Thursday 29 May 2014

The benefits of using German language in travel and business




Now-a-days learning a new language has become a fad and a necessity. Out of several languages learnt in the world, German language may not be the initial choice of all people as it sounds a bit complicated to non-speakers. However, in the world German is spoken by about 100 million people in the world in 38 countries. Here are some reasons why one should learn German:

Learning German for business purpose

Germany is third largest export and industry nation in the world. If your job requires you to handle business deals with global entrepreneurs or clients, there are high chances that you might come across someone who speaks German or who is a native German speaker. Germans are familiar with Shakespearean language i.e. English but understanding and comprehending their language will help you win their confidence.German is very impressive language which should be used in telephonic conversations, conferences and business presentations.

Learning German for the tourism industry

Tourism is very paying career option over the entire world. Now-a-days there are various courses which are specially developed for people to learn German and use it in various fields. Learning German language will you ahead. You should also keep in mind that there are millions of native German speakers in the world.

Practice is the key to language learning. If you want to learn German, you can take several programs for learning this language. There are various language schools in the world which can help you to learn this language easily. 

Friday 23 May 2014

Common mistakes in learning German language


German language has gained the official status in European countries and is included in among the three official languages used in European Union. German language has gained much popularity in the global world and is one of the four most learned languages of the world. In Western Europe German has been given the name as Lingua Franca as it is one of the commonly spoken languages of the natives.
German language has been included in many High school curriculum and learned by large number of people now-a-days. Learning a second language is a trend these days as there are various benefits associated with it. There are many who try to learn German with themselves and sometimes they are not able to sail through in their learning. They face several challenges which hamper their progress and consequently they are demotivated.  Here I have discussed some of the common challenges faced by people:
· German language translation:This is one of the commonly made mistakes of the people. They translate words in German language while thinking in their native language. They should think in German language without translating their mother-tongue.
· Gender differentiation: This is the second most common mistakes done by people in language learning. Not able to differentiate gender while speaking in German can lead to embarrassment. So one should differentiate gender for all nouns used in German language.
· Sentence formation: One of the major barriers in German language learning is sentence structure. German, unlike other languages places subject differently depending upon the situation.
· Misuse of prepositions: This is one of the major mistakes which can be spotted by a native German speaker. For example in German ‘for’ is replaced by ‘against’ in some sentences.
· Umlaut usage: For beginners, the usage of Umlauts is worst nightmare.  Umlauts are used only with A, O and U so you should always give attention on these letters in German language. The usage of Umlauts makes meanings of the words entirely different.

Learning any new language is difficult and it can get trickier if you don’t know the rules. Simple things like capitalization of nouns, use of preposition plays importance in German learning. 

Wednesday 21 May 2014

Thirteen words misinterpreted by Germans as English

There are many English words in German language which has different meanings. This creates of confusion among native English speakers. Let us look some of these interesting words:

Handy’- This is one of the best examples of an English word used by Germans in entirely different way. In English, handy implies something which is convenient. However, when used by Germans, handy means a cell phone. How interesting! So let us form sentences. A cell phone can be handy for English speakers while it cannot be quite handy in case of Germans who try to buy it in UK- which is an English speaking country.

Smoking’- Don’t be surprised if a German asks you to dress in a smoking. In German, smoking means tuxedo which is an old English jacket.

Show master’- In German language, the word show master implies a TV host and not a ringmaster in circus. This word was introduced by a Dutch show master, Rudi who was a famous TV host in Germany. Likewise Germans have invented words like Talk master and Quiz master.

Tramp’- Tramp is German means looking cheap or provocative. So, when German daughters grew up, their mother would beg them not to tramp because it was bad and they were not at all talking about hitchhiking.


Wellness’-This word can be found everywhere in Germany. It is advertised in every hotel but its use in German is different from its meaning in English. In German language, ‘wellness’ is a word which denotes saunas, steam bath and massage services offered in hotels. So next time keep an eye for the signs like ‘Wellness area’ in your German hotel.

Tuesday 20 May 2014

Future of UK universities if English loses its importance in global world


UK has been blessed as an English-speaking nation since time immemorial. English is the language of the great Shakespeare, the language of science and culture of one of the most progressive people in the world.

The prosperity of UK is not only based on its distinction in scientific and cultural fields but also on its native language i.e. English. Every year lots of students enroll for various programs in UK universities. Most of the students come here to study business, management, science or engineering. While most of these students are Anglophones (those who primarily speak English) who remain in their monolingual confinement, others have become bilingual and confident skilled managers and engineers.


In UK the incentives to learn second language is rapidly declining increasing the number of Anglophones. Knowing a second language is very useful in travelling and being understood by all. In However in UK, being Anglophone is declining the ability of locals to understand culture and language of other nations. ? UK needs to take significant steps to include the study of other languages in its curriculum. Let us take one example- Chinese understand English, Germans understand English, but it does not necessary mean that English speakers understand Chinese or German language. So who is at advantage?

Friday 16 May 2014

German to English translation: AN overview


Earlier it was considered that language is only limited to the domains of arts, literature, cultural and architectural studies. However, this thought has changed tremendously in the present scenarios. Now-a-days there are several other domains where language plays an imperative role like business, industry and agriculture. It does not matter which career path you choose, you might encounter situations in which language play great importance.Whether it is in business or personal communication with foreign clients, travel to foreign nation, studies in overseas you will definitely see the important role played by languages. There are more than 5000 languages spoken in the world but six languages are predominantly spoken all over the world-French, Chinese, German, Russian, Spanish and English.

All these languages have a long historical background. As far as German language is concerned, it has an enormous history. It is one of the commonly spoken languages of Europe and due to this reason most of the language learners are inclined towards learning German. Germany is becoming the important centers of business in Europe and therefore lot of people are willing to establish their businesses in this region. As a result of this, German language skills are becoming mandatory for doing successful business in Germany. At present there are more than 200 million German speakers across Europe and this number is rising fast. The growth of Germany as an important business destination is giving rise to the popularity of German language who can give German to English, German to French, and German into other language translations. 

Hiring professional German translation service for doing business in Germany


In the global world, international organizations and corporate houses will not be able to operate their business without the help of language translation services. Now-a-days you can find that market is mushroomed with several language translation services which offer quality and reliable translation at an affordable price. In the present global scenarios, global marketers and businesses willing to set their roots in foreign markets need to provide accurate translation of their business documents to their prospective clients. It does not necessarily mean that your business should be large in order to hire translation service. Even if your business is small and you want to establish roots in foreign country, you cannot deny the importance of language translation service. Suppose you want to set up a leather bag business in Germany, you will need to provide business documents to your client in their native language in German language. In addition to this, you will have to communicate with your customers in their native language which is only possible when you hire a professional German translation service.

So, if you want to establish your business network across your country to foreign borders, you cannot bypass translation services. Over a couple of years, things have improved a lot in terms of language services but now professional translators have become an important part of flawless business dealing with international clients.

Hiring a professional language service is very critical to the success of any business organization. Professional language services have expert translators who have sufficient different languages. Now-a-days you can find several translation agencies which provide industry-specific translator for your business. However, you must pay little attention while hiring them. Choose services which are certified and have impressive client history. Moreover you can ask for sample before assigning them a bigger task. 

Tuesday 6 May 2014

German translations for expanding business in German market


Whatever might be the scale of your business, big or small, if you want to expand your business network in German-speaking region, you will have to utilize German translation services for establishing long-term business prospect with your target customers. Moreover, in order to market your products and services easily, it is always better to reach them in their regional/ native language. 

What is a translation company?
Translation is the process of converting the language text or document from one language to another. These companies have professional and native translators which are trained in specific industry sector. In case of business translation, translators are well-versed in translating marketing material for successful business communication. In addition to this, they know all the nuances of cultural and linguistic differences of the target audience. In case you want to target German speaking consumers, the German translator can ensure whether your content is politically right and if it conveys the right message to the targeted customers. 

What do they offer?

Translation companies offer various services like German to English, English to German website translation, document translation, technical translation, legal translation and localization services. They also offer German translations for advertisements, promotional activities on TV ads, advertisement on hoardings, press release, books and magazines. However, if you want to choose Professional German translation services for your business, do a thorough research to ensure the authenticity of the translation company. Now-a-days, with the surging demand of language translation services, lot of companies have mushroomed which claim to provide quality translation services. However, to confirm how true they are, you must make an informed decision so that you don’t have to repent later. 

Monday 5 May 2014

German to English translations- is your checklist ready?

As a translator, you probably know how complex German to English translations can get. Translating any document or text from German to English language may involve quite a long than more than the actual process of translation. There are many more things which are needed during translation than mere physical process. Here we have created a checklist which will help you in considering important things during the process of translation.

Professional qualifications: Before taking up any translation job, you must ask yourself whether you possess the required expertise in the language pair(German-English) and whether you are aware about the regional differences in the language used. Suppose, you are translating German to English, you must take into account whether you have to use British English and US English. Technical translations in German, medical translations in German, legal translations in German require specific specialization in the subject. So before committing to such project, ask yourself whether you are OK with the jargons/terminology used in the source text.

Target audience: Check the type of your target audience, whether the translation is meant for children, native English speakers or international clients.

Purpose: Check about the purpose of translation-Whether it should be informative, persuasive, entertaining or any other purpose.

Format:  Check the format of the source text. Can you work directly on the original document? Is the file convertible? Suppose the client has given you a pdf but he wants you to provide him translations in word format, hard copy or email.

Technology: Check whether you have all the required technology for carrying out the translations. Check whether you are comfortable with the software( excel, acrobat, PowerPoint)

Integration of information:Who is your contact person? Has the client provided you all the necessary resource materials for translations? What is the deadline for the translations? Does the client want you to send translations in batches?

Rates and payments: Have you agreed on the terms of payment? Is it going to be rate-per-word? Do these rates include proof-reading and trial-runs? When will the payment made?What is the mode of payment (PayPal, direct transfer or any mode of payment)? Will it include taxes and rate fluctuations?

Legal: Have you agreed to the terms and conditions of your client and are these conducive for you? Have you been provided with the signed copy of your agreement with the client? Have you signed any confidentiality agreement? Do you have any professional insurance? 

This check-list has helped me during my translation career, hope you benefit from it too!


Saturday 3 May 2014

Inseparable : Literature and their translation



In Kerala, people have read several international books in their regional language that is Malayalam. Most of them have read books from famous writers like Marquez as it is easier to get Malayalam translations of Spanish language. They often joke that Marquez is the best writer in Malayalam. Many translators in India translate novels from German to English, English to Russian, French to English, English to Italian and vice-versa.  Now-a-days, the modern novelists like Eduardo Halfon have translators working on their books despite the fact that they have been in America for several years now. However, there have always been discussions about the authenticity of translations; many say that translations never satisfy and say that it is fraud. Lately there has been a discussion on treating translated novels as a separate genre and many readers are of the view that translators are not able to translate the intended info written by the writer.

However, the truth is that writers facilitate the work of writers to reach foreign readers and without them they would have remained as an unknown name in foreign world. Writers like Chekhov, Proust, Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Kawabata, Pamuk, Neruda and other would have remained unreachable by the avid readers without the work of translators who translated their work to reach millions of population.Translation is in fact a very critical job yet translators are not given the respect and attention they deserve!


To know more about German to English, English to French translations, English to Italian translations and other language translations, Click Here..!

Friday 2 May 2014

Speaking German isn’t that difficult : Learn how




Are you looking for some tips for speaking German language fluently? If yes, then you have come to the right place. In this blog I am going to give you some tips about speaking this language fluently. These tips will help you to learn this language fluently in no time provided you put some efforts and dedication from your side.

  •  Don’t overdo with grammar
    If you want to speak German, you need not master its grammar. Most of the people find German grammar very difficult to learn and they lose hope. So, if you need to master the spoken language, you must avoid memorizing the grammar rules. Instead, learning grammar can be made fun if you read simple books in German language like children story books etc. Write to a pen pal or just scribble something every day in a journal.

  • Engage yourself in fun-learning activities
    Languages classes tend to get boring at times. Moreover, if you want to get quick results, taking a regular course won’t be of much help to you. So, instead of enrolling in some boring German language course and getting bored with word lists and podcast, make your learning fun and easy by reading, writing and listening. As mentioned above, you must read easy books, write daily journals in German language. In addition to this, you must use German words in your everyday usage. Listen to some good music in German or watch movies of TV.  If you do all this regularly, you would be able to speak this language in quickly and fluently and won’t get bored!
   
If you want to know some more about German language learning, click here