Challenges translating PowerPoint Presentations into French

1. Translator must have a broader
understanding of the situation and be
able to find its cultural equivalent.
© 2009 - Oleg Kuzin, Cert. Tr. (Cda) 1

2.  Translation from English to French is typically
15% longer
 This may vary depending on the technical
nature of the language used
 If paraphrases have to be used to convey an
idea, the target language will be longer.
 If translator is unfamiliar with subject matter,
translation will be longer as well.
© 2009 - Oleg Kuzin, Cert. Tr. (Cda) 2

3.  This 13 picas font is legible from a distance of
30 feet when projected on a screen 8 x 10 ft.
 This 18 pica font is much harder to see. If it was chosen in order to
accomodate longer French text, it will annoy the viewer or even
have him disconnect during the presentation.
© 2009 - Oleg Kuzin, Cert. Tr. (Cda) 3

4.  ″ Don’t count your chickens before they are
hatched ″ is used figuratively to discourage
overoptimistic endeavours.
 In French, the equivalent expression is « Ne pas
vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué »,
refers to Not selling the bear’s skin before
killing it.
 In Austria, one says ″ Do not praise the day
before the evening comes ″.
© 2009 - Oleg Kuzin, Cert. Tr. (Cda) 4

5.  Authors are proud of their work and often
want to show off their creativity. One wanted
to advertise a Chocolate cake and used the
lyrics from Amore (Dean Martin show). The
problem was the target audience, Quebecers,
knew the tune but not the English lyrics.
© 2009 - Oleg Kuzin, Cert. Tr. (Cda) 5

6.  English Xxxxx
 Xxxx Xxxx
 Xxxx Xxxx
Versus
 French – 15% longer
 Xxxxxxx
 Xxxxxxx
 Xxxxxxx
 Xxxxxxx
© 2009 - Oleg Kuzin, Cert. Tr. (Cda) 6

7.  Sales vs Here are the projected sales
 Features vs technical features of the product
 5-7% sales increase vs
 Obviously, the presenter must know his subject
matter and use the shortened slide captions to
embroider upon. (Traditional caveat: Don’t
read the slides)
© 2009 - Oleg Kuzin, Cert. Tr. (Cda) 7

8.  In cases when both English and French
presentations are viewed simultaneously (with
interpretation), strive for uniformity.
 If French text is radically different from
English, synchronization will be difficult.
 The French viewer will resent the confusing
situation even if the presentation is accurate.
© 2009 - Oleg Kuzin, Cert. Tr. (Cda) 8

9.  English slogan said ″In Search of Excellence″
 French equivalent was translated as
«Excellence intégrale». (idea of search
disappeared)
 French staff in Québec thought that no Search
was necessary since Excellence intégrale had
been achieved.
© 2009 - Oleg Kuzin, Cert. Tr. (Cda) 9

10.  A PowerPoint presentation should be brief and
to the point.
 Work with a seasoned translator to provide the
most fitting equivalent to your presentation.
 Contact: Oleg Kuzin, Cert. Tr. (Canada)
 translationbeyondwords@gmail.com
 416-222-2774
 http://translationbeyondwords.blogspot.com/
© 2009 - Oleg Kuzin, Cert. Tr. (Cda) 10