French is a corporate business language not only in Europe but also in the African and Canadian markets. mots Tercüme translates contracts, tender files, technical documents and commercial correspondence between French and Turkish.
The francophone African market
Contracting and export firms doing business in West and Central Africa usually prepare their tender files in French. In these files the technical specification and the administrative documents form a whole, in the same language and with the same terms.
OHADA law
In a significant number of francophone African countries, commercial and company law has been harmonised through the OHADA rules. Company types and legal concepts are rendered with the terms of this framework.
France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada
The country variants of French differ in some terms and in the names of numbers; Québec French also has preferences of its own. The country the document is going to is identified at the outset.
Spelling and the spacing rule
In French spelling rules a space is left before the two-part punctuation marks, and angle quotation marks are used as quotation marks. These rules directly affect the appearance of a French delivery.
Formal style
French formal correspondence has set opening and closing formulas. The French version of a Turkish letter is built on these formulas; a word-for-word transfer sounds artificial.
Company types
Company types such as SARL and SA are not translated; they are kept together with the trade name. If Turkish company types need to be explained in the French text, the explanation is given in brackets.
The structure of tender files
In French tender files the administrative and technical documents consist of separately named parts. The names of these parts are used in the bid file in the form they have in the specification.
Number and date format
In French the decimal separator is a comma and the thousands separator is a space. The date is written in the order day, month, year, and the names of the months begin with a lower-case letter.
Document layout in African countries
In francophone Africa the document format of public bodies follows the French administrative tradition; the arrangement of seal, signature and date is set accordingly. In translation these elements are carried over in full as descriptions.
Gendered language
In French, titles and names of professions change according to gender. If a person's title appears in the document, the correct form is chosen according to the information in the source document.
From French into Turkish
Long sentences full of conjunctions are common in legal texts with a French source. When they are carried over into Turkish, the integrity of the meaning is preserved and the sentences are split for readability.
When certification is needed
If the country where the French document will be used is not a party to the Apostille Convention, consular legalisation may be required. The legalisation chain is determined at the start of the job according to the country.
Services requested together
French jobs most often come under technical translation, legal translation and sworn translation.
Summary
In French corporate translation the target country determines everything: the legal framework, the choice of terms and the legalisation chain. If the country is known at the outset, the file is built correctly the first time.