Welcome back to this series, which I hope you continue to find useful. See here for my last article.
This time I am going to start by returning to a subject I have covered before, but which continues to crop up regularly, so needs reiterating: literal translations. There are so many examples that I could write numerous articles on the same subject without repeating myself!
While it can often be valid to translate literally, there are times when it simply doesn’t work, so you need to use your native-level knowledge of English to think about what does sound natural in your translated text and adapt your English accordingly.
A phrase that crops up often in marketing texts and the like is
German: Ihre Vorteile
translated as
English: Your advantage
I have seen this recently preceding a list of factors that are supposedly advantageous for the customer, and the above translation was used. While an accurate translation, and correct in German, it is not what you would see in normal English usage, where
The benefits to you
would fit better.
This is because the list does not contain things that are your advantages, but rather things that will be of advantage (or benefit, which sounds better in context) to you. A subtle but important difference. When you come across this phrase in German, you should always think about what you might see in a similar text in English.
A word Germans are fond of is Inspiration, such as in the following:
German: Der Inspirationsanteil bei den Exponaten und Diskussionen war gigantisch
which was translated as
English: The amount of inspiration in the exhibits and discussions was gigantic
Used like this it sounds pretty strange in English, and my suggestion was it should be amended to:
inspiration generated by the exhibits and discussions was huge
or simply
interest in the exhibits and discussions was huge
In this case using the same word is correct (although, as I have shown, the translation could be amended), but the way it is used should be altered. There are many instances of inspiration that crop up, and usually the way it is written in German does not work literally in English.
Another word that is often used differently in German is variations on inform, as in
German: dass die Besucher … sich informiert haben
translated as
English: visitors ... informed themselves
Which, again, while using the correct verb, is not phrased it as it would be in English. My suggestion was:
sought information for themselves
or
found things out for themselves
Don’t be afraid to be creative and reword, as in my second suggestion in the last two examples, if you feel it fits better.
The words mittlerweile and zwischenzeitlich, while literally meaning meanwhile or in the meantime, often need to be reworded, since the literal translation doesn’t fit in English. For example:
German: Das Fahrzeug war zwischenzeitlich ein paar Jahre in Japan unterwegs
Was translated as
English: The vehicle was on the road in Japan for a few years in the meantime
This implies the present tense, while obviously it happened in the past. The suggestion was to use
temporarily
Or
since its manufacture
Which conveys the correct meaning. Incidentally, I would rephrase the sentence to something like:
The vehicle was temporarily on the road in Japan for a few years
or
After its manufacture, the vehicle spent a few years on the road in Japan
A few examples, too, of abbreviations which are commonly used in German and would not always be used in the same way in English are:
inkl.; z.B.; Infos
While inc. and e.g. can be used in some circumstances, they are more commonly used in, for example(!), a list or table. In a text containing full sentences, use the full words: including (or inclusive, as appropriate) and for example (as I used in the previous sentence) or for instance. Never, ever use infos – as I am sure you know, English does not use information in the plural and, again, in a text that needs to flow, writing out the word information in full is correct. Keep abbreviations for texts where there is no need to provide full sentences!
I am sure I will find more examples in the future, but now I am going to move on to the subject of names, which as you know should not be translated, but there are times when it is necessary to give an explanation.
Obviously, Herr Schmidt and his address do not need translating, apart from the title – Mr. The exception for addresses is where a place name is commonly translated: München and Bayern, for instance, should normally be translated to Munich and Bavaria (although for some reason the football team Bayern München is referred to in England as Bayern Munich). Deutschland, too is translated to Germany, of course. Company names do not need a translation, but sometimes an organisation needs to be explained, and initials generally also need an explanation. An example here is:
TÜV
which should not be translated to MOT when relating to the test made on a vehicle, but an explanation should be provided. For example:
TÜV (the German equivalent of the MOT) in GB English
or
TÜV (vehicle inspection) in US English.
When talking about the organisation that goes under the name TÜV, rather than specifically a TÜV check of a car, more will be needed, such as
(TÜVs are independent service companies that inspect and certify a wide range of technical facilities and objects)
Actually writing out Technischer Überwachungsverein in full is not usually necessary.
Where something is unique to Germany it should not be left without an explanation. A recent example is
das drei G Regel
Which translates as
the three G rule
But makes no sense to the average English speaker. Explain as something like
the three G rule (this is the German rule that says someone should be vaccinated, recovered and/or tested).
Another example is:
H-Kennzeichen
which I saw translated as
H-sign
and which similarly makes no sense in English. I suggest a slightly different translation, together with an explanation:
H number plate (an H number plate in Germany denotes a classic car)
thereby clarifying the meaning.
I hope this selection of examples proves helpful. Always remember that you need to be sure that your translation reads as if were an original text written by a native speaker of English, so be sure to check it carefully before you deliver.
I find your comments very helpful, so please keep them coming. A very merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all of you.
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