FR > EN: Rewarding...

When translating the investment term "rendement-risque", perhaps use "risk-reward".

"Reward" tends to be underused in financial translation because we automatically translate "rendement" as "return" (which is correct). Both terms are used by Investopedia, for example:

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/riskrewardratio.asp
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/riskreturntradeoff.asp

"Reward" just adds a bit of variety.

Hugo Dixon

For my money, Hugo Dixon is one of the best and clearest financial writers around. He cut his teeth on the Lex column in the 1990s then, in 2000, went on to found Breakingviews.com, which was snapped up by Reuters a few years ago.

He is currently "editor at large" for Reuters (whatever that means: perhaps he is entitled to take longer lunches than us mere mortals, or turn his mobile phone off, or become large by way of said long lunches?).

His blog can be visited by going to http://blogs.reuters.com/hugo-dixon/

Facing up to the new paradigm: private banks must dialogue, not just communicate + why not try Xing?

Here is a link to an excellent article in the special finance supplement appearing in Le Temps today (in French):

http://www.letemps.ch/Page/Uuid/aa17a71e-1498-11e3-9da5-8ad4c0806839/Les_trois_commandements_de_la_communication_bancaire_daujourdhui#.UidtoBZXtm0

How many Geneva private banks have a Facebook page?

Lombard Odier, my buddies who committed genocide on their translation team just before I was about to join them, have started one but it might have been better to refrain...

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lombard-Odier-Cie/349211655162941

It seems that most Geneva private banks haven't bothered starting a Facebook page (perhaps too low-end for them) but the problem is that Facebook has happily generated a page for them, containing wonderful information from Wikipedia on the bank in question  — which is alright if the Wikipedia page actually casts your bank in a favourable light.

One notable exception is Pictet Wealth Management:

https://www.facebook.com/PictetWealthManagement

This is an excellent page that promotes the PWM's economic research. And there are plenty of other good things too.

When I contacted Pictet, they stated that their Facebook page is mainly targeted at the Japanese market, where the social-networking site has a hybrid business/private-life role. Reportedly, their preference lies with Twitter and LinkedIn.

Personally, I think LinkedIn is a no-no because of:

1. Operation PRISM and other privacy concerns

2. The silly endorsement function that it now has, by which you can endorse people for skills from flower arranging to French. For stinging but warranted criticism of this site, see Lucy Kellaway’s article on 18 August: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/a0423cca-040a-11e3-8aab-00144feab7de.html#axzz2f1uz8hvU

This “skills endorsement” feature has, in my opinion, done a great deal of harm to LinkedIn’s brand image.

Regarding Twitter, this from the FT on 13 September:

Twitter is fun but flawed. Try following a discussion or argument, or searching for an interesting link someone tweeted a few days ago, and see how easy you find it. 

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/5837c954-1a8a-11e3-93e8-00144feab7de.html#axzz2f1uz8hvU

So Facebook is too juvenile, LinkedIn has shot itself in the foot, and Twitter is hard to keep track of.

Where does this leave private banks who want to network on the web?

Perhaps Xing. Sure, 90% of page views still come from Germany, Austria and Switzerland but it has the advantage of working out of Hamburg. And in Germany, data privacy is sacrosanct. And privacy is something that every client wants, not because they have something to hide but because, quite simply, it is something they are entitled to as human beings.

Weasel word - FR > EN: "acteur", He's a real player!

I don't care how many hits you get with "player"; this word makes for a poor translation of the word "acteur".

According to the OED, here is what a "player" means:

1. A sportsperson
2. A confident, successful man with many sexual partners
3. Someone who plays a musical instrument, e.g. a guitar player
4. An actor, as in The Comedy Store Players (http://www.comedystoreplayers.com)

Some translators may be in the habit of using "actor", which seems permissible under OED rules:

Actor - a participant in an action or process: employers are key actors within industrial relations.

So, it's okay to transliterate "acteur" without giving it a second thought. But French loves these abstract words whereas English wants to nail down the concept. How often do you see the word "actor" in the FT unless it's in the arts section?

Another word that comes from the Latin agere, to act, is agent. Sometimes "agent" will fit better than "actor". After all, we talk about an "agent of change".

More poetical translators might also like "movers and shakers". Less lyrically but just as poignant, "prime mover" has more impact as a word in English than "actor".

Other solutions welcome!

FR > EN contrats onéreux > onerous contracts = spotting Frenglish

Often it's so hard to tell when a French expression has been calqued on the English equivalent but this is the case for "contrats onéreux". From Ménard (2004):

Dans ce contexte, l'adjectif onéreux est un faux ami en français. On dit d'un acte qu'il est à titre onéreux lorsque chaque partie doit fournir une contrepartie. L'expression à titre onéreux s'oppose à à titre gratuit.

So "onerous contract" is fine.

Ménard suggests "contrats déficitaires" as the French equivalent.

Editing translations: sorting the sheep from the goats

Time to flag a dodgy business practice that sometimes crops up in the translation world.

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by what I would call a low-end private bank in Geneva which basically said the following:

We are looking for a French> English translator with proven experience (proven by whom?) in legal and financial language...

So far, so good. Then, the punchline:

... to REVISE an English translation of a key document for the Bank. 

Alarm bells. But it's good to stay polite and professional so here's what I replied:


Je vous remercie de votre mail et l'intérêt porté à mes services.

Il ne m'est pas possible de vous faire un devis ni donner un délai pour une révision sans examiner au préalable le document en français et en anglais. Si, par exemple, la traduction actuelle n'est pas de bonne qualité, il s'avérerait plus judicieux de refaire la traduction, tout simplement. 

Je compte parmi mes clients des banques privées genevoises de premier ordre. 

Mon activité principale consiste à fournir des traductions de qualité à une clientèle exigeante.

Je reste à votre disposition. 

So to sort the sheep from the goats, simply ask to see the original text and the brilliant translation that requires your revision skills. The deliberately haughty tone of the email is my way of saying that I'm going to charge you a high fee to absolve you of your sin of choosing a cheap-o translation option (I assume...) in the first place. 

I never heard back... 

Lease vs rental

Here's a useful tweet from Grant Hamilton:

Misstranslation alert: Location d'un véhicule is "vehicle rental" if short term and "vehicle lease" if long term...

FR > EN: "Gestion"

This from Vinay and Darbelnet (Stylistique comparée du français et de l’anglais: méthode de traduction)

In general, French words are mostly situated at a higher level of abstraction than are the corresponding English words.

This is the most important lesson I learned at university, and it pays to bear it in mind when translating from French to English.

So we come to a term in French, "gestion", which often gets translated as simply "management" in English, much to my disdain and horror.

My erstwhile employer, Oddo & Cie, many years ago changed the name of their fund department, incorporated as Oddo Gestion, to Oddo Asset Management. They got it right.

So when translating financial blurb, if you come across "gestion", don't forget an adjective such as "asset" or "investment" (depending on the company and their legacy texts). Don't simply write "Company A specialises in management"!