Lost in translation?

Here, I discuss a term, expression, or phrase that is tricky in a German-English context.

13 Jan 2017

by Dave Naithani

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Speak you Denglish? Common English mistakes of German speakers

My (inexhaustive) list of Denglish words

If you regularly speak with Germans, be it for business reasons or during travel, you've probably stumbled upon your German counterpart using some pseudo-English vocabulary – a phenomenon called “Denglish”. Find out here what your business partner actually means when he says things like “Handy” or “Shooting”.

06 Sep 2016

by Liz Naithani

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“International English”: An alternative to US or UK English

English dictionaries on book shelf and boxes with US and GB flag

Are you based in Germany but have an English website or publish advertising materials, brochures, product catalogues or annual reports in English? Then you’ve probably had to think about whether to use American or British English. The problem is that in today’s global economy texts are rarely read exclusively by either the British or by Americans ...

20 Mar 2016

by Liz Naithani

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Dodge the/a bullet

The chances are high that you will come across this English idiom, even in a business context. However, I have found that many German speakers are not familiar with it.

23 Feb 2016

by Liz Naithani

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Being “Self-confident” or “self-conscious” makes a huge difference!

What is the correct English translation of “selbstbewusst”? “Self-conscious” or rather “self-confident”?

16 Jan 2016

by Liz Naithani

(comments: 1)

“These data are …” or “This data is …”?

Singular or plural?

Especially in writing, the question arises whether to treat "data" as a plural noun or as an uncountable mass noun.

17 Nov 2015

by Liz Naithani

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How to translate “Impressum” – Free template!

This legal notice is required by German law – but how is it translated correctly?

How to translate "Impressum" into English.

Is your business based in Germany and you’re struggling with how to translate the heading “Impressum” for the English version of your website? You're not alone.

15 Sep 2015

by Liz Naithani

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Is "one billion" equivalent to "eine Billion"?

These words look and sound similar, but differ in meaning.

07 Aug 2015

by Liz Naithani

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Ball park figure

Though this is a culture-specific idiom (USA, baseball), it is today well-known, particularly in the business world.

13 Jul 2015

by Liz Naithani

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Use of the Oxford Comma

"I called my superiors, Sally and Mike." Now who exactly did the speaker call? Sally and Mike, as well as the superiors? Or are Sally and Mike in fact the speaker’s superiors? By using an Oxford comma in this sentence, one could clarify that one means the former.

08 Feb 2015

by Liz Naithani

(comments: 1)

Writing Numbers – Periods or Commas?

When writing numbers, commas and points are used as separators both in German and English; they are, however, placed differently.