French Legal Translation and False Friends

By Maeva Cifuentes

In French legal translation, it is paramount to use terminology accurately. Confusing false friends is a mistake neither you nor your client can afford. A professional legal translator will be aware of the nuances. Although there is no substitute for studying both systems and thoroughly understanding their respective terminologies, it’s good to have an idea of some betraying words to watch out for.

Some of these words function as cognates in layman English, which makes them even trickier when drafting legal texts. Often the cognates that work plain English have no meaning in legal English. Double check all words that may look like your friends!

 

French	English
Action	Share in a company, while in legal English ‘action’ means a lawsuit.
Acte	Legal files, records, and dossiers.
(société) Anonyme	Publicly held company. Does not mean an anonymous company.
Associé	Partner (in a law firm)
Réviseur	Auditor
Audience	Hearing, pleading in court
Bail	Real estate lease
Cabinet	Law firm
État civil	A person’s vital statistics
Compétence	Subject-matter jurisdiction
Expertise	Valuation
Ignore	Not being aware of
Réalise	Carry out, effectuate
Rédaction	Write, prepare, draft
Retraite	Retirement
Revendication	Claim
Sensible	Sensitive
Société	Company
Syndicat	Labor union
Transaction	Settlement of a dispute
Habilitation	Authorization
Homologation	Ratification
Majoration	Surcharge
Mensuel	Monthly

 

Do you know any other false friends in Legal French and English?