French

The French say “santé” when making a toast, the Swiss say it when someone sneezes. You should also pay attention to who is inviting you to “dîner”: if the person is French, you’re being asked to dinner; if they’re Swiss, Belgian or Canadian, they want to meet for lunch. The French team at Diction is your competent partner for translation, editing and copywriting in the following four regional varieties. We specialise in providing authentic, idiomatic French texts that read just like originals – in several different varieties of French. Whether your readers are from Marseilles or Montreal: wherever you are, choosing the right word is a matter of cultural understanding.

Many influences from German and Italian can be found in Swiss French, such as “poutser” (from the German “putzen” – to clean) or “sans autre” (from the Italian “senz’altro” – without further ado). If someone from the French-speaking part of Switzerland declares “entrez seulement” (come in), a French person may not come in at all. The influence of English on Québécois is just as strong. Calques (literal translations of words from other languages) are also entering the vocabulary, such as “le chien chaud” (hot dog), “vous êtes les bienvenus” (you’re welcome) or “le surtemps” (overtime).