Free German Translation Guide - Meet Katharina, Translator German - 2

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Katharina Wawrzon, Translator German. Click here to go to Part 1. At the bottom of the page, you'll find more resources, including information about average translator prices. (Need a free German translation online?)

Conversation with Katharina Wawrzon, Professional Translator German - Part 2

A: For example, there are cultural issues. The translation of "leader" in German is "Führer," but it's a problem to use this word because of the history.

On the other hand, it would be all right to use the word "Führer" if you are talking about a "tour guide" -- you can translate this as "Reiseführer." In compound words, it can be okay.

Quite often, you also have so-called false friends: words in German that sound like the English words but have a different meaning. For instance, the German word for mobile telephone is "handy," but the word isn't used that way in English, so you have to be careful.

There is a lot of confusing vocabulary and expressions that sound different from their actual meanings. For example, in English, you use the expression "fast asleep," but in German, "fast" means “almost” or “nearly.” It sounds exactly the same, since English is a Germanic language, but obviously the meaning in this instance is completely different.

A: I remember one time, I translated software for a mobile phone. For something like that, English generally sounds better: the sentences are shorter. German is longer, more cumbersome. I had to work to keep it short, or I would run out of space. I needed to know the exact number of characters that I could use for each piece of text. It turned into an editing job as much as a translation job.

Q: Do you do interpreting as well as translation?

A: No, that's one of my New Year's resolutions.

Q: How have you grown and improved as a translator with experience?

A: The more you translate, the better you are. It's a matter of volume and practice. If you work a lot with the same clients and similar texts, you know how to tackle them.

Q: Have you noticed any common misconceptions about translation?

A: People think it's the same as word processing -- that just because you speak a language, you can just sit down and type up a text with equivalent words. But there's also the choice of the right words, the syntax...

I also hear, "Oh, you're a translator -- anyone who speaks German can do that." I'm not saying that an untrained translator can't be completely excellent, but it takes a special awareness of language.

A lot of people don't understand that you need to get a distance from the source text to translate it well. Otherwise, you end up translating word for word, rather than the whole meaning.

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