German Translation
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Professional stuff for German Translators
The Translation Journal publishes articles by translators about translators and translation. It’s worth dipping in occasionally for interesting articles on the translation profession.
Elsewhere on this website I’ve covered:
Online directories of German translators - register and get yourself an online presence to boost your business.
Professional associations for translators - industry representation, qualifications etc. Many issue regular industry news publications.
Glossaries of specialist German terminology (medical, legal, technical etc.)
Learning German
Learn German Smarter . Still fighting with German? Peter Heinisch has a great way of helping making the process of learning German easier by using mnemonics (visual or audio learning aids) or Eselsbrücken. Thoroughly recommended.
Sharing Language This is another great German translation online resources, because the best way of improving your German is to use it regularly! Sharing language puts you directly in touch with other German speakers. Chat or write to each other and brush up your language skills!
If you want to hear how a word is pronounced in German, or you want to compare with the pronunciation you get with Leo, you can always try Forvo.
German as it lives and breathes - idioms, expressions and the like
Redensarten . Redensarten = expressions, and here is a great collection of German expressions and sayings. Discover the meanings and boost your colloquial German!
Zitate.de. Zitaten = quotes, and here is a large collection. Search by name or subject area and impress your friends!
German proverbs. A great Wiki resource, German proverbs plus their English translations.
phrasen.com. A dictionary of phrases, sayings, expressions and idioms in German and in English.
Fun German - take a walk on the linguistically light side
Übersetzungsfehler.com - Das Gruselkabinett der Übersetzung. This is a great site by an Austrian colleague, a collection of real-life horrible translations, from and into German and English from around the world. A great example of what not to do!
The Austrian Dictionary (in German). OK, German is Austria’s official language, but try asking for “Schlagsahne” or “Quark” in Austria and people will think you’re “Deppert” (Look it up!) Invaluable for anyone planning a trip to Austria and wanting to impress the locals!
Schüttelreime. Schüttelreime are created by swapping the initial letter(s)of words to create new word combinations. They’re a bit more than Spoonerisms (e.g. “teapot” = “peatot”), which are usually nonsensical, as the skill in schütteln(shaking up) is in creating real word combinations – Schicker Duft/Dicker Schuft) – and then putting them into verse. The website is in German, hope you’ll enjoy!
Not-such-fun German
German was subjected to a Rechtschreibreform(orthography reform) in 1996, updated 2004, with the aim of simplifying spelling ( more –ss- and less-ß-, etc.). Not surprisingly, a fair amount of confusion has resulted. Here is the official version in PDF format (German), issued by the Institut für Deutsche Sprache in PDF form for you to download. (For general background info in English see this Wiki entry.) Enjoy!
Great German language and culture blogs
We are based in lovely Vienna, Austria and so is Merisi’s Vienna for Beginners a regularly updated photo blog of views of Vienna and Austria throughout the year. Insight into Austrian culture and way of life!
English writing skills - the second component in good German translation!
The BBC Style Guide by John Allen is a must for anyone using English professionally – e.g. German translators. Well set out and well written (well, obviously!), and you can download the guide in PDF format.
I used to have a link to The Economist magazine's own style guide here - I loved the multiple choice quiz it came with to test your own English skills. However, the magazine is currently reorganising is online content management system, it says, and the guide has been down for several months. I'll keep an eye open for its return....
OEDILF, or The Omnificent English Dictionary in Limerick Form. OK, this is cheating because it’s not really a German translation online resource unless we can argue that it helps hone your English writing skills, but I just can’t resist. It’s marvellous. Take a break, have a quick read....
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German Translation Tips & Resources
You’ll also find German Translation Tips & Resources listed in a variety of German translation online directories which I’ve listed here.
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