Interview with Grace Shalhoub - French legal translator

 

Intro - short biography

Grace Shalhoub is a court-certified legal translator based in France, specializing in legal and technical translation since 2014. She is also a certified translator in Quebec. Her main areas of expertise include criminal law, namely money-laundering and swindling cases, family law, and business law. Her working languages are French, English, Hebrew, and Arabic. She also has over 10 years of experience teaching legal English and English-to-French translation courses in France at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

 

1.      What does “traductrice assermentée” mean in the French context?

In France, a traducteur assermenté is a legal translator appointed by a Court of Appeal and authorized to produce certified translations. After taking an oath, the translator can certify translations with the required signature, stamps, and certification statement.

Certified translations signed by certified translators are often required by French authorities, including government agencies, police, courts, and other public institutions, whenever official documents issued in another language must be submitted for administrative or legal purposes.

Certified translations may be required in a variety of situations, including:

• Administrative matters: marriage, birth, and death registrations, as well as property transactions.
• Legal proceedings: foreign court judgments and rulings, adoption proceedings, and guardianship matters.
• Education: diplomas, degrees, transcripts, and other academic records issued abroad.
• Immigration and citizenship: residency applications, work permits, and applications for French citizenship.
• Business and corporate matters: company registration, subsidiaries, HR, and corporate documents.
• Tax and inheritance matters: estate administration, inheritance proceedings, and tax audits involving foreign-language assets.

  2.     What is the difference between the French and American translation market?

Having worked with both the French and American markets, I appreciate the distinctive characteristics of each. Each offers its own professional challenges, expectations, and opportunities, and this cross-market experience allows me to approach translation projects with an understanding of its linguistic, cultural, and institutional contexts.

 European translation market

European citizens frequently move to other European countries to live, study, or pursue professional opportunities. This mobility creates a wide range of translation needs, from personal and family matters—such as marriage, dual citizenship—to academic requirements, including university applications, enrollment, and exchange programs. Employment-related certificates, professional qualifications, and other administrative paperwork can also require translation when individuals relocate across borders.

French vs. US certification system

The French system for certified translation differs from the approach generally used in the United States. In France, sworn translators are appointed by judicial authorities, whereas the US does not have a single, nationwide system of court-appointed sworn translators equivalent to the French model. The French Translators Association (SFT) does not have its own certification program like the ATA.

 

3.     Name some linguistic challenges of translating into French legal language.

French is an official language in several European countries, including France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. However, the use of French does not imply a single, uniform legal terminology across these jurisdictions. Each country has its own legal system and legislative framework. French legalese must therefore be understood within its specific national context. There is no single, Europe-wide system of French legalese.

Another major challenge lies in the differences between civil law and common law. These legal traditions and philosophies rest on different legal concepts and sources of law. Translating legal documents between these systems requires more than linguistic proficiency. It calls for a solid understanding of both legal frameworks and the ability to recognize where concepts do not have direct equivalents.

4.     How does one enter the French translation market?

In France, undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in translation are generally required to complete an internship as part of their academic training. For many, this is their first opportunity to discover the professional translation market, whether within a translation agency, a government agency, or an in-house translation department.

After graduation, career paths vary. Some graduates choose to work as freelance translators, while others pursue positions in translation project management or other language-related roles including teaching languages. However, full-time in-house translation positions have become increasingly scarce in recent years, making it more challenging for graduates to find permanent employment as translators.

My own career followed a corporate path. After completing a six-month internship at an engineering company, I joined the company as a full-time employee and spent the next six years working there, before eventually deciding to pursue a career as a freelance translator.

 5.     Name three lessons you have learned on how to survive as a freelance translator.

Find your niche. Choose a field you genuinely enjoy translating. Be curious about your chosen specialization, keep learning, and develop a thorough understanding of your subject matter.

Strive for excellence. Make quality your trademark. Impress clients with your writing style, subject-matter expertise, attention to detail, and translation skills. Become a trusted partner rather than simply another service provider. You’ll also put yourself in a stronger position to choose the clients and assignments that best fit your expertise and professional goals (and rates!).

Do not multitask. Running a freelance translation business involves much more than translating. Hire an accountant, seek professional advice on tax and social security matters, set up a professional email address, and build a website. Whenever possible, avoid spending valuable time trying to master every aspect of running a business on your own. This frees up more time for the activities that directly contribute to your success (and turnover): translating, developing your expertise, building relationships, and attracting new clients. Treat your translation practice as a business, not as a hobby or an amateur project. This shows clients that you take both your work and their needs seriously.

Cry my beloved country – Questions asked to expatriates

 

On my frequent visits to Los Angeles in the past to visit my parents, I used to grab a coffee at the nearby Peet’s Coffee shop. As a bonus to the rocket fuel disguised in the form of expresso, I enjoyed watching and listening to a group of Israeli men, who apparently met every morning and had done so for decades. They also discussed their families and their work, local prices, but mainly Israel. Their conversation was just like any “parliament” (as we call a group of people meeting and chatting every morning) in Israel except that it was a recurring event in Tarzana, California, rather far from the holy land.

This memory came up as we watched an episode of an Israeli program, סליחה על השאלה [slicha al ha shayala], which means “Excuse the question”. The format of the series is to interview several individuals from a given sensitive group, e.g., blind, mixed marriages and unmarried, posing identical questions regarding matters about which the general public is interested in knowing about but often too embarrassed to ask. This specific episode was filmed before October 7, 2023, i.e., before the recent war. The participants were Israelis that had lived abroad for more than 2 years. All had flown to Israel to take part in the program. The questions related to the circumstances for them leaving Israel, their feelings about living in another country and their future plans. Most of the responses would apply to the millions of expatriates worldwide. Yet, some of their answers were typically Israeli, in my view. Interestingly, if I were to answer those same questions on my experience, my response would be similar but not identical.

All of those interviewed fundamentally had the same reason for leaving, albeit under different circumstances. The reason why the idea of living abroad was attractive (and remains so) was their discomfort with the rough-edged fishbowl that is Israeli society. They sought privacy, politeness and convenience. Interestingly, none of them stated that making money was their prime motivation, which probably was the truth when they left. The initial exit was either for studies or travel. As in “A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum”, a two-year study program or two-week trip kept and keeps on getting extended, with a spouse and children added to the package. I personally know many Israeli students that never came home. The junction of a fundamental desire for change with the circumstances that allow its realization is a powerful force.

Even more interesting was their rather mixed feelings toward their country of birth. On the one hand, they could no longer (or still) deal with the Israeli style of life, emotionally or financially. They enjoyed their relatively tranquil lifestyle abroad. On the other hand, they were still deeply connected to events in Israel and their family that lived there. One of the most painful questions was in regard to their guilt towards their aging parents. Many had experienced rather traumatic partings, including last-minute flights and arriving at the last breath. They also still identified themselves as Israelis and, quite interestingly, had few non-Israeli friends, despite their many years in their new homes. They expressed a serious internal conflict in their relationship with their country of birth.

As for the future, they all expressed some vague feeling that they would ultimately like to age or die in Israel. One couple said that they would return when their children reached first grade. To be fair, the wife was not very fond of where she lived, Greece, and had no clear picture of her future. In any case, it did not sound very probable that any would be returning in the foreseeable future.

To be fair, Israel has some unique features that shaded the answers of the respondents. First, it is a small country, not even eight million people. Every person that leaves is a perceptible loss. For that reason, the term in the past used for a person that leaves Israel wasיורד  [yured], someone that goes down, instead of עולה [oleh], a person that “goes up” to Israel. It is an emotional term that these people rejected. Another issue was army service. Most of the female participants feared that their children would feel so Israeli that they would want to serve in the IDF, which many actually did. This dread colors their identity and its transference to their children. Finally, all of them viewed Israel as their true home because Israel is the only country with a Jewish majority. Everywhere else, Jews are a minority and often live in fear. These factors are probably unique to Israeli expatriates.

My answers to these questions are similar. I left the United States to live in Israel. I spent one year as a volunteer in Ashkelon and felt at home for the first time in my life, at the age of 26. I immigrated at the age of 28 because the fishbowl lifestyle rather strangely suited me. Also, apparently, the fact that I could be Jewish without “exaggerating” my lifestyle certainly played a part. As I worked a teacher, it was clear that I would be equally non-rich both in the US and Israel. I made a living, which was all I cared about at the time. My father and mother lived to the ages of 94 and 96, respectively, which meant many long telephone conversations and flights to Los Angeles, a city I cannot stand, as well as not a little guilt about not being there to help them and a difficult parting. I did make it to the hospital before my mother died but had to “participate” in my father’s funeral via Zoom because there were no flights due to Corona. As for my identity, I am American and a bit French (my mother) in my attitude but have become Israeli in identity after some 37 years of living in Israel. The America I grew up in no longer exists. I have changed too. It is now a foreign country to me, albeit one that I understand the spoken and physical language. As Edith Piaf sang and I put on my mother’s gravestone, “Je ne regrette rien”.

In summary, the program about expatriates, despite its brevity, explored many issues that we who have left behind our countries of birth have struggled with. The participants’ answers express the experience of many people from many countries and certainly those from Israel and mine. To mix the thoughts of Thomas Wolfe and Alan Paton, you cannot come home again even if you cry over your beloved country.

Agency in translation – then and now

 

Yesterday’s business models no longer work. Once-great retail companies have given way to even bigger newcomers applying modern ways of doing business. On the other side of the equation, customers, once content to go to the local store, now search online. The translation business is no different. Two decades ago, the dominant model for connecting translation purchasers with translators was through agencies of all different sizes. Today, paradoxically, agencies have become global, but numerous customers are increasingly going direct to the translators. The effect on both the service providers and purchasers is significant.

When I began translating in 2004, the business approach for both linguists and the purchasers of their products was quite clear and defined the production chain. Translation agencies of varying sizes, from small local one-person offices to regional or national companies, built up a pool of translators to allow them to provide a specific language-combination solution for their standard job requests. Each agency sought the best translator willing to work at their rate level according to the market rates and chosen business strategy, e.g., boutique and low-cost. Few translators had the skill or even felt the need to market services directly to their potential clients, trusting that the agencies would handle the marketing. For the translator, it meant that finding customers involved contacting as many agencies as possible with the hope of receiving the first job, which would prove their skill and reliability and lead to steady work. For the customer, it was a matter of a simple Google search for an appropriate agency and some price comparison. Life was simple and somehow satisfactory.

Since then, both translation agencies and customers have changed. Global LSPs (language service providers) have purchased countless local and regional agencies and created a market of relatively few worldwide companies, some of them publicly owned, e.g., RWS and TransPerfect. For the most part, these huge corporations apply a high-volume, low-margin business model, driving rates down for both the translator and customer, with the expected effect on quality. The global translation business has become similar to Walmart, i.e., low prices for the customers and low profit margins for the suppliers. On the other side, the new generation of translator purchasers, both general and business, feels comfortable directly searching for their providers, increasingly with the help of AI. They are able to locate an appropriate translator properly situated on the Internet. Contacting an agency is not a default choice.

This change has dramatically impacted both translators and their customers. For translators, it creates two distinct paths for financial success. They can either work with the large agencies at low rates and be efficient enough to make a living. Alternatively, they can opt to invest in marketing and attain direct, higher-paying customers. Admittedly, it is not an all-or-nothing situation. Most professional translator shave clients of both types, but one type dominates. As for the purchasers, those customers with specific quality or certification requirements now invest their time in finding qualified providers. They seek those that choose to bypass the agencies, i.e., they prefer direct sales. The two business dialogues differ greatly.

To be clear, change is never total. Older business models continue to exist and sometimes even thrive long after a new one has supposedly superseded it. In translation, given that the quantity of paid translation continues to increase (despite AI), working with agencies remains a viable option on condition that the translator can produce sufficient volume at the demanded quality. On the other hand, the search for deep-pocketed customers is relentless and challenging in terms of the effort required to find and retain them as they demand value, quite justifiably. Translators choosing this path must legitimately believe in themselves. In the meantime, these are the two major options for linguists and their companies. Of course, for complicated multi-language projects, agencies will remain the best option. Still, how many agencies will exist in twenty years is an open question.