Writing a bilingual invitation
In Montréal and across Quebec, many guest lists mix French and English speakers. A bilingual invitation should read as if it had been written in each language, not translated from one into the other. Here is how to get there.
One version per guest, not both on one card
On paper, a bilingual invitation puts both languages side by side, which makes every text twice as long. A digital invitation can do better: each guest reads the version in their own language, and replies in it.
Choose as the main language the one most of your guests read, or the one you write most easily. It is the version every guest falls back on if a text is missing in their language, so it should be complete.
On invitesyou, you write the event in a main language and add the other version. Each guest on your list has an invitation language, so the email, the invitation and the reply form all appear in that language. The service also supports Spanish, Italian and Arabic, for families who need a third language.
Write, do not translate
A word-for-word translation is easy to spot. “Serez-vous des nôtres?” becomes “Will you be of ours?” instead of “Will you join us?” Write each version from the facts, in the way you would say it to a guest who speaks that language.
Some words should not be translated at all. The name of a parish, a hall or a restaurant stays as it is written on its sign. A family nickname stays a nickname. A dish served at the supper can keep its name, with a short description if needed.
If one language is less comfortable for you, write the version you are sure of first, then ask a fluent friend or relative to write the other one from the facts rather than from your text.
- “Serez-vous des nôtres?” / “Will you join us?”
- “Au plaisir de vous y voir.” / “We look forward to seeing you.”
- “Merci de répondre avant le 15 mai.” / “Please reply by May 15.”
- “Un souper suivra à la salle paroissiale.” / “Supper will follow in the parish hall.”
Dates, times and numbers
Each language has its own conventions, and guests notice when one is borrowed from the other. In French, write “le samedi 12 juin 2027, à 17 h”, with lowercase day and month names and the 24-hour clock. In English, write “Saturday, June 12, 2027, at 5 p.m.”, with capitals and a.m. or p.m.
Avoid dates written only in numbers. A date like 06/07/2026 reads as the sixth of July to some guests and as June 7 to others. Writing the month in words removes the doubt in both languages.
Addresses stay as they are: Saint-Viateur Street can remain “rue Saint-Viateur” in both versions if that is what is on the street sign, which helps guests find it.
Typography
French in Quebec puts a non-breaking space before a colon, uses « guillemets » for quotations, and uses the curly apostrophe. English uses “double quotes” and no space before punctuation. These details are small, but they are what makes a text look written in the language rather than converted to it.
Names keep their accents in both versions. Léa stays Léa, and Montréal can keep its accent in English, as many Montrealers write it.
Questions and reply options
If you add questions to the reply form, such as a meal choice or a song request, write each one in both languages, and keep the choices in the same order in each. The answers then line up in a single list, whichever language the guest replied in.
Check both versions before sending
Preview the invitation in each language, on a phone. Read the French version only, then the English version only, as a guest would. Check that the date, the time and the address match exactly between the two.
When both read well, create your invitation, set each guest’s language in your list, and send it. Everyone receives the version written for them.