audio translation and a whole host of other forms of medical translation as people around the world adjust to the new reality that we find ourselves in. 

Most recently, a client enquired about our website translation services, as he had an urgent website localization project with which he needed assistance. We stepped right up to help. 

Website Localization Services

The projects that our website localization services deal with are often complex. From technical translation to marketing translation expertise, they require plenty of linguistic knowledge and careful attention to detail. 

This client’s job included two connected areas of work. Website translation and localization was the first part. The second was the transcreation of the marketing materials that were included on his website (we’ll explore transcreation in more detail below, if you’re not familiar with the term). 

The client had been drawn to Tomedes as a result of our offering of certified translation services and one-year guarantee. He wanted an agency that would deliver a professional, accurate translation and was reassured by the long-term commitment that we make to quality of service. 

We got to work on his website translation and localization straight away. Whereas our translation services deal with the conversion of language, our localization services deal with the translation of intent (with transcreation services doing this to an even greater degree). Localization takes website translation to the next level. It doesn’t just convert one language to another, but gently moulds it around the cultural norms of the target audience. 

The result of high-quality website localization is a site that feels as though it was produced natively for the target audience. This is precisely the experience that our website localization services provide. 

Professional Marketing Translation

This client’s website was very sales-focused, which meant the work required the use of our considerable marketing translation expertise. We’ve built this up over more than a decade, working with native translators who instinctively understand what makes the target audience tick. They back up this knowledge with plenty of research, focusing their translation expertise on the marketing sector in order to deliver outstanding results for Tomedes’ clients. 

There are many different aspects to marketing translation. For some of our clients, simply translating a presentation will suffice. Others require the localization of their documents as well. Some clients, meanwhile, need transcreation services, as was the case with this particular client. 

There are also instances where marketing translation services cross over with communications and public relations (PR) translation services. This is where companies need their translations urgently in order to deal with matters that could either improve and harm their reputation, often as short notice. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a raft of enquiries for this kind of service, which is in part why Tomedes has set up a specific Crisis Communications Center. You can read more about that resource, and how to access it, by clicking the link below. 

Read more: Crisis Communication Center 

Urgent Transcreation and Localization

Transcreation and localization jobs – and in particular those that relate to the coronavirus disease – often come with a serious sense of urgency. This was certainly the case on the part of this client, who needed his English to French translation as soon as was humanly possible. (The emphasis here is most certainly on ‘humanly’ possible – machine translation isn’t high enough quality to compete with human translation as yet.) 

Transcreation is a form of translation that goes way beyond the conversion of language. It involves the translation of concepts, of ideas. A transcreated marketing document is likely to look nothing like the original. The imagery, colour scheme and text will all likely have changed. Even the company logo and strapline might differ. 

What does remain the same is the intent of the document. This is the key point with transcreation. The process aims to evoke the same response in vastly different target audiences, delivering the same benefit to the company but through distinctly different means.

Network of Native Translators

We mentioned our native translators above. Tomedes has spent the past 13 years building up this network of talented individuals in order to serve a client base that spans the globe. Nobody can understand a particular country or territory in quite the same way that a native speaker can. Their knowledge and insights are immensely important in translation and localization work such as that needed by our recent client. 

This is particularly the case in fast-moving situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Native translators who are able to provide on-the-ground advice on cultural nuances are an extremely valuable resource when it comes to sensitive localization work. 

If your business is in need of website translation and/or marketing translation expertise, why not contact Tomedes today? We can talk you through the localization and transcreation process, ensuring that you find the right way forward for your company’s circumstances. Phone, email or live chat with us to find out more.