English to French expansion factor
When translating from English to French, there is a expansion factor, of anywhere between 15 and 25%, say about 20% average.
In most cases, part of my job while reviewing texts is to reduce the expansion factor, as many translators have a tendency to be wordy rather than efficient.
The expansion factor should be due to the fact that:
The average French word is longer than the average English word
French grammar forces the use of more prepositions, articles, etc.
There is no English word for some French words, so we need more than one word to convey the meaning
French conjugation adds letters to verbs
However, it should not be due to:
Inefficient use of words
Overtranslation
Use of several words to convey a meaning when a single word actually does exist
Lack of rework of the sentence to use a word order more natural in French, which often leads to shorter sentences (probably the most important factor)
Once in a while, after reworking a sentence at review time, I end up with a sentence equivalent in length is equivalent to the English one’s, or even shorter, and then I know I’ve done a good job and I deserve a beer. This is particularly possible when the English text is poorly written, unnecessarily wordy and full of in-sentence repetitions.