Flex Your French!

6 Translation Exercises for a Language

Workout
fluentu.com/blog/french/french-translation-exercises/

Pat B April 25,

2018

What if there was a way you could turn your passion for French into cold hard cash?

I couldn’t believe it either, but it’s true!

And not only that, but you’ll also put your French into overdrive by doing it.

Just what am I talking about?

Translation!

As a major language, French needs translators who can help share research, speeches,
books and more with the world. That means there are opportunities to transform your
French skills into a fun new side hustle.

But even if your French skills aren’t quite up to professional grade yet, French translation
exercises are a fantastic way to build your vocabulary and internalize the language’s
grammar rules.

While there aren’t many sites strictly devoted to French translation practice, through my
experience as a French student and translator I’ve found many creative online
translation exercises that provide feedback or corrections. These include a few that, as
your skills grow, you can eventually start cashing in on.

But first, why exactly should French learners try translation?

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How Does Translating Help You Learn French?
Even if you don’t intend to make a career out of your language skills, translating French
gives you practical experience with vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar. You
need to expose yourself to real-world French to truly master the language—textbooks just
can’t cut it all alone.

I keep a database of French words I encounter while translating. You’ll learn many new
words related to academics, technology and jurisprudence (the subjects most frequently
translated). More importantly, you’ll realize that some words are simply used more often
than others, even if they mean the same thing. Getting familiar with these words makes
your French more authentic.

There’s also a cultural element to translation. Several of the translation exercises you’ll find
below will open you to a world of authentic French media, from movies to Wikipedia
articles. And with others, you’ll quickly discover the art of formal written French.

For example, French correspondence often uses formules de politesse (formulas of

politeness) such as:

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Je vous prie d’agréer, madame, l’éxpression de mes sentiments distingués.

The sentence above literally translates to: I beseech you to accept, madam, the expression
of my distinguished sentiments.

This is quite a mouthful to basically say the same thing as “sincerely!”

But this is real-world French. The French you’ll see while translating. Just why do the
French use such long-winded expressions? What does this say about their relationship with
their language? Every language implies a different way of thinking, and understanding this is
indispensable to mastering French.

Invaluable Tools for Top-notch Translation

Translators can never do all their work without help. There are simply too many words to
know, too many subtleties that are part of native-sounding French. Here are some of the
tools I use to help me in my translation practice.

Look up Words in Context on Linguee

What makes Linguee different from other word-search sites is that you can search entire
phrases. Linguee scours the internet to find word-for-word copies of the phrase you typed
within a larger context, allowing you to make sure that you’re translating a given word
correctly depending on the situation.

Of course you can also search for individual words, in which case Linguee provides both
examples and the definition.

Double-check Your Writing at BonPatron

I only recently discovered this site, but I can’t believe I didn’t know about it sooner! At
BonPatron, you can literally copy and paste your entire French text and it’ll identify errors
and explain why you were incorrect!

BonPatron even gives you the option to uncheck je suis francophone (“I am a francophone”).
By unchecking this box, BonPatron will know that you’re a learner and will offer more
explanations.

Consider SDL Trados Studio Translation Software

If you’re really serious about translating, think about investing in software like SDL Studio.

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Over 250,000 professional translators use SDL Studio for all their translation needs.
Although it’s not free, SDL Studio offers automatic translations, dictionaries, project
management and much more.

A distinct advantage of SDL Studio is that its dictionaries offer a consistent tone of voice
across all languages. This is very important when translating academic and corporate
documents because there’s a very specific writing style that you must adhere to with clear,
concise grammar. Editions are available for professionals and freelancers.

6 Creative French Translation Exercises for All Learning

Levels
As I explained above, there aren’t many online exercises dedicated to translation, so you
have to think of other strategies to get in some translation practice. But what might those
strategies be?

Become a Volunteer Translator at Translations for Progress

If your goal is to become a certified translator, you’ll need experience working for certified
translation offices. Unfortunately, many translation offices are unwilling to give you work if
you’re not certified. It’s a Catch-22!

But you can do what many certified translators before you have done to gain experience:
volunteer!

At Translations for Progress, NGOs post translation work they need volunteers to pick up.
Once you’ve registered, to find work, click English and “Search our Databases” on the main
page and you’ll be able to filter projects by language.

Click “List all Translation Tasks” and look for the pairs “English to French” and “French to
English.”

It’s up to you to contact the organizations, but as part of the deal, they’ll give you pointers
and corrections on your translation. If the project is big enough, they might even
compensate you. Once an NGO gave me a tote bag!

Keep in mind that it’s better to start off translating “French to English” instead of “English to
French.” Your English grammar is better, and frankly this is more fair to the contracting
organizations.

Complete the French Translation Exercises at france-pub.com

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As I explained before, there’s a lamentable lack of actual translation exercises for French
learners. If they exist, they usually just have one or two translation questions in a long list of
exercises. One exception is france-pub.com, which has a few dedicated translation
exercises for language learners.

On the main page, scroll to the bottom and click on the link that says “French Lessons.”
From here, scroll to the bottom again and click where it says “Translation 1,” “Translation 2,”
etc. under “Homework.”

Here you can translate French phrases and sentences. Some are quick, simple phrases on
basic vocabulary, while others are longer sentences in a narrative. For most of the exercises
you can check your work immediately by clicking for the correct translation to compare to.

For extra help, france-pub.com offers several lessons and grammar pointers.

Translate Authentic French Videos on FluentU

How about practicing translation with real French movies, commercials, hilarious YouTube
clips and more? You can get this type of authentic, entertaining translation exercise with
FluentU.

FluentU lets you learn French from real-world content like music videos, commercials, news
broadcasts, cartoons and inspiring talks.

Since this content is material that native French speakers actually watch regularly, you’ll get
the opportunity to learn real French the way it’s spoken in modern life.

One quick look will give you an idea of the diverse content found on FluentU:

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Love the thought of learning French with native materials but afraid you won’t understand
what’s being said? FluentU brings authentic French videos within reach of any
learner. Interactive captions guide you along the way, so you never miss a word.

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Tap on any word to see a definition, in-context usage examples, audio pronunciation,
helpful images and more. For example, if you tap on the word “suit,” then this is what
appears on your screen:

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Don’t stop there, though. Use FluentU to actively practice all the vocabulary in any video
through word lists, flashcards, quizzes and fun activities like “fill in the blank.”

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As you continue advancing in your French studies, FluentU keeps track of all the grammar
and vocabulary that you’ve been learning. It uses your viewed videos and mastered
language lessons to recommend more useful videos and give you a 100% personalized
experience.

Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download
the FluentU app from the iTunes store or Google Play store.

Write French/English Wikipedia Articles

While surfing Wikipedia, you may’ve noticed that many articles come in a range of languages
that you can select from the lefthand sidebar. Translating English articles into French (or
vice versa) and then posting the resulting article is a fun way to practice translation while
learning about all kinds of topics.

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Wikipedia’s French speaking community will make edits and corrections on your article. All
you have to do is keep a copy of your original and note the changes.

For this to work, you’ll have to register (on the top right of the main page, click on “Create
Account”). Next, you’ll have to find an article that exists in English but not in French (or in
French but not in English). Alternatively, if you can’t find an article to translate, you can do
your own translation offline and check it against an existing French version.

Try to focus on topics that interest you, because a Wikipedia article can be a big
undertaking. Choosing something you’re inherently interested in will make this a fun
translation activity and not a chore.

Advanced Speaker? Become a Freelance Translator

Of course you can’t be a certified translator without work experience and exams, but there’s
no law that says you can’t do freelance translation. You won’t be able to put a seal on your
work (like that of the American Translators Association), which means that you won’t be able
to translate sensitive documents like academic transcripts or criminal records, but you can
always translate documents such as resumes, essays, letters, etc.

One great site to start with is ProZ.com. ProZ.com is one of the best-known websites in the
translation community, and for good reason. Here you can find translation jobs,
translation help and even discounts on translation products.

At the welcome screen, in the section “search for translators/interpreters,” if you select
French, you’ll see a list of all French translators. As a website member, you’ll have access to
the “job search” feature, allowing you to monetize your passion.

You can also get your name out there as a freelance translator on Upwork or Craigslist. On
these sites, you can advertise yourself as a freelance translator and search for translation
job postings.

On Upwork you can check out how much other freelances are charging to offer competitive
prices. Keep in mind you’ll most likely have to charge less for uncertified translations—
another reason to gain work experience and become certified!

Ramp It up with Simultaneous YouTube Interpretation

Some of the best translators work as interpreters, either simultaneous or consecutive.
Simultaneous interpreters translate at the same time that the presenter is speaking using
headphones. Consecutive interpreters speak just after. In this case, the presenter will pause,
allowing the interpreter to translate.

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Interpretation can be challenging because even if you understand everything in French (or
English), formulating a sentence in your head under strict time limits is difficult. But that’s
what makes it such great practice for French learners. In real conversations with French
native speakers, you’ll need to understand what they’re saying as they’re saying it.

Plus, if you can master interpretation, there are many professional opportunities available.

I practice by simply finding French videos on YouTube, and trying to translate aloud what I
hear. French conferences and TED Talks are best for this because the French tends to be
slower and clearer. As your skills advance, you can try interpreting authentic French
YouTube channels (the kind native speakers watch).

If you can translate, you’ve made it. It’s the ultimate expression of French mastery. Of
course you’ll never know if you don’t try. Although unorthodox, French translation exercises
will help you get your French skills up to a native-sounding level.

If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn
French with real-world videos.

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