Frequently Asked Questions concerning the Europarl candidate country translations
FAQ
Question : What do I do about the title "Frequently Asked Questions" and its abbreviation FAQ ?
File :
EP Reply:
If translators feel the phrase Frequently Asked Questions and abbreviation FAQ do not have sufficiently well-known equivalents in their languages, they should follow the model given in some other language versions of the FAQ page, eg: ES or DE
FAQ = Frequently Asked QuestionsPreguntas frecuentes
FAQ = Frequently Asked Questions
Häufig gestellte Fragen
or the DA model:
FAQ/OSS = Ofte Stillede SpørgsmålWe suggested in the "Instructions" file on the PECO tenders page that translators consult other language versions for inspiration and guidance as to how the same translation problems have already been resolved, rather than just referring to the EN.
Question : What do I do about the entry "Who is my MEP?" in the FAQ page?
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EP Reply:
Your translator is right to question the point of translating this entry, which is in fact targeted entirely at the UK audience and does not exist in the other 10 language versions of the site.
PLEASE DELETE THIS ENTRY (TITLE + TEXT) FROM THE TRANSLATION YOU SUPPLY IN ALL LANGUAGE VERSIONS.
Question: What do I do about the entry "...but it's not in English..." in the FAQ page?
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EP Reply:
Your translator is right to ask for clarification of this entry. It refers to dynamic applications for legislative and official documents which will not exist in the candidate country languages until accession. To replace the word "English" by e.g. "Lithuanian" therefore makes no sense.
PLEASE RETAIN THE WORD "ENGLISH" IN THE TRANSLATION OF THIS ENTRY AND ADD THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE (TRANSLATED) AT THE END OF THE ENTRY:
"Legislative documents and most official databases will be available in Bulgarian / Czech / Estonian etc. only after accession."
Abbreviations, especially Political Group names
Question: What do I do about the Political Group abbreviations and names?
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EP Reply:
Your translators will find it helpful (essential?) to consult the "Overview of the European Parliament" web page
which already exists in an semi-official version in the accession country languages
eg: etc.
For the Political Group names and some others, translators should take the version of the abbreviation (usually it's the EN version, since no official translations into the new languages yet exist) to be found on that page in their language.
Thus the Czech version gives:
EPP-ED / Skupina Evropské lidové strany a Evropských demokratůPES / Skupina Strany evropských socialistů
ELDR / Skupina Evropské liberální, demokratické a reformistické strany
Zelení/EFA / Skupina Zelených a Evropské svobodné aliance
EUL/NGL / Konfederace Evropské spojené levice a Severské zelené levice
UEN / Skupina Unie za Evropu národů
EDD / Skupina Evropa demokracií a odlišností
TDI / Skupina nezávislých členů - smíšená skupina
NB: In other places on EUROPARL, the abbreviations are often given in FR on all language versions, eg: in the cre/info_en.htm page or in the MEP database pages.
The Romanian and Lithuanian translators have pointed out mistakes in this Overview file as translated into their language.
We cannot evaluate the correctness of the existing translations in the file and other language versions. These were ordered and checked by the EP Press Directorate-General but are in no way definitive official versions. We assumed they would be OK but if your translators feel they are not, they should write what they regard as the most correct in their own political context.
PERHAPS THE SAFEST THING TO DO WILL BE TO LEAVE THE POLITICAL GROUP ABBREVIATIONS IN EN AND TO PUT THEIR FULL NAMES IN EN FOLLOWED BY AN APPROXIMATE TRANSLATION IN BRACKETS.
Other abbreviations:
Where abbreviations can be avoided (in text, where space is not a problem - unlike in titles or headings found on menu pages), it may be best to write names out in full even if abbreviations are used in EN. In menus, especially the home page, space is of course at a premium.
"ACP-EU" can be left in its EN version in menus, but could be written out in full in text paragraphs.
Question : Should I create new keywords in addition to or in place of those proposed?
EP Reply:
We could not agree morethat keywords are best created anew for each language. However, we cannot create them in your languages, so we have asked for the EN ones to be translated. As we said before, "translation" for us means adaptation for the best possible result in the target language, not a slavish following of the text. So please, we trust your translators' inspiration - but if they "invent" keywords, could they please supply an EN "key" in a separate Word file called "keywords_new_bg.doc" etc. (one file for all pages in a given language).
Question: How should we translate "part-session"? The translations between the existing languages in Europarl seem very different.
7A Yes, the terminology is very confusing, but quite consistent. Refer to Rule 10 of the Rules of Procedure for explanation in all official languages
I quote:
"The parliamentary term shall run concurrently with the term of office of Members provided for in the Act of 20 September 1976.
The session shall be the annual period prescribed by the Act and the Treaties.
The part-session shall be the meeting of Parliament convened as a rule each month and subdivided into daily sittings."
EN / DE / FR / Explanationparliamentary term / Wahlperiode / législature / lasts 5 years (now the 5th, 1999-2004)
session / Sitzungsperiode / session / lasts 1 year within the parliamentary term and is broken up into the monthly part-sessions when the EP reconvenes in Strasbourg or Brussels, between which it is adjourned
part-session / Tagung / période de session / the monthly meetings
sitting / Sitzung
(Sitzungstag) / séance / each day of such monthly meetings
Other points raised:
Non-breaking spaces, quotes and hyphens:
We have no preferences. Translators should do whatever most corresponds to the best practice and usage in their languages.
In general:
For the menus and help or info pages, we always prefer a "personal" flavour rather than a "neutral" one if neutral = bureaucratic. Obviously text pages which set out Rules etc. must be stricter. Our menus are not word-for-word translations, but adaptations into the target languages to make the task of orientation and navigation as easy as possible for the target-language native speaker. We know that many administrative or jargon terms are not yet definitively fixed in the new languages, these translations will thus remain more or less provisional (but will already be a contribution to defining the right terms). The key priority is naturalness in each language, making the reader feel "at home" rather than alienated by strange words as well as concepts.