Adaptation Outperforms Translation Every Time

You’d think that translation apps like DeepL would make it easier than ever for producing effective English versions of French material. But the problem is translation itself. You need adaptation to take full advantage of everything in the English language toolkit for really getting the job done properly.

Here’s why:

The English language offers more depth, more flexibility, and more versatility than French. In the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1989), some 600,000 word forms are defined, with certainly many thousands of new words added since then. The most comprehensive and fully updated dictionary of the French language, Le Grand Robert de la langue française, has just over 150,000 words. English often has a number of words for gradations of meaning and key nuances, where French only has one. (In French, for example, the word for “experiment” and “experience” is the same: expérience.)

• Translation simply converts French words into English words

• Adaptation replaces French words with the most appropriate choices among English equivalents

• Adaptation creates English content to convey the true essence of the French

• Adaptation includes English idioms to improve impact and relatability

• Adaptation also adjusts figures of speech so they can work in English whenever possible

• Adaptation carefully takes all possible English word connotations into consideration as well

“The fact of the matter is that the real world is to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group. No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality. The worlds in which different societies live are distinct worlds, not merely the same worlds with different labels attached.” – Edward Sapir (pioneering linguist)

“…no matter how assiduous you are, you can’t turn a bad translation into a good one: You can only make it less bad.” – Robert Gottlieb (renowned editor)

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