In localization, there are situations in which it’s appropriate not to translate — to leave certain words in the source language. To illustrate this conundrum, I like to use an example faced by one of my clients.

The client, a business-to-business company serving marketers, was grappling with the decision whether to translate key words into French or to leave them in English. These words were not your typical Anglicisms, such as “le week-end” instead of “fin de semaine.” Nor were they company jargon. They were technical terms — “data,” “template,” and “tech stack,” for example — for which widely accepted French words do exist — “données,” “modèle,” and “pile technologique,” respectively.

The Stakeholders: What to Expect

Starting with a good-old stakeholder analysis will help you not only identify all the stakeholders, but also map out their likely position so you can prepare your case. 

Your team of linguists probably considers championing their target language to be a critical part of their role, so they are likely to be on what I’d call “Team Translate.” The risk, therefore, if you decide to not translate all words, is that they will “vote with their keyboards” — subtly refusing to use English.

The sales team for a foreign market will often be natives of that country. If they live in an English-speaking context, they will be used to constantly mixing up English and mother tongue words in their everyday communication. Consequently, they are likely to be on “Team Don’t Translate.” Crucially, because they are not linguists, their constant code-switching can make it hard for them to tell which words should be translated and which ones should not when addressing a non-bilingual audience. It will be your job to make that case to them.

The marketing team’s job is to contribute to the overall company goal of maximizing revenue, from driving awareness all the way to boosting purchase intent. So, to them, the choice of using only French words or occasional English words doesn’t matter in itself, provided you ensure the brand speaks the language of its customers. They are on “Team Neutral” and are likely to support whatever works for your customers.

For the C-suite, typically, localization equals translation, period. So, using English words instead of local terms may be completely misunderstood, coming across as sloppiness or a lack of professionalism. Typically, they are on “Team Translate.” They can be persuaded, but the topic has to be handled sensitively, to avoid damaging top management’s perception of the localization department. You need to tread carefully.

Decision Factors: Proficiency and Perception

The main factor to bear in mind when deciding whether or not to keep certain words in English has to be how well your target audience understands English. Within the French population, mastery of the English language is only “moderate” and lags behind other European countries, according to the Education First English Proficiency Index. 

Another factor to consider is the perception of English by your audience. French people as a whole oscillate between viewing English as cultural imperialism and as a status symbol, depending on context and audience.

Some among the French can resent the use of English as English culture imposed through its language. The “Toubon Law” (a French law requiring the use of French in official and commercial communications) is an illustration of this reluctance towards English.

At the same time, English fluency is a status symbol in France. Speaking good English signals a high level of education, a senior role, perhaps international experience and potentially a well-paid job and high social position. Peppering one’s conversation with English words is a very typical way for French speakers to bolster their social image by implying these elements. 

In the context of my client, the target market was marketers and business owners. In the business sector, English is ubiquitous. The main thinkers — such as Philip Kotler, Michael Porter, Seth Godin — and some of the most prestigious programs (e.g. Harvard Business School’s MBA) originate from the United States. So English words are everywhere in marketing and business discourse. The situation is probably similar in other sectors, such as data and IT, and in other countries beyond France.

This leads to what can seem like a contradiction: In a French text, written by French marketers, for French marketers, the target audience expects at least some English words. If your brand used only French terms, the copy would sound unnatural, not written by a native speaker. In other words, and paradoxically, the (over-)zealous use of French signals a copy as a translation, and a company as foreign. This, of course, defeats the very purpose of localization. 

The Process for Success: Who Are Your Target Customers and How Do You Speak With Them?

Based on the above, it is crucial to clarify who your target customers are. Ultimately this is the most important criterion, scaffolding the whole localization strategy. Identifying your target customers will help determine whether they understand English and how they perceive it, and consequently if using some English at all in your French copy is right or not. 

It is not unusual that, upon prodding a bit, you discover that your company is not crystal clear on who their target customers are, or maybe the buyer personas are not detailed or specific enough. For marketing to go through this process with you, the localization expert on your market can be hugely beneficial to everyone.

It may also be that you have several clusters of target customers, with widely varying levels of English mastery. That’s exactly what happened for my client, who serves two types of customers: marketers within large companies (who speak fluent English) and small to medium businesses (whose command of English can be less advanced). They were effectively faced with a choice between college-educated marketers who freely use anglicisms, or small-business owners with potentially limited English proficiency. 

Choosing between English and your target language might mean deciding which audience you’re most willing to risk alienating. It might not be easy, but the decision you take could ultimately benefit your bottom line because usually, one customer segment is more profitable than the other. Choosing deliberately — rather than trying to please everyone — often improves margins substantially.

Once you have internally aligned on who your target customers are, you should look at how your competitors communicate. Their copy will be a good indication of how your target market speaks, writes, and thinks. For this exercise, the competitors to benchmark are not necessarily those with the best financial and sales performance but rather the ones you’ve identified as having strong copy, meaning strong brand identity and brand positioning, unique tone of voice, clear and impactful language and compelling call to action.

To assess the industry codes, you can turn to industry publications, industry events, etc., on your target market. In my client’s case, this was especially enlightening. At the industry events I attend in Paris, when talking about data, marketers use interchangeably the French phrase “les données”, the English “data”, and a blend (“la data” or even “la donnée”). For written texts mixing English and French, my personal favorite of all time is this ad copy from Marketing magazine — written by French marketers for French marketers:

« L’utilisation […] de l’outil sur mesure de notre partenaire d’ad-verification […] en pre-bid nous permet d’intégrer le cahier des charges de l’annonceur en matière de brand safety et de brand suitability au moment du set-up de la campagne, et d’atteindre des scores de compliance de l’ordre de 99 % sur ces critères de qualité. »

Excerpt from Marketing magazine (issue 245, p. 25), with English terms emphasized.

In a single paragraph promoting ad verification tools, the author blends French with English terms: “ad-verification,” “pre-bid,” “brand safety,” “brand suitability,” “set-up,” and “compliance.” These aren’t borrowed for lack of French equivalents — “vérification publicitaire,” “pré-enchère,” “sécurité de marque,” “mise en place” and “conformité” all exist. They’re chosen because in this context, English signals expertise.

At the very end of your process comes your recommendation. As much as possible, it needs to be easy to explain and simple to implement. The entire language team, including translators who are only hired for holiday cover, should find it easy to adhere to. I would try to avoid “hybrid” decisions, where the language used depends on context or audience. You might get away with, for instance, English in verbal presentations versus French in written documents, as it is fairly obvious. But if the choice of language depends on the type of target audience (e.g., English for big companies versus French for SMBs), it risks increasing the likelihood of errors and inconsistencies, even if you always include a mention of the target audience in your briefing notes.

An Opportunity Not to Be Missed

Initially, my client and I faced what seemed like a conundrum, with different stakeholders holding different opinions (“Team Translate” versus “Team Don’t Translate”). We had to strike the right balance between being understood by French speakers and coming across as an expert in our field. But this type of predicament can be turned into an opportunity to shine a light on localization as a strategic function. Through its unique expertise, at the intersection of language, marketing and business, localization is strategically positioned to help companies develop internationally.