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Translations and Other Language Solutions in German Language

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GERMAN TRANSLATIONS

HOW MUCH DO GERMAN TRANSLATIONS COST?

The price of the translation to and from German is set for every order individually. The price consists of many components according to Skrivanek’s current price list. The price of consecutive translation depends on the time of the service and the required language combination. The price of written translation depends on the volume of original text, the deadlines, the specifics of the text content, the repetitions in text, graphic processing, text formatting, correction as well as additional services requested by the client.

IS THE TRANSLATION PRICE LIST AVAILABLE

The price list of written translations as well as interpretation (consecutive and simultaneous), localisation and adaptation services to and from German is an integral part of our cooperation agreement with our clients. We always provide detailed information on the translation cost and other additional costs if the client requests certain services like notarisation of translation etc., before starting the translation project and signing the contract. The translation price depends on the volume of the translation material, the repetitions in the text, the language combination, and the material processing needs and context of the translation material.

Contact Skrivanek Baltic today for a free quote on German translation or any other combination of translation and related business services. Our German language services include:

  • German Document Translation
  • German Simultaneous Interpretation
  • German Linguistic Validation
  • German Consecutive Interpretation
  • German Transcription
  • German Typesetting and Graphics
  • German Voiceovers and Subtitling
  • German Staffing Solutions
  • German Multicultural Marketing
  • German Document Management
  • German Deposition Services
  • German Virtual Data Room Services
  • German E-learning Support

Looking for a language solution in German? We will prepare a tailored solution and consult you on your subject of interest.

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More than 16 million words are translated in our office every year

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE GERMAN LANGUAGE AND GERMANY

German belongs to the Indo-European family’s West Germanic language group. Its origins date back to shortly before the 1st century BC, when Germanic tribes arrived in central Europe from the south. Later the Germanic language base split into three regional forms: North Germanic, East Germanic, and West Germanic. Over the centuries West Germanic developed into the contemporary German, Dutch, Frisian, Luxembourgish, Afrikaans, Scottish, and English languages.

The history of contemporary German can be divided into three periods: 1. Old German (750–1050 AD) 2. Middle German (1050–1500) 3. Modern German (1500 to the present day).

It is the native language of around 108 million people, ranking German 10th worldwide. But German is the most widespread native language in the European Union.

German is the official state language in several European countries: Austria, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Germany. Other German speaking communities live elsewhere – in eastern Belgium, southern Denmark, France (Alsace region) and northern Italy.

According to the Latvian translator and philologist Valdis Bisenieks, the German language is special in that it did not develop naturally like other languages which were based on one dialect, but was created artificially, starting with Luther and ending with Theodor Sieb’s Bühnendeutsch (German stage pronunciation), which was so popular in Germany that it became the universal model of pronunciation. Luther took different words from different German dialects, making it kind of artificial, yet somehow natural, and where there are word variants, all different meanings emerge.

German was the language of Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Brecht, Einstein, Freud, Goethe, Grass Hegel, Kafka, Kant, Mann, Mozart, Nietzsche, Schubert, Wagner, Weber and hundreds of other world-famous philosophers, composers, artists, scientists, and writers!

68% of Japanese students study German.

Mark Twain, in regard to German and the Germans’ love for compounds, said that they are not words, but ‘grammatical walks that majestically stride across the page.’ German compounds surely annoy any learners of German but excite those to whom languages are exciting.

In German all nouns are capitalised and preceded by articles which indicate the gender of the word. Feminine nouns are preceded by the article ‘die’, masculine nouns are preceded by ‘der’, and nouns of neuter gender are preceded by ‘das’.

‘Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz’ is the longest compound in German, containing 63 letters. It means ‘Acting on the delegation of responsibilities for the supervision of the labelling of cattle and beef’, and was created in 1999 during the BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) crisis. It was abbreviated to RkReÜAÜG’, which itself was unpronounceable.

There are at least 35 dialects in Germany, and people from various regions might have trouble understanding each other. That’s why regional films are subtitled.

Germans are protective of their language and most foreign films are dubbed by local German actors before premiering. Due to this, dubbing became a hundred-million-euro industry. German confectionery manufacturer Haribo launched a project where local children can exchange acorns for sweets. The collected acorns were later sent to nature reserves to feed the animals.

Every year 800 million curry sausages are eaten in Germany. The snack is so popular in the country that there is even a museum for it in Berlin.

More can be said about Germany as it as a country with a long history, culture, and traditions. It has produced world-renowned geniuses in culture, education, science, political science, and many other fields.

But the most important thing is that German is a language that opens the way for all of us to get to know a beautiful country, a beautiful culture, and the sometimes amusing German customs.

THE GERMAN ALPHABET

There are 26 Latin letters in the German alphabet. Letters with umlauts (ä, ö, ü) and ligature ß are not included in the alphabet. The umlaut, or the diacritic, marks the softening of a vowel. The ligature Eszett ß is the combination of letters ‘ss’ into one symbol.

The Gothic script was officially used until the beginning of the 20th century. The current spelling was introduced in the 19th century but was approved officially after the revolution in 1918. The National Socialist German Workers’ Party unsuccessfully tried to renew the Gothic script; nowadays it has only a decorative role. The phonemes are represented by nine Latin alphabet vowels (a, e, i, y, o, u, ä, ö, ü) and 20 consonants (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, ß, v, w, x, z), and their combinations (for example sch /ʃ/, ng /ŋ/).

German orthography uses mainly the morphological and the phonetic principles, but also partly preserves the historical writing and thus, for example, several different vowel length markings.

HOW COMPLEX IS THE GERMAN LANGUAGE?

‘A gifted person should learn English in 30 hours, French in 30 days and German in 30 years.’ –Mark Twain

German is not one of the most difficult languages to learn. Around 45% of the words are similar to English words, making it easier to learn for English speakers. Much more attention needs to be paid to the use of the three German articles. Practising the language and memorisation will be the solution. The grammatical structure of sentences is unusual. If there are two verbs in a sentence, or if a compound tense is used, the second verb is placed at the end of the sentence. This grammatical feature is rare compared to other languages. Therefore, only patience, time, and desire to learn the language are the essential parts to learning not only German, but other languages as well.

The time to learn the language varies – some might need years, while others – just a year. It is accepted that to learn German up to conversational level one needs 30 weeks, or 750 hours of learning.

WHERE AND HOW MANY SPEAK GERMAN?

There are roughly 185 million German speakers in the world, of which 105 million are native speakers. 80 million people use German as a second language or as a foreign language in their daily lives. German is mainly spoken in Germany (more than 95% of the country’s population are native speakers), 89% in Austria and 64% in Switzerland. German is native to a lot of residents in Liechtenstein and Luxembourg. In terms of the rest of Europe, a lot a German speakers live in northern Italy, eastern Belgium, and in the Alsace region in France. Smaller German speaking communities live in Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania as well as Russia and Kazakhstan, where Germans were deported during the Second World War. Some of them came back to their homeland in the 1980s and 1990s.

Very small German speaking communities live in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Portugal, etc. Outside of Europe, most German speakers live in the USA, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina. German is the official language in Germany, Belgium, Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. German is also one of the official working languages of the European Union

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INTERPRETERS AND TRANSLATORS OF GERMAN

The Skrivanek team of interpreters and translators of German work with written standard document translation, technical translations, as well as notarised translations. The Skrivanek translation office also ensures editing and stylistic correction of German texts. For our business clients we usually do product descriptions, e-commerce content and website translations, advertisement slogans and marketing translations, cooperation agreements and business record translations to and from German. We also offer consecutive and simultaneous interpretation of formal and other types of conversation, including on Zoom and other online platforms, live conferences, and other events. Skrivanek translators from Latvian to German also work with state institutions on cooperation agreement and legal document translation. If requested, translation of medical texts and document translation is available for both legal and natural persons. For natural persons we offer identity document, marriage certificate, birth certificate, education document, passport, medical document, and other type of document translation.

As we are an international translation office and work with clients from all Baltic states, we can offer our current and potential clients translations from German into Lithuanian. Our team also has experienced translators and interpreters from German into Estonian.

GERMAN IN BUSINESS

As the most populated country in the European Union, Germany’s role in the international economy and business arena has grown considerably since the reunification. Germany has a social market economy – open market capitalism – which also provides social service benefits. Its economy is one of the largest in the world, and Germany is one of the world’s leading import/export countries. Services, which include sectors such as telecommunication, healthcare, and tourism, are the largest contributors to the country’s economy. Industry and agriculture are other important sectors of the economy. In terms of business development, Germany could now be ranked 2nd in the world behind Japan. In terms of quality of life, labour market and entrepreneurship, it is ranked as the strongest country in Europe. With German as the native language of more than 185 million people in Germany and elsewhere in the world, the country stands out for its advanced technological development, its popularity in e-commerce, and it is a fantastic market sector for foreign entrepreneurs. Therefore, German language skills are very influential and important in any business relationship in Germany and in all countries where it is the official state language. The target audience in e-commerce is huge. Speak German if you want to attract a business partner from Germany and get involved in the most dynamic business economy in the world. Germans prefer to do business with companies whose employees speak German. It has been proven that Germans are quite discriminating even against world-famous brands whose websites are in only one language; this guarantees the alienation of German customers, even if they speak English.

COLLABORATION BETWEEN GERMANY AND LATVIA

The Germans of Latvia, part of the Baltic provincial Germans or Baltic Germans, are one of Latvia’s historic minorities. Today, Latvian Germans live in Riga and Liepaja. In 2017, Latvian Germans were the 8th largest minority, and according to the 2011 census, 3,042 Germans were living in Latvia.

The arrival of Germans in Latvia was mentioned in the first part of the Livonian Chronicle of Henry, written in the beginning of the 13th century. Bishop St. Meinard from Holstein arrived in lower Daugava around 1180 and settled with the Livs living there. During the Livonian Crusades, Terra Mariana was established in the lands conquered by the German Crusaders, and alongside Latin, German and its Lower German dialect became increasingly more important as the language of international communication. After the establishment of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, and Swedish Livonia, the German language dominated in record keeping. Even after the capitulation of Vidzeme in 1710, Baltic Germans and the German language dominated in Vidzeme. In 1766, Empress Catherine the Great of the Russian Empire ordered the establishment of a German peasant colony in the Irsi parish. The first settler arrived in 1765 from Lübeck, and over the next two years 86 settler families arrived from Palatinate, Darmstadt, and Pomerania. At the end of the 18th century, about 6.5% of Germans lived in Latvia; at the end of the 19th century, according to the 1897 census, 7.1% (about 138 thousand) of the residents were Germans. Under the influence of the Revolution of 1905, in 1908–1913 the German nobility of Courland began to settle German settlers from the outskirts of the Russian Empire (Poland and Southern Russia) on their own in the manors they had bought, financed by the Kurlandischer Kreditverein in Jelgava. The first Courland German peasant colony was established in the parishes of Kurmale and Planica. In total, around 13,000 German peasants settled in the Courland province by the beginning of the First World War. After the establishment of independence in the 1920s and 1930s, the number of Germans in Latvia decreased, but they retained their influence in the Latvian economy: in 1935, 15.7% of the 922 large industrial enterprises were owned by Germans, and they accounted for 36.7% of total production. After the beginning of the Second World War, between 7 November and 16 December 1939, some 47,000 Baltic Germans emigrated from Latvia, while around 4,000–7,000 remained. After the occupation of Latvia, on 10 January 1941, the German and USSR governments signed an agreement to allow further emigration of Latvian Germans. Today, Germany and Latvia are linked by geographical proximity and a long-shared history, especially since Latvia’s membership in the EU and NATO, which was also actively supported by the German government. The destinies of the two countries are closely linked, as they have become true partners. In practice, they had to reassert themselves again, as proved by the challenges posed by the financial and refugee crises as well as those related to security policy that can only be overcome with joint effort. This is not just about Germany’s participation in Baltic airspace control and manoeuvres, naval visits or military support that, for example, is deployed by NATO in the Baltic States and Poland from one of the four multinational battalions under Germany’s leadership.

Germany has made a significant contribution to the security and stability of the Baltic region. Germany regularly participates in Baltic air patrol operations. Latvia also closely cooperates with Germany in transport and logistics. Germany is one of the countries whose businesses are involved in the Rail Baltica infrastructure project. In December 2021, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Riga between the Ministries of Transport, Welfare and Education and Science, and DB Engineering & Consulting GmbH, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, to agree on cooperation in the development of education in the railway and transport sector. The memorandum outlines a common understanding of the need to build a railway academy, helping Riga and Latvia to become a knowledge hub of the Baltic railway and logistics industry. Practical work to agree on the necessary steps to establish the academy will continue after the signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation. Cooperation between Latvia and Germany in the field of higher education is particularly active on the basis of bilateral cooperation agreements between higher education institutions and within the Erasmus sub-programme of the Lifelong Learning Programme. For several years now, the German Bundestag has been offering young people up to the age of 32 the opportunity to participate in the International Parliamentary Scholarship programme. Latvia joined this programme in 1992.

Since 2010, the Latvian Saeima has also offered German students the opportunity to annually take part in internships. The German Embassy and the Goethe-Institut in Riga, in cooperation with the Latvian Association of German Language Teachers and the National Centre for Education, provide a great deal of support for the teaching of German in Latvian educational institutions. Throughout their shared centuries-long history, German traditions and culture have also had a significant impact on the formation and development of Latvian cultural and professional life. The Goethe-Institut has been operating in Latvia since 1993 and has become an active partner in the cultural and artistic environment for many Latvian culture institutions. The contribution of the Goethe-Institut in Riga and other German cultural institutions and representatives in introducing German literature, art, music, cinema, and other fields to the Latvian population is highly appreciated and supported. The German Embassy in Latvia is also located in Riga: https://riga.diplo.de/

SOLUTIONS THAT WE PROVIDE MOST OFTEN FROM/TO GERMAN:

LANGUAGE COMBINATIONS:

Latvian to German; German to Latvian; Estonian to German; German to Estonian; Lithuanian to German; German to Lithuanian; Russian to German; German to Russian; Czech to German; German to Czech; Polish to German; German to Polish; Ukrainian to German; German to Ukrainian; German to Spanish; Spanish to German; English to German; German to English; Italian to German; German to Italian; French to German; German to French; Danish to German; German to Danish; Norwegian to German; German to Norwegian; Swedish to German; German to Swedish; Finnish to German; German to Finnish and others.

SOLUTIONS THAT WE PROVIDE MOST OFTEN FROM/TO GERMAN:

LANGUAGE COMBINATIONS:

Latvian to German; German to Latvian; Estonian to German; German to Estonian; Lithuanian to German; German to Lithuanian; Russian to German; German to Russian; Czech to German; German to Czech; Polish to German; German to Polish; Ukrainian to German; German to Ukrainian; German to Spanish; Spanish to German; English to German; German to English; Italian to German; German to Italian; French to German; German to French; Danish to German; German to Danish; Norwegian to German; German to Norwegian; Swedish to German; German to Swedish; Finnish to German; German to Finnish and others.