All about Online Classified

Professional German and English translators are well aware of the similarities of the two languages, especially when it comes to certain vocabulary words. Students of German Translation would agree that this can be both good and bad.

English and German language learners need to be apprised of this situation. However, new German translation graduates often plunge ahead without fully understanding that words can be deceptive. “False friends,” which exist in many languages, are cognates that are false, and having nothing in common with the words you would expect them to mean. The translation profession regularly deals with the challenge of avoiding falling prey to false cognates. To reiterate, “false friends” appear or sound like a word you know but there is really no connection. Incorrectly using false cognates can cause embarrassment at best and lawsuits in the worst case scenario.

False cognates are prevalent in German and English because the two languages are both Germanic languages. Experts will readily confirm that English and German have many words that sound alike. Brother / Bruder, auto / Auto, house / Haus, glass / Glas, etc. are just a few examples of the numerous true cognates that exist between the two languages. Many such true cognates exist between the German and English languages, and these should be differentiated from the many false cognates between the two languages.

Regardless of whether you are translating into English from German or into German from English, your translation process will go much more quickly if the text contains true cognates. However, translations can go bad when translators do not take care to learn all they can about potential issues with false cognates. Translation service workers must avoid making translation mistakes because they do not recognize these “false friends,” also known as “falsche Freunde,” “faux amis” in French, or false cognates.

After (After) the objective (Objektiv) act (Akt) of translation, the target document must be reviewed. In reference to the German words in parentheses, this statement is a good example of how false friends can completely change the meaning of a sentence. The German words, “After,” “Akt” and “Objectiv” actually mean “rectum,” “nude,” and “lens” respectively in English. Many such false cognates also exist in medical translations. These include words like “Weh” which really means pain. True professional medical translators are wary of false cognates like “kosten”, which means to taste.

Similar difficulties are found in legal translations, which false cognates popping up frequently. These often include words like “Rathaus,” which means “City Hall,” and not a home for a rodent. Some other false friends that can be found in inaccurate German Legal Translation Services include words like “Akt,” which really means “nude” (in artwork).

Unfortunately, this is only a sampling of the numerous false cognates that exist between English and German. For example, the word “drogerei” refers to what Anglophones know as a drugstore, but it does not carry medications. What it does sell are personal hygiene items such as shampoo, hairspray, deodorant, toothpaste and the like. Those who speak fluent German know that the “Apotheke” is the shop where medications are sold. To get your prescription filled at the “Apotheke,” don’t forget to take your “Rezept,” but if you need a receipt, you should ask for a “Quittung.”What all this comes down to is the fact that professional German translators must be aware of the pitfalls and challenges of providing a highly accurate translation that conveys the true meaning of a text without compromising readability. Mistakenly using false cognates always results in gross errors that reflect poorly on the German translator, the German translation and on the organization or person who uses the translation for official purposes.

Translation and interpretation can be extremely difficult, but the common reader usually doesn’t understand the complexity that is involved. In this paper, we attempt to explain some of the more common reasons for translation error and some new courses to aid translators. The art of document translation does not follow hard and fast rules, since something is translated into another language, and sometimes translated back into the original language and because of differences of the languages some of the original meaning is lost. Because people from academia saw the weakness with which translations were being performed, a need for improved translations was recognized. Eventually, complete degrees began to be offered in universities that had the objective to teaching the skills necessary to deliver quality translations that are equivalent to source documents.

As more German Translation studies programs were developed, a formal curriculum was developed that included a history of translation theory, beginning with the ancient Romans and encompassing key twentieth-century structuralist work. New coursework was later amended to study programs plans that emphasized specific problems of literary translation through a close, practical analysis of texts that tackles crucial problems of translation and extensive suggestions for further reading.

In the first semesters of the program, students learn that a text’s reliability consists in the trust a user can place in it, as a representation or reproduction of the original. Perhaps the first lesson that students learn is that simple word by word translations have tremendous disadvantages. Anyone who has ever used an internet translation product has encountered the weakness of online translation systems. These issues are encountered on a regular basis by professional translation workers when dealing with highly technical subject matter like Legal Document Translation. For your insight, the author of this article has written a real life story to help you better understand the challenges that the translation field is presented with.

Several months ago, a major healthcare provider sought the assistance of a Medical Document Translation worker in the United States. Consequently, the project required some travel to Dresden, Germany. Because the new translator had some German language skills and proficiency in English, his translation skills were acceptable.As you might imagine, the person had excellent English language skills but his German skills were somewhat limited. In one example, a company representative asked if he was comfortable. He knew the answer to the question, how he might respond in English and the corresponding words in German. He felt confident that if he responded that he was a bit too hot, that the correct meaning would be conveyed. However, as most Anglophones do not realize, in German, it is necessary to say “it is hot to me,” and not, “I am hot.” The two statements carry very different meanings in German. The person who had asked the questions gave him a bizarre look that made him think he had done something embarrassing. Indeed, the German translation of “I am hot,” conveys a sexual meaning, whereas “it is hot to me” conveys the meaning that the temperature is too warm. You can be assured that the American will think twice the next time he thinks about how he might respond in German.