Specialist German Vocabulary
Online German Vocabulary, Glossaries & Terminology Lists
for Your German Translations
Specialised German vocabulary and terminology lists & bilingual German English glossaries are a vital part of the German translator’s tool kit. As soon as you start translating anything but the most general of texts, you’ll find you need to use them. What's a Glossary?
A glossary is an agreed list of translations for a set language pair (e.g. German–English, English-German) within a set subject area, e.g German medical terms. These are either word-for-word translations or glossed translations, using synonyms.
The terms in a list are, almost by definition, not ones you’d find in your standard dictionary – either because they are extremely specialised, or because their use has different meanings according to the subject area to which they are applied. Where can I find good German English glossary?You’ll find German vocabulary lists and glossaries all over the web. They are published by translation dictionary publishers, both online and offline, translation software providers etc.
Below you'll find a series of the most useful German-English and English-German specialised and terminology lists and lexical resources - just follow the links below. I've organised them by subject area to give you easy overview.
This is a work in progress, so come back regularly for updated lists, and don't forget to bookmark this page!
Specialised German-English glossaries and terminological resources:1. German Technical Translation
2. German Legal Translation
3. German Medical Translation
Who compiles these glossaries?These specialised German vocabulary and terminology lists are agreed by a translator and their client, by a corporation and their translation department, or are compiled, discussed and agreed upon by several contributors, often by online communities of translators.
As most scientific literature is published in English, many German universities are also increasingly publishing them on their department websites. They are usually open to interpretation, reflect a company’s particular interests, and are not always universally applicable - accountancy terminology used by one financial company will not necessarily be used by another company working in the financial world. Watch out!For example, speaking to a German translator recently, he explained that one German-speaking company he worked for insisted on translating “operating cashflow” as “cashflow” in their annual financial statements, with the consequence that, during a finance meeting with English-speaking accountants, the term “cashflow” just caused confusion. Much professional translation software of interest to the German translator works on the basis of creating German vocabulary lists in the widest sense – creating standard translations not only for individual words or word combinations, but also for sentences.
Here is a great link to an index of
English language glossaries.
This won’t give you German translations, but they are a great reference for checking your own English terminology and giving you a better understanding of the subject matter.
TIP!: If you regularly translate texts for a single client or company, rack up the brownie points by offering to compile a list of subject-specific terms yourself. Not only will you impress your clients by your professionalism but it will make future translations quicker and, (this happens more often than you’d think) when someone criticises or makes changes to your translation, you have the pre-agreed terminology in your favour. (Remember: it's your work and remains your property!)
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If you are a freelance German to English translator, you’ll certainly want to look into joining one of the many freelance translator communities online. They also publish subject-specific German vocabulary and terminology lists, compiled by members in their particular fields.
Happy researching!
Check out these specialist glossaries:
German Technical Translation
German Legal Translation
German Medical Translation
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