Our best editors come from all over the world and from different backgrounds, but one thing they all have in common is they develop, learn, and grow with us. A big part of this is learning what we expect and subsequently checking these guidelines whenever they’re not sure about something.

Read these guidelines carefully, and if you have any queries please contact us and we’ll do our best to sort everything out for you.

1. Post-edition at Unbabel

At Unbabel we have a unique approach to translation: each text submitted by a customer is translated by our Machine Translation system, and then corrected by our community of editors in an online platform. By editing the output of the software, the editors ensure the quality of the translations and confirm that the message is accurate (i.e., has the same meaning as the original), fluent (i.e., can be easily understood and sounds natural), and is in line with the style requested by the clients (i.e. respects their register and terminology). In order to help editors do the best job possible, we provide various types of information:

Customer instructions, which include the identification of the client and his requests to personalize the translation, such as the register that must be used to address the recipient of the message. Following these instructions is vital to deliver translations that match the client’s expectations.
Glossaries, which correspond to specific vocabulary and expressions used by the client, and that must be respected by the editors.
Translation Memories, which correspond to stored segments (expressions, sentences, or paragraphs) that have previously been translated and accepted for customer usage. They are useful for ensuring consistency across translations.

We also have Smartcheck, which is an application that checks the grammar, morphology, orthography, and style of the translations while being edited. By using a large set of rules, Smartcheck flags words or groups of words that may present some kind of issue.

Finally, in order to deliver the best possible translation, we also provide these guidelines about your language specifications. Please, read them carefully and always follow these instructions in your editions.

2. Grammar

2.1. Agreement

2.1.1. Tense, mood, aspect, person (for verbs)

In French, the verb is always governed by the subject.

When the subject contains 'aucun', 'chaque', 'personne', 'rien', the verb is in the singular. When the subject contains ‘plupart', 'peau', the verb is in the plural.

When subjects are coordinated by 'ni' or 'ou', the verb is in the plural if the idea concerns the two subjects. On the contrary, if the idea concerns only one subject, the verb is in the singular.

When subjects are connected by 'ainsi', 'aussi bien que', ‘aussi’, the verb is in the plural if there are no commas separating them. On the contrary, if there are commas, the verb is in the singular.

Examples

Source text: Protection of nature and the environment as well as natural biodiversity are also cited as objectives.

✘ La protection de la nature et de l'environnement ainsi que de la biodiversité naturelle fait également partie des objectifs cités.

✓ La protection de la nature et de l'environnement ainsi que de la biodiversité naturelle font également partie des objectifs cités.

Source text: Protection of nature and the environment, as well as natural biodiversity, is also cited as objectives.

✘ La protection de la nature et de l'environnement, ainsi que de la biodiversité naturelle, font également partie des objectifs cités.

✓ La protection de la nature et de l'environnement, ainsi que de la biodiversité, naturelle fait également partie des objectifs cités.

When the past participle is used with the auxiliary verb ‘être’ (to be), this one agrees in gender and number.

Example

Source text: They left.

✘ Elles sont parti.

✓ Elles sont parties.

When the past participle is used with the auxiliary verb ‘avoir’ (to have), there are three options:

the verb has no direct object, the past participle does not agree;
the verb has a direct object placed after the past participle, this one does not agree;
the verb has a direct object placed before the past participle, this one agrees in gender and number.

Examples

Source text: I picked the flowers.

✓ J’ai cueilli les fleurs.

Source text: The flowers that I picked.

✘ Les fleurs que j’ai cueilli.

✓ Les fleurs que j’ai cueillies.

2.1.2. Gender and number (nouns and adjectives)

The adjective agrees in gender and number with the noun or the pronoun to which it is related. When the adjective modifies several nouns that may belong to different genders, the adjective always occurs in the masculine plural form.

Example

Source text: The sun, the sea and the sand are very relaxing.

✘ Le soleil, la mer et le sable sont très reposantes.

✓ Le soleil, la mer et le sable sont très reposants.

As with verbs, when the adjective modifies nouns that are separated by 'ou', they occur in the plural if it is related to both nouns. On the other hand, it agrees with the last noun if 'ou' implies exclusivity.

Example

Source text: She wants a warm coat or dress.

✓ Elle veut un manteau ou une robe chauds (inclusive interpretation)

✓ Elle veut un manteau ou une robe chaude (exclusive interpretation)

When the adjective modifies several synonymic nouns, it agrees with the last noun. When nouns are connected by comparison conjunction ('ainsi', 'aussi bien que', etc.), the adjective agrees generally with the first noun. When the adjective modifies coordinated nouns without explicit conjunction, it agrees with the last noun.

Example

Source text: This girl is of a sweetness, a unique delicacy.

✘ Cette fille est d'une douceur, d'une délicatesse uniques.

✓ Cette fille est d'une douceur, d'une délicatesse unique.

Regarding nouns that are the complement of another noun (introduced by the prepositions ‘de’ or ‘en’, for example), they occur in the singular if they denote a singular object (‘permis de conduire’), an abstract notion (‘objecteur de conscience’) or a material (‘chaise en bois’). On the other hand, it occurs in the plural if it denotes several objects.

Example

Source text: a check book

✘ un carnet de chèque

✓ un carnet de chèques

Favor the use of neutral or collective expressions and use the feminine gender to indicate jobs, functions or status if applicable.

Example

Source text: She is the chief of the department.

✘ C’est le chef du service.

✓ C’est la cheffe du service.

2.2. Determiners

The determiner agrees in gender and number with the name with which it occurs. The determiner is generally placed behind the name, and it can occur separated from this one by an adjective.

Examples

Source text: the house

✘ le maison

✓ la maison

Example

Source text: an old friend

✘ une viel ami

✓ un viel ami

2.3. Prepositions

A preposition is an invariable word that combines with a noun or a pronoun, expressing a certain relationship in the sentence. The prepositions ‘à’ and ‘de’ can be contracted with determiners:

à + le = au ; à + les = aux
de + le = du ; de + les = des.

Example

Source text: He went to the castle.

✘ Il est allé à le château.

✓ Il est allé au château.

2.4. Verbs

In French, the auxiliary verb avoir (‘to have’) is more used to form the compound tenses of all the transitive verbs in the active voice and some intransitive verbs. The auxiliary verb être (‘to be’) is more used to form the compound tenses of most of the intransitive verbs and to form passive and pronominal voices.

In presence of the double auxiliary verb in the past participle, the first one is always the auxiliary verb avoir (‘to have’). The second depends on the verb (cf. paragraph above).

Favor the use of the active voice or of the impersonal form of the verb instead of the passive voice for the translation of the passive voice in English (which occurs with a high frequency).

Example

Source text: These drawings are made by me.

✘ Ces dessins sont faits par moi.

✓ J'ai fait ces dessins.

In general, the imperative form in English can be translated into the imperative form in French. However, in the case of recipes, instructions, guides, indications, safety rules, etc., the infinitive form is preferable. If you begin to translate with an imperative or infinitive, you have to be consistent and use the same form throughout the whole document.

Example

Source text: View different options and click on the button to view more information.

✘ Voir les différentes options et cliquez sur le bouton pour afficher plus d'informations.

✓ Voir les différentes options et cliquer sur le bouton pour afficher plus d'informations.

Always favor the use of the future simple for the translation of future simple in English (I will (not) + infinitive verb).

Example

Source text: I will offer her flowers for her birthday.

✘ Je vais lui offrir des fleurs pour son anniversaire.

✓ Je lui offrirai des fleurs pour son anniversaire.

To translate the gerund forms (very frequent in English), favor other tense and verbal modes, such as the indicative present or the infinitive.

Example

Source text: Being very active on this project, I found the error quickly.

✘ Etant très active sur ce projet, j'ai trouvé l'erreur rapidement.

✓ Très active sur ce projet, j'ai trouvé l'erreur rapidement.

The same happens with the use of the passive voice, which is much more frequent in English than in French. Consequently, the active voice is always a preferable choice when translating into French.

Example

Source text: The translations are done by our editors.

✘ Les traductions sont réalisées par nos éditeurs.

✓ Nos éditeurs réalisent les traductions.

Favor the use of neutral or collective expressions and use the feminine gender to indicate jobs, functions or status if applicable.

2.5. Numbers

“Soixante-dix”, “quatre-vingt” and “quatre-vingt-dix” are “septante”, “huitante” and “nonante” in French Swiss.

3. Orthography

3.1. Abbreviations

Abbreviations are written with a period in the end without whitespaces.

Example

Source text: Beverages containing more than 1.2% alcohol by vol. pay more taxes.

✘ Les boissons contenant plus de 1,2% d'alcool par vol paient plus d’impôts.

✓ Les boissons contenant plus de 1,2% d'alcool par vol. paient plus d’impôts.

On the contrary, units of measure (such as meter, liter, etc.) are not written with a period and are preceded by whitespace.

Example

Source text: 75 cl of ink-jet printer is more expensive than a bottle of champagne.

✘ 75cl. d'encre pour imprimante coûtent plus cher qu'une bouteille de champagne.

✓ 75 cl d'encre pour imprimante coûtent plus cher qu'une bouteille de champagne.

3.2. Apostrophes

The apostrophe is used when the last letter of the determiner or the pronoun is a vowel or a silent ‘h’ and the first letter of the following word is also a vowel or a silent ‘h’.

Examples

Source text: The tree shelters him.

✘ le arbre le abrite.

✓ l’arbre l’abrite.

Source text: There is only one train.

✘ Il ne y a que un train.

✓ Il n’y a qu’un train.

3.3. Capitalization

Use initial capital letters for institutions

Examples

✓ Le Conseil d’État

✓ Le Grand Conseil

✓ Les Chambres fédérales

✓ Le Tribunal cantonal

In general, adjectives or complements placed after the name of an institution use a lower case (Comptoir suisse, Tribunal fédéral, etc.).

Use lower case for function names

The names of positions held by individuals are lower-cased.

Examples

✓ La cheffe du Département des institutions et de la sécurité (DIS)

✓ Le président de la Commission de gestion

✓ La directrice de l’Établissement secondaire de Renens

✓ Le commandant de la Police cantonale

3.3.4 Capital letter in polite correspondence (address headings and greetings)

Examples

✓ Madame la Conseillère d’État

✓ Cher Collègue

Lower case for law titles (federal recommendation)

Titles of laws and other legislative acts are not capitalized.

Examples

✓ Le gouvernement propose une modification de la loi sur l’aménagement du territoire

Exception: the Constitution is generally written with a capital C.

Acronyms

The use of upper case letters (sometimes combined with lower case letters) is however customary in acronyms.

Examples

✓ LAT, LADB, LPers

✓ MCBA (Musée cantonal des beaux-arts)

✓ CFF (Chemins de fer fédéraux)

Capitalize "commune" and "canton" when personified

The “canton” takes a lower-case "c" when referring to its territory. The same applies to communes.

The rule calls for a capital "c" for commune and canton when they are individualized and personified.

Example

✓ La Commune autorise la manifestation.

✓ Le Canton accorde un délai aux initiant

In texts which, in accordance with this rule, have both upper and lower case "canton" or "commune", the lower case can be used throughout the document.

Internet, intranet, web

There's no rule governing the use of upper or lower case for the first letter of "internet", "intranet" or "web".

In general, the most important rule is to apply the same logic throughout the document.

In Swiss French, a capital letter is not accented, but a word in capital letters must be accented.

3.4. Compounds

Compounds have no precise rules. However, we can establish the following:

The words can be written together, with a hyphen or with whitespace. The 1990-spelling reform recommends the weld of the words strongly anchored in the use: compounds of a verb followed by a name (faitout), compounds of nominal and adjectival elements (millefeuille), and onomatopoeia.
The words are written with a hyphen if they are compound numbers.
If the compound is a foreign word or is composed of at least one foreign word, translate it if possible. If it is not possible, adapt it with a determiner or a hyphen (week-end instead of weekend).

The plural of a compound depends on its composition:

noun + noun

a) when the nouns are equally important, they both become plural (un chou-fleur; des choux-fleurs);

b) when one noun is modifying the other (usually with a preposition), only the first one becomes plural (un chef-d'oeuvre; des chefs-d'oeuvre).

noun + adjective

a) both are plural (un grand-père; des grands-pères).

adjective + adjective

a) both are plural (un sourd-muet; des sourds-muets).

adverb + noun

a) only the noun is plural (un haut-parleur/des haut-parleurs).

preposition + noun

a) only the noun is plural (une contre-offensive; des contre-offensives).

adverb/adjective + past participle

a) only the participle is plural (un nouveau-né; des nouveau-nés).

Verb/preposition + noun

a) if the noun is concrete and countable, it is plural (un couvre-lit; des couvre-lits; un sans-abri; des sans-abris);

b) if the noun is abstract or collective, traditionally the compound noun is invariable. However, the 1990-spelling reform allows the noun to be plural (un porte-monnaie; des porte-monnaie or des porte-monnaies).

verb + verb

a) the noun is invariable (un laissez-passer, des laissez-passer).

noun + preposition + noun

a) only the first noun is plural (fin de semaine; fins de semaine).

There are some exceptions:

truncated units ending in -o or -i are invariable (un anglo-saxon; des anglo-saxons);
the adjective demi is invariable (une demi-bouteille; des demi-bouteilles).

This information can be found at https://www.lawlessfrench.com/grammar/compound-noun-plurals/

3.5 Diacritics

There are five types of diacritics in French:

acute accent:

is only used over the vowel e to indicate its closed stamp (médecin, marché).

grave accent:

is placed over the vowel e to change its sound (mère);
is also placed over the vowels a and u to distinguish homophones (ou vs. où; la vs. là).

circumflex accent:

can be placed over the vowels a, e, i, o, u to change some pronunciations (fête), to serve as a marker for vowels which were followed by another letter in an earlier state of the language (forêt), or to distinguish homophones (sur vs. sûr).

cedilla:

is placed under the letter c before the vowels a, o and u to indicate the pronunciation /s/ (ça, aperçu). The cedilla is not used with the letters e and i (ici, merci).

umlaut:

is placed on the vowels e, i, and u to indicate a separate pronunciation (glaïeul).

3.6. Foreign words

Foreign words are frequently translated. When it is not the case, the use of a determiner shows its anchoring. They are written without quotation marks.

Example

Source text: Potsdamer Platz

✘ Potsdamer Platz

✓ La Potsdamer Platz

3.7. Numerals

Regarding numerals format (written in numbers or words), you must always respect the source text: if they are written as digits in the source text, this should be maintained in the translation; on the other hand, if they are written as words, they should be translated to the target language.

There are, however, some specificities for Swiss French:

Use whitespace to indicate groups of thousands, contrary to English, which uses a comma.
The decimal separator is a comma.

Examples

✓ À 10 000 m d’altitude

✓ Elle avait 3580 amis sur Facebook en 2014

✓ Pi is 3,14

Compound numbers in words:

- numbers in a literary or general text

- duration (example: "La loi a mis trente ans à être approuvée")

- quantities (example: "Les six cents citoyennes concernées")

- expressions (examples: "faire les quatre cents coups", "se mettre sur son trente et un", "des centaines de francs", "huit fois sur dix")

- numbers at the beginning of a sentence, unless it's a date, or the text includes a lot of numbers (e.g. statistics)

Compound numbers in Arabic numerals

- years, dates, times and hours (example: Le 17 juin se fête!)

- weights and measures, as well as distances, temperatures, longitudes and latitudes, and ages (example: Le Japonais de 25 ans a couru les 100 km en 6 h 13' 33")

- enumerations and statistics, as well as sums, fractions and percentages, articles of law,

account numbers

Telephone and fax numbers

Please note without punctuation.

Examples

✓ Tel. 021 316 05 15, fax 021 316 40 52

3.8. Symbols

Symbols (%, +, cm, etc.) are always preceded by whitespace.

Example

Source text: 2.5%

✘ 2,5%

✓ 2,5 %

4. Punctuation

4.1. How to use punctuation marks

Comma | ,

In an enumeration;

to separate words, groups of words or clauses coordinated by the conjunctions ‘et’ and ‘ou’ when there are two or more coordinated units;

before ‘et’ and ‘ou’ when the coordinated clauses do not have the same subject or idea;

before ‘car’, ‘mais’, ‘puis’, ‘sauf and the second ‘soit’ (soit… soit…) or ‘ni’ (ni… ni…);

to isolate or frame words, groups of words or clauses in apposition or interpolated.

Example

✘ Marie Pierre et Paul mangent.

✓ Marie, Pierre et Paul mangent.

Colon | :

Before an enumeration, a quotation, a reported discourse, an explanation (relation of cause or consequence);

It should be preceded by a thin space but this space is almost always deleted as it is rarely recognized by browsers or softwares.

Example

✘ Ne pas oublier

les fruits

le poisson

✓ Ne pas oublier:

les fruits

le poisson

Semicolon | ;

To separate clauses or independent expressions which have a small relation;

to match two clauses;

to separate terms of an enumeration introduced by a colon;

It should be preceded by a thin space but this space is almost always deleted as it is rarely recognized by browsers or softwares.

Example

✘ Exister, c’est être là, simplement les existants apparaissent, se laissent rencontrer, mais on ne peut jamais les déduire (J.P. Sartre)

✓ Exister, c’est être là, simplement; les existants apparaissent, se laissent rencontrer, mais on ne peut jamais les déduire (J.P. Sartre).

Period | .

To indicate the end of a sentence.

Example

✘ Je vais bien Et toi ?

✓ Je vais bien. Et toi ?

Exclamation point | !

At the end of an exclamatory sentence or a sentence expressing surprise, exasperation, admiration, an order, or an interjection;

it should be preceded by a thin space but this space is almost always deleted as it is rarely recognized by browsers or softwares.

Example

✘ Venez tout de suite

✓ Venez tout de suite!

Question mark | ?

At the end of an interrogative sentence;

It should be preceded by a thin space but this space is almost always deleted as it is rarely recognized by browsers or softwares.

Example

✘ Comment vas-tu

✓ Comment vas-tu?

Hyphen | -

To join the parts of the same word (compounds);

when there’s a line break.

Example

✘ peut être; allez vous

✓ peut-être; allez-vous

En dash | –

In a dialogue, it introduces the words spoken by the different characters or marks the interlocutor's change;

in a list, they are used to enumerate terms.

Example

✘ Comment vas-tu ?

Je vais bien et toi ?

✓ – Comment vas-tu ?

– Je vais bien et toi ?

Em dash | —

To frame segments of sentences (as brackets).

Example

✘ J’aime les pâtisseries aussi bonnes que belles que fait mon pâtissier.

✓ J’aime les pâtisseries — aussi bonnes que belles — que fait mon pâtissier.

Example

✘ J’aime les pâtisseries aussi bonnes que belles que fait mon pâtissier.

✓ J’aime les pâtisseries — aussi bonnes que belles — que fait mon pâtissier.

Quote marks | « »

To quote;

when preceded by two points, they introduce a direct speech;

used for a word or expression which is used in an unusual context, and which we wish to emphasize.
they should be preceded by a thin space but this space is almost always deleted as it is rarely recognized by browsers or softwares.

Example

✘ Le destin est un danseur étoile qui fait des entrechats sur la pointe des si., A. Bragance

✓ «Le destin est un danseur étoile qui fait des entrechats sur la pointe des si.», A. Bragance

Please note that you should use the French quotation marks instead of the English quotation marks (“ ”), as these ones are only used for quotations within quotations.

Example

✓ Julie m'a dit «Marie lui a demandé “voulez-vous aller au théâtre avec moi?”».

Brackets | ( )

To isolate words, expressions, or small sentences inside a sentence;

to indicate variants of gender and number.

Example

✘ J’aime les pâtisseries aussi bonnes que belles que fait mon pâtissier.

✓ J’aime les pâtisseries (aussi bonnes que belles) que fait mon pâtissier.

Ellipsis | ...

To mark an omitted word or expression;

to remove lexical material that is less relevant or already expected in the sentence;

to introduce hesitation or suspense;

no whitespace before.

Example

✓ Petit a petit, l’oiseau fait son nid.

✓ Petit a petit...

4.2. Punctuation in greetings and closings

Regarding greetings, the comma is the punctuation used in French. Don't use the exclamation mark.

Examples

Source text: Hey!

✘ Bonjour !

✓ Bonjour,

Source text: Hey Susan!

✘ Bonjour Susan !

✓ Bonjour Susan,

As far as closings are concerned, French punctuation rules state that the formulas that contain a verb form are followed by a period.

Examples

Source text: Accept our sincerest greetings.

✘ Recevez nos salutations distinguées,

✓ Recevez nos salutations distinguées.

On the other hand, the formulas that do not contain a verb are usually followed by a comma. However, it is also frequent to have both punctuation marks (comma and period).

Source text: Kind regards.

✓ Meilleures salutations,

✓ Meilleures salutations.

Source text: Thank you.

✓ Merci,

✓ Merci.

For more information about this topic: http://bdl.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/bdl/gabarit_bdl.asp?id=4946

5. Register

5.1. Grammatical and Lexical Registers

Register refers to the level of formality used in the text. It shows how our clients address their customers and contributes to the voice of the brand itself. Register may vary depending on the company, the brand, the service they offer, the customers, and the target language.

We make a first main distinction between grammatical and lexical register: the first one regards the use of pronouns and verb person (for the languages to which this morphological feature is applied), while the latter is related to lexical choices since some words and expressions also have a degree of formality or colloquialism.

Both these registers are also divided into formal and informal, as shown below.

5.2. Formal Register

The formal register corresponds to a correct language, both lexically and syntactically. The sentences are sometimes complex, and the main rules of syntax are respected. It is used for professional or official communication when the interaction is impersonal and involves a distance between the interlocutors.

Category	Examples	Type of Register
Personal pronouns	nous, vous	Grammatical
Verbs (person used to conjugate the verb)	second-person plural: Veuillez trouver ci-joint …	Grammatical
Possessive pronouns	votre, vos	Grammatical
Greetings	Cher Monsieur, Chère Madame, Bonjour,	Lexical
Closings	Meilleures salutations. Au revoir.	Lexical

5.3. Informal Register

The informal register corresponds to the ordinary language, with a larger number of liberties. This register is especially used between close friends or people belonging to the same social community in which any formalism can be limited (members of the family, friends, classmates, work colleagues).

However, when we are working with customer support communication — and the vast majority of Unbabel's translation jobs fall into this domain — "informal" actually means using the "vous" form with a more informal language, a friendlier approach.

In the rare cases in which the text is indeed informal enough to use the "tu" forms (when speaking with children or in a few gaming scenarios), you should follow the table below:

Category	Examples	Type of Register
Personal pronouns	je, tu, on	Grammatical
Verbs (person used to conjugate the verb)	Second person singular: Tu vas bien ?	Grammatical
Possessive pronouns	ta, ton, tes	Grammatical
Greetings	Salut, Coucou,	Lexical
Closings	Salut. À bientôt.	Lexical

6. Localization challenges

6.1. Proper nouns

Proper nouns refer to unique entities, such as persons, places, organizations, brands, events, etc. As foreign proper nouns are concerned, languages may adopt different rules regarding whether they should be translated or kept in the original language. When editing a text, you should follow your language's rules for all different types of proper nouns listed below. However, please note that if there is a glossary provided by the client that includes these types of units, you should always apply the glossary items.

6.1.1. Persons

Proper names are kept untranslated or it can be adapted to French writing. It is also the case of celebrities whose name has an equivalent in French.

Example

Source text: Michael Jackson

✘ Michael Jackson

✓ Mickaël Jackson

6.1.2. Places

Almost all countries, as well as many cities, are translated. Whenever the place has an equivalent in French, you must use it.

Example

Source text: Germany

✘ Germany

✓ Allemagne

6.1.3. Organizations

Organizations (e.g. University of Birmingham) are frequently translated. When the Organization has an equivalent in French, you must use it.

Example

Source text: University of Birmingham

✘ University of Birmingham

✓ Université de Birmingham

6.1.4. Brands and products

Brands (e.g. Sony) and products (e.g. PlayStation) are kept untranslated.

Example

Source text: I have a computer Apple.

✘ J’ai un ordinateur Pomme.

✓ J’ai un ordinateur Apple.

6.1.5. Other entities

Entities such as art (e.g. paintings), events (e.g. festivals, theatre plays), etc. are frequently translated. When it is not the case, the use of a determiner shows its anchoring.

Example

Source text: Titanic

✘ Titanic

✓ Le Titanic

6.2. Acronyms and initials

To know if an acronym/initial needs to be translated, two questions can be asked:

does it have an equivalent in French?
does it correspond to a company or a world-famous institution and, consequently, has a proper noun in French?

If the answer is ‘yes’, you must use the term in French.

Examples

Source text: aids

✘ aids

✓ sida

Source text: WHO (World Health Organization)

✘ WHO (World Health Organization)

✓ OMS (Organisation Mundiale de Santé)

If the answer is ‘no’, it's better to keep the acronym untranslated (i.e. as used in the source text) and provide a definition.

6.3. Date format

English differs from other languages by using, in general, the format mm/dd/yy. This means that references to date need to be changed to dd/mm/yy format when translating into French.

Example

Source text: 01/31/18

✘ 01/31/18

✓ 31/01/18

6.4. Time format

English differs from other languages by using, in general, am/pm format. This means that references to time need to be changed to a 24-hour format when translating into French. Note that to indicate the right time, zeros are not to be put when the number of minutes is lower than ten. Always put whitespace between the number and the hour sign h.

Examples

Source text: 9.30 p.m.

✘ 9h30 du soir

✓ 21 h 30

Source text: 11 a.m.

✘ 11 h 00

✓ 11 h

6.5. Measures

Measures should only be converted when explicitly specified in the instructions. You should only translate them when they have an equivalent term in your language.

French translates measure terms, such as inches, feet, centimeters, etc. Abbreviations should be kept (e.g. 2 ft, 20 cm).

Example

Source text: 20 centimeters

✘ 20 centimeters

✓ 20 centimètres

6.6. Currency

Currency values should be left as they are in the source text. However:

Currency symbols (€, $, £, etc.) are placed after the number, preceded by whitespace.

Example

Source text: €20

✘ €20

✓ 20 €

Do not translate currency initials (USD, GBP, RUB, INR, DKK, NOK, etc.) as they are a convention accepted worldwide. In French, these initials are placed after the number, preceded by whitespace.

Example

Source text: CHF 20

✘ CHF 20

✓ 20 CHF

When there is no figure after the decimal separator, the double zero is indicated by a period and a long dash (12.-).

The decimal separator is a comma.