French localization: language peculiarities and challenges

French is one of the most widespread European languages and has an official status in 28 countries worldwide, including Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, Haiti, Madagascar, Monaco, Senegal, Switzerland, etc. French is the official language of the Court of Justice of the European Union, second among the top languages for the number of countries with official status, and the official language of the EU, FIFA, G7, NATO, and many other international organizations.

With 321 million speakers, it is the fifth most spoken language worldwide, displaying high potential for businesses looking to expand their audience.

Another reason to pay attention to French when choosing the language for localization is the high economic development of French-speaking countries, such as France and Canada. These countries are among the top 10 world economies, underscoring business profitability.

In this article, our team describes what you should consider during the French localization, the language's peculiarities, and how to simplify the entry into the French-speaking market for companies.

French as a pluricentric language

French is a pluricentric language, which means it has different forms based on the country and region. The most significant part of the native speakers (top 10 countries) live in:

• DR Congo - 72M
• France - 63M
• Algeria - 14M
• Morocco -13M
• Germany - 12M
• Italy - 11M
• Cameroon - 11M
• UK - 11M
• Canada - 11M
• Ivory Coast - 9M

Naturally, the French language in different regions has peculiarities inherent to the area. For example, the proximity to English in Canada led to pronunciation and vocabulary differences. So when in Europe, the car will be "Voiture" in Canada, the word "Char" will be more familiar, which is phonetically closer to the English “Car."

When we talk about Africa, French variables can be uncountable as it is the first or second language in 21 countries. Based on the significant differences, there can be highlighted five regions:

• West and Central Africa
• Eastern Africa
• Northwest Africa
• Djibouti
• Creoles

Besides all the changes that should be considered during localization (the native experts are the best support in this question), there are standard rules in every corner of the French-speaking world.

French peculiarities in localization

Besides the pluricentric character of the language, it is important to understand other exceptions to French.

1. Diacritical (accent) marks

Diacritical marks are signs that are used for correct word pronunciation. In France there are:

• l'accent aigu (acute accent) – é
• l'accent grave (grave accent) – à, è, ù
• la cédille (cedilla) – ç l'accent circonflexe (circumflex) – â, ê, î, ô, û l'accent tréma (trema) – ë, ï, ü

Challenges.

When localizing to the French language, consider the following issues related to accent marks: Correct font support of all the signs. Ensure that the design team takes into account all technical requirements of French.

The localization system should support the correct sorting and searching abilities. Keeping all the signs in place during resource file creation and transfer is essential, as this can lead to semantic errors. For example, the localization system should be configured for correct sorting so that "é" might not be sorted as "e" and provide accurate search results for different words like "resume" and "résumé."

2. Non-breaking space ( )

Non-breaking space is the HTML symbol that creates a space between words or other elements. The peculiarity of   is that this space will not be split to prevent text from breaking. The   is vital for the French language localization because of its spelling rules.

Rule 1. The required space before certain punctuation marks: colon (:), quotation mark («»), semicolon (;), question mark (?), and exclamation point (!).

Example: Bonjour  ! = Bonjour !

Rule 2. The required space in currencies (between number and currency sign.)

Example: 10  $= 10 $

Rule 3. Space as a thousand separators.

Example: 1 000 000 = 1 000 000

Challenges.

During localization ensure that all the   and HTML tags in the source and target languages exist and the resource file structure is correct. The easiest way to keep all the HTML elements in their place is using localization quality checks tools, which can automatically detect the changes or restrict changes of some attributes.

3. Masculine and feminine

In contrast to English, where adjectives are not inflected for gender, in French, most adjectives are placed after the noun and inflected, as well as nouns; for example, the word "student" will be - "un étudiant" - masculine and une étudiante - feminine form. Below, you can also see how the adjectives modify.

• lune brillante - the bright moon (feminine) - e as a feminine ending of an adjective;
• soleil brillant - the bright sun (masculine) - no ending for an adjective.

Challenges.

When localizing from languages where genders don't modify the words, it can be hard to understand the correct context without additional information, especially with short text segments. Also, this data can be critical during game localization when the character's name does not display a gender.

To simplify the context information provided, use systems like Lingohub, which offers the following tools for segments:

• Description;
• Content images;
• Term base with additional information including terms' descriptions and images.

4. Formal and informal

The formal and informal tones in French reflect respect and intimacy between people. Like in the German language, there are two forms of pronouns:

• Vous, used in formal communication, addresses one person or group of people with whom you have a formal or professional relationship;
• Tu is used in informal communication with friends, family members, etc.

Additionally, there exist some words like greetings that differ based on the tone of voice:

• Greeting "Bonjour" and farewell "Au revoir" in a formal tone;
• Greeting "Salut" and farewell "À plus" in an informal tone.

An informal tone is also characterized by abbreviated and simplified forms of politeness, simple grammatical structures, and freer syntax.

Challenges.

Maintaining consistency across a project becomes a tough nut to crack when the language has various forms. Different people working on multiple parts of the project can't synchronize their efforts without the supporting tools. As a result, the brand can lose its individuality and will not be remembered.

The best way to solve this challenge is to create a unified style guide available to all localization participants, where each team member can access the needed information about tone of voice, audience, preferred forms of words, etc.

5. Idiomatic expressions localization

Different French terms and phrases penetrated other languages, such as English or Russian; thus, some words are idiomatic and well-known to the audience. For example, déjà vu, rendez-vous, avant-garde, and excusez-moi do not need a counterpart, only correct transliteration.

Understanding when to use these French terms as-is versus finding or creating an equivalent in the target language is critical to effective localization.

Other peculiarities of French localization that are important to notice

• Use the (« ») guillemets instead of ("”);
• Unlike English, the days of the week and months are not capitalized unless at the beginning of a sentence.
• In French, the decimal separator is a comma - 1,5.
• The date format is DD/MM/YYYY, i.e. 31/12/2024.
• AM/PM format is less common than the 24-hour clock.

To sum up

We hope you enjoyed the article about the challenges and peculiarities of French localization and found it insightful. If you need assistance with French software localization, our professional team of translators is always ready to help, and our localization management platform can be the perfect hub for your content.

If you have questions about how Lingohub can support you or are looking for a french localization service - book a demo call with us, and we will guide you through all the benefits.