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German Technical Translation

Online glossaries & resources for German technical translation

German technical translation is another very specialized translation field.

With sub-specializations in IT, manufacturing, engineering etc., many German translators who work in the field of technical translation do no other type of translation – they are in great demand in industry, science and IT.

Germany's reputation as a hotbed of technical innovation is both deserved and legendary, and “Made in Germany” is an accepted seal of quality worldwide.

Working as a German technical translator offers great career prospects for linguists with a technical background, or with a keen interest in science and technology.

Here are some useful links to good glossaries of German technical terms and technology lists for electrical, mechanical and civil engineering, maths, IT and other related fields.

I hope they help!


Engineering

Industrial Engineering:

  • Dictindustry –  This glossary is great, a real in-depth source of specialised industrial terms compiled by translation agency Techni-Translate. Includes samples of each term in use taken from in-house agency translations. Draws on DG Translation database of technical translations.

Mechanical engineering:

  • Item glossary - Published by item Industrietechnik GmbH with around 26,000 keywords. Translates in both directions and gives very helpful detailed explanation of each term and its meaning. 
  • Wörterbuch Tiefbohren - Deep Drilling, Hosted by BGTB GmbH, this is a short glossary of terms used in deep drilling.
  • FEMFM –Friction Materials. Published by the Federation of European Manufacturers of Friction Materials, German & English terms, as well as French, Italian and Spanish.

Mechatronics:

  • Fachlexikon Mechatronik - 250,000 technical terms, designed for students and those working in the field of mechatronic and related areas. Indicates context for use of each term.

Automotive:

  • Automobilindustrie Wörterbuch – Joint project by several companies in the automotive industry, covering 16-related automotive fields. Currently includes 2,650 German terms, translated into 6 languages,  and draws on respected range of lexographic sources in the industry. 
  • Vector – Automotive Electronics. Vector is an established automotive electronics developer. Terms available in 6 languages including German.

Nuclear

  •  INIS– International Nuclear Information System, published by IAEA.org, and offering a multilingual database of terms used in the nuclear industry.

Metallurgy


IT

  • Microsoft’s terminology database - the official translation for all your German and English keyboard commands. A vital resource!
  • ISACA® (the Information Systems Audit and Control Association) has published a comprehensive and extremely useful English glossary of IT terms, including their verified and approved German translations: 72 pages, from Abend to Zero-end-exploit.

TIP! German technical translators often work with very similar texts - often in a fairly narrow niche, making translation programs or CAT tools invaluable. They help reduce translation time, enhance consistency & boost output.


Maths

  • dh Materialien - English/German and German/English maths dictionary .

  • Mathe Online Lexikon, for secondary schools, universities and distance learning - explanation of mathematical terms, only in German.


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If you know of any good German technical glossaries that you've found useful and would like to recommend, then we'd love to hear from you!

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Thank you very much for contributing to our German technical translation database!

Yours

  Joanna

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Joanna Scudamore-Trezek

I'm a German to English translator living and working in Vienna,  Austria.  I turn German texts into clear and accessible English, allowing clients to present their stories, ideas and information to a completely new audience. My business and marketing clients rely on me to get their message across clearly and effectively.  How can I help you today?