Getting ahead with German Translations

The structure of the German language and the abundance of idiomatic expressions make any German to English translation or an English to German translation the one that demands accuracy.

Finding the right translation service for your needs depends on many things; the nature of your business, the size and scale of the documents and their complexity.

Initially it would be easy to hire a native German with a good working knowledge of American English or any other language; or get hold of a translation package online and slot your document into it; or you could search the web and take up one of the many of sites who advertise their services there, but much depends upon the reasons why you are looking for a German to English translation in the first place. You may, for example, have marketing, legal or commercial or documents that need to be translated or made readable through a good English to German translation.

German dialects

One aspect of the German language that is worth noting is that, just like the rich diversity of language and dialects to be found in the USA, Germany too has a very varied linguistic history molded by many of its immediate neighbors and influenced by its unique position as a thoroughfare across Northern Europe.

With such a complex language it is all too easy to fall into the trap of taking the easy route when, in reality, German to English translations demand a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail. When searching for an English to German translation or vice versa it is crucial that native speakers are emplyed and that they, or their agency, are able to differentiate between common usage of English within the United States and that in common parlance across the United Kingdom.

It is also vital that the specific requirements of the document you are looking to translate, are taken into account; it could be that you actually need a native German speaker with a full and detailed knowledge of the American legal system and able to make the German to English translation or English to German translation of legal and contractual texts.

Looking for a translator

Looking for a qualified and professional German translator, you have to find the most appropriate service and to assist here are a few basic steps:

• Find a translation agency that employs native speaking Germans with a good grasp of American English and who can demonstrate real expertise and experience in your sector.
• The provider needs to be able to demonstrate that they employ translators with experience of all the country's regional language variations.
• Establish that the agency can clearly show that it checks English to German translations to ensure grammatical correctness.
• Get some affidavits from clients in your line of work having a great French to English translation for a brochure won't be good enough when you are translating business or legal documents.
• Give the agency a difficult sample to test the accuracy and competency of their translators, see how long it takes to complete and how accurate it is.