Free German Translation
Err.....free?
By a free German translation I mean a German text and its English equivalent - or vice versa, both available, free of charge, for you to compare side by side.
This is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to:
1. Improve their translating skills
2. Check up on terminology, and
3. Keep up to date with the latest phraseology.
So, how do you get the most out of your free German translation? Here are a few articles with some useful ideas:
However good you are as a translator, target language deprivation is a recognised problem. This simply means that if you are a native English speaker living in a German-speaking environment (like myself), then there is a danger of losing touch with your native tongue - the language you translate into (“target” language).
Familiarity breeds contempt – you can get so used to seeing certain words used or spelled incorrectly that you become unsure of their correct usage. For example, I find a particular danger with German is the tendency to get lulled into using capital letters (euro? Euro?) where English uses the lower case. Or failing to spot “false friends” such as the German word Fusion (usually amalgamation, merger – only fusion if you are translating a text referring to nuclear reactors). Here in Austria I’ve come across an international organisation using the slogan "the most friendly XXX", a public relations company describing itself as "comunicative", and every lift I step into proudly announces that I shouldn’t be using it – "Do not use in case of fire". *
There are many ways to combat target language deprivation: spending time back in your native country, reading and listening to publications in your native language, joining a local expat group of native speakers where you live, and – for translators or students of translation - using sources such as free German translation to compare German and English texts.
* FriendLIEST, comMunicative, in THE case of fire – but you knew that!
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