Catalan translator in Tbilisi

Catalan is the language of more than ten million people that belongs to no "Catalan state": it is the co-official language of Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands within Spain, the only official language of the Principality of Andorra, and is also heard in the south of France and in the Sardinian town of Alghero. That is precisely why Catalan translation in Georgia always begins with a specific question: is the document going to an authority in Barcelona, a university in Valencia, a notary in Andorra, or a Spanish state ministry that does not accept Catalan? We translate from Catalan into Georgian and from Georgian into Catalan, notarise the translation, attach the apostille and, what is especially important for this language, help you work out whether you need a Catalan translation or a Spanish one.

Why the need for Catalan translation arises in Georgia

Barcelona is one of the favourite Spanish destinations of Georgian students, specialists and business: Catalonia's universities, start-up ecosystem, tourism and design industry attract Georgians every year, while Catalan tourists, investors and wine importers come to Georgia. The departments of the Catalan government (Generalitat), Catalan municipalities, universities and hospitals often issue documents in Catalan or bilingually, and it is precisely these documents that come to Georgia for translation: the certificate of residence (certificat d'empadronament), a university diploma and transcript of grades, a hospital discharge report (informe d'alta), a court decision, a notarial deed.

In the opposite direction the need for Catalan translation is rare but real: the Principality of Andorra requires official documents in Catalan, some of Catalonia's municipal and cultural institutions give preference to a Catalan version, and preparing marketing and tourism texts in Catalan for the Catalan market is a sign of respect for the reader, which the Catalan consumer values.

Catalan or Spanish: the main question before ordering

This is the question that is never asked with other languages and always with Catalan. Under Spanish state legislation Spanish is the official language of all of Spain, while Catalan is official only in the corresponding autonomous communities. This means that any authority in Catalonia is obliged to accept a Spanish-language document, whereas Spanish state ministries, for example the ministry of universities, which conducts the homologation of foreign diplomas, or the immigration service, as a rule do not accept a Catalan translation and require a Spanish one.

The practical consequence is this: a Georgian document that goes to Catalonia must in most cases be translated into Spanish, because that version works everywhere, at Catalonia's authorities and at state ministries alike. A Catalan translation is needed when the recipient unambiguously requires it (Andorra, some municipal procedures, cultural and educational institutions) or when the client wants a Catalan version for reasons of respect or marketing. We ask this question at the start of the order and often recommend a Spanish translation, even if that means losing a "Catalan" order for us, because translating twice is an unnecessary expense for the client.

Who the sworn translators for Catalan are

In Spain the status of sworn translator (traductor-intérprete jurado) in a Spanish-foreign pair is granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For the Catalan-foreign pair a separate system exists: the Catalan government's Directorate of Language Policy keeps the register of Catalan sworn translators (traductors i intèrprets jurats), and the Valencian government has its own. A Georgian-Catalan sworn translator practically does not exist in these registers, just as the number of Georgian-Spanish sworn translators in Spain is very small.

That is precisely why a notarised translation prepared in Georgia with an apostille is often the only realistic route for the authorities of Catalonia and Spain: Spanish legislation recognises a foreign public document with an apostille, and a notarial act certifying a translation is exactly such a document. Some authorities nevertheless require the version of a Spanish sworn translator, and in such a case a two-stage scheme through a Spanish-English or Spanish-Russian sworn translator is used; we discuss these options in advance.

The apostille: Spain and Andorra

Spain has been a party to the Hague Convention since 1978, Andorra since 1996. In Georgia the apostille is attached by the Public Service Hall, and this stage is completed within the order. In Spain the authority issuing the apostille depends on the type of document: notarial deeds are certified by the notarial college, court documents by the high court of the autonomous community, administrative documents by the Ministry of Justice or its territorial offices. This means that the apostille on a Catalan document may come from one of three different authorities in Barcelona, and the translation reflects the exact name of the issuing authority. In Andorra the apostille is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Andorran documents are almost always in Catalan, which is one of the "cleanest" cases of Catalan translation.

Which documents come in Catalan

• Certificate of residence (certificat d'empadronament, volant de convivència) from Catalan municipalities, often only in Catalan
• University diplomas and transcripts: the universities of Barcelona, the Autonomous, Pompeu Fabra, the Polytechnic, Girona, Lleida, Rovira i Virgili issue documents bilingually or trilingually
• Hospital discharge reports and medical conclusions from the Catalan health system (CatSalut), often in Catalan
• Notarial deeds from Catalan notaries, who have the right to draw up deeds in Catalan
• Court decisions from Catalan courts, where Catalan is a procedural language
• Andorran documents: civil status records, company registration papers, bank certificates, residence documents
• Catalan language certificates (nivell B2, C1) and course diplomas

Which Georgian documents are translated into Catalan

The real cases of translation from Georgian into Catalan relate to Andorra and specific procedures in Catalonia: for a residence permit in Andorra, a criminal record certificate, marriage and birth certificates, a diploma; for founding a company in Andorra, an extract from the Georgian register of entrepreneurs and the articles of association; for participation in Catalan municipal or cultural programmes, biographical and project documents; for some programmes of Catalan universities where Catalan is the language of instruction, a motivation letter and portfolio. Added to this is marketing and tourism translation for a Catalan audience, where a Catalan version alongside the Spanish increases brand loyalty.

The Catalan language in translation: what the translator must know

Catalan is not a dialect of Spanish, it is a separate Romance language, with as much in common with French and Occitan as with Spanish. A translator who commands Spanish and "roughly gets" Catalan is dangerous for an official document: false friends, different grammatical forms and Catalan administrative terminology, which is deliberately distinct from Spanish, are a source of mistakes. Added to this is the matter of regional variants: Valencian, for which the Valencian Academy of the Language sets a separate normative standard, the Balearic variants, Andorran administrative language. Our Catalan translators command the central standard and know the regional differences, and we prepare a text intended for Valencia in the Valencian norm.

Educational documents: the peculiarity of Catalan universities

At Catalonia's universities the language of instruction is largely Catalan, and this is important information for a Georgian applicant: a large part of bachelor's lectures is held in Catalan, master's programmes more often in Spanish or English. The enrolment documents, however, the school certificate, diploma, transcript of grades, require a Spanish translation, which the university and, in the case of homologation, the state ministry accept. A Catalan translation is superfluous here.

In the opposite direction a Catalan university diploma comes for recognition in Georgia in a bilingual or trilingual format, and the Georgian translation takes the correspondence of both language versions into account. In the transcript the Spanish 10-point system (with the categories Matrícula d'Honor, Excel·lent, Notable, Aprovat) calls for comparison with the Georgian system, and we attach an explanatory note to the translation.

Business with Catalonia and Andorra

Barcelona is one of the main business centres of southern Europe: the world congress of mobile technologies, the start-up ecosystem, the port, the design and fashion industry, tourism. Georgian companies' relations with Catalan partners require Spanish-language documentation, but marketing material, a website and a presentation for the Catalan market also need a Catalan version, because the Catalan consumer values being addressed in their native language. Andorra is a separate case: a small but financially active jurisdiction, where company registration, opening a bank account and obtaining residence provide only for Catalan-language documentation. For Georgian clients working with Andorra this is the only case where a Catalan translation is not a choice but a necessity.

Transliteration and names

Catalan names are written and pronounced differently from Spanish: Jordi, Montserrat, Xavier, Núria in Georgian are Zhordi, Monserrat, Shavie, Nuria and not the Spanish Jorge, Javier. Double surnames, like the Spanish system, combine the father's and the mother's surnames, in Catalan often with the conjunction "i" (Puig i Cadafalch). A Georgian authority expects one first name and one surname, and in the translation we keep the whole name, with a note when needed. In the opposite direction a Georgian name in a Catalan translation is written by the Latin entry of the passport, because the Catalan employee compares the document precisely with it.

Catalan language certificates and language requirements

A Georgian who wishes to work or study in Catalonia often needs confirmation of knowledge of Catalan: in the public service, in educational institutions and in the health system a defined level of Catalan (usually B2 or C1) is a requirement, which is examined by the Catalan government's Directorate of Language Policy or the Ramon Llull Institute. These certificates need no translation, but the time to obtain them affects the planning of the whole procedure. In the opposite direction a Catalan language certificate is translated for a Georgian authority if it is part of a qualification or work experience package. Some of our clients approach us precisely while preparing for these exams, and we also know the context of learning Catalan.

A Georgian emigrant in Catalonia: the document cycle

The documentary needs of Georgians living in Barcelona and other Catalan cities follow a defined cycle. On arrival, registration of residence at the municipality (empadronament), which rarely requires translation of Georgian documents; then the residence permit at Spain's immigration service, where the criminal record certificate, marriage and birth certificates are submitted with a Spanish translation and an apostille; then homologation of qualifications at the state ministry, again in Spanish; and finally, the documents of the Catalan administration that return to Georgia with a Georgian translation: the certificate of a child born in Catalonia, documents of a Catalan hospital, certificates of a Catalan municipality. In this cycle Catalan translation appears precisely at the last stage, and our experience allows us to explain the whole route to the client in advance.

Marketing localisation for a Catalan audience

The Catalan consumer is linguistically sensitive: a brand that addresses them in Catalan gains loyalty, while communication only in Spanish is sometimes perceived as inattention. When Georgian wine, a tourism product or gastronomy enters the Catalan market, a Catalan version of the marketing material, website and social media alongside the Spanish is a market requirement, not a luxury. In such projects we work by the logic of localisation: the text is adapted by a native Catalan editor, we take cultural references into account (Catalan gastronomic tradition, wine culture, Sant Jordi's day), and we check the terminology against the official Catalan terminology centre (TERMCAT), which is considered the normative source of Catalan technical and commercial vocabulary.

Andorra separately: a small country, strict requirements

The Principality of Andorra is a country of fewer than 80 thousand inhabitants, but an active jurisdiction in financial, tourism and tax terms, which in recent years has attracted the attention of foreign investors and those seeking residence. Andorra's administration, notaries, court and banks require Catalan-language documentation, and this is the only case where a Catalan translation of a Georgian paper is not a choice but the standard procedure. Andorran banks are especially strict in client verification: documents on the origin of funds, the company's structure, the beneficial owner's declaration, everything in Catalan or, by agreement, in Spanish, with an apostille and certified translation. For Georgian clients working with Andorra we know the logic of these procedures and prepare the document package as a whole.

Typical mistakes in Catalan translation

Experience on the Catalan direction shows several recurring defects that we find in other providers' translations: translating a Catalan document "roughly" with knowledge of Spanish, which causes terminological mistakes; transliterating Catalan names with Spanish pronunciation; ordering a Catalan translation where Spanish was needed, and conversely, submitting Spanish in Andorra; translating only one language version of a bilingual document, although the Georgian authority checks the correspondence of both; wrongly indicating the authority issuing the apostille, because in Spain it depends on the type of document; confusing the Valencian and central Catalan norms. Every one of these points is on our checklist.

What sets our Catalan translation apart

• Honest advice before ordering: do you need Catalan or Spanish, and often the answer is Spanish
• Translators who command Catalan independently of Spanish, with knowledge of the central and regional variants
• Notarisation by a translator registered in the Catalan-Georgian pair and an apostille at the Public Service Hall
• Knowledge of Andorran procedures, where Catalan is the only official language
• A standard personal document in 1 working day, express in 1-2 hours, the process fully online

Frequently asked questions