NAFTA and its impact on language

When NAFTA came into effect in 1994, it was declared the largest free trade area in the world. The economic agreement reached among three nations, Canada, USA and Mexico was considered a potential economic conglomerate due to the strength of one of the world's largest trading partners, Canada and the USA. Mexico could only benefit from this union. From a language perspective it was determined that all goods and products imported and exported in North America must include the three principal languages spoken by the population which is English, French and Spanish.

Since 1994, the linguistic impact of NAFTA has taken many years to manifest according to the agreement. From the start, I slowly observed the presence of Spanish labels on goods sold in Canada. Canada is an official bilingual country and all products sold have English and French labels and instructions. Over a period of close to fourteen years the trilingual language dynamic is now quite evident when one purchases certain products and especially products sold in certain stores. Wal-Mart is a prime example of a NAFTA compliant organization. From what I have observed, products sold have labels and instructions in three languages. This includes household items, hardware, beauty supplies, hygienic items, baby products, school supplies and the list goes on. Other stores in Canada that are NAFTA compliant from what I observed are products sold in drug stores.

I purchased some hair care products recently and some baby lotion today and really paid close attention to the label written in three languages. Here is the example:

HUGGIES

Naturally Refreshing with cucumber and green tea
LOTION
Naturellement rafraîchissants avec concombre et thé vert
Crema
Naturalmente Refrescante con pepino y té verde


Moisturizes delicate skin

Hydrate la peau délicate

Hidrata la piel delicada

These translations are simple and seemingly okay. However, the French and other Europeans have been known to critique the French on Canadian products. As for Spanish labels on products made and sold in the USA and exported abroad it would be interesting to know the opinion of the rest of world's Spanish speakers. The level of professionalism, experience and expertise in translation is a key requirement and I am sure NAFTA and those responsible for the language requirement have taken this into consideration.

The other bonus is it's just yet another great way to learn three prominent world languages and completely indulge in the curiosities of language and translation if that's of your interest.

PD. I do question the translation of the French in the first example. There is a slight grammatical blunder IMO subject to interpretation.

-ldg.