Localizing A Game Into French — Which Variant Should You Choose? – Production and Management – Tutorials
So, you’re making an awesome indie game, and now you’re thinking about localizing it into French?
Great idea! There are 275 million people worldwide who speak French, and some people even say it could be the most spoken language in the world by 2050.
The French variant spoken in France is quite different from the one spoken in North America—Canadian French, or Québécois.
So here is what you should know about both versions of the language before you make a plan to localize into French.
1 – Not all words have the same meaning
Some words may be spelled the same and sound similar, but the meaning will differ according to who you are speaking to.
This might turn out to be either silly or offensive, depending on the word.
For example, the word “blonde” in Canadian French can mean someone with blond hair, or someone’s girlfriend,