German Translation Services
Language History
When civilians began settling in the Western areas of the Baltic Sea, this set motion for the basis of the German language – known as Proto-Germanic, this language is believed to have developed 2000 BC. It was during the Roman occupation of the Rhine-Danube area in 1st Century BC when the first-ever records of this language were found. Since then and due to sociopolitical factors and interaction with other languages, German has widely changed. German became standardized after several occasions including the influence of Martin Luther’s Bible translation into German in 1522 from the original Hebrew. This version of the German language set motion for the German we know today.
Where is German Spoken?
As of 2018, over 105 million people speak German as a first language, while about 80 million people around the globe use it as their second language .
German is spoken as a first language in Germany and Austria and it’s one of the official languages of Switzerland. More German speakers can be found in countries including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Russia and the United States.
FACT
German is the 11th most spoken language in the world and it is officially the most-spoken mother tongue in all of Europe.
Did you know
German is a top ten language for world Internet usage, meaning, it’s a great language to translate your web content into!
Longest German Compound Words
Bezirksschornsteinfegermeister – “head district chimney sweep.”
Lebensabschnittspartner – “the person I have been/am with.”
Our Tip!
Leave plenty of white space when it comes to designing for German software localization, mobile app localization, or website localization as the German language tends to be longer!
“German is increasingly becoming a language demanded by marketers. It helps companies cater to a larger audience.”
False Friends in English and German
| English Word | German Translation | False Friend | Correct English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ambulance | Krankenwagen | Ambulanz | A & E |
| bright | hell | breit | wide |
| famous | berühmt | famos | Splendid |
| eventually | letztendlich | eventuell | potentially |
Our Tip!
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Danke | Thank you |
| Guten Abend | Good evening |
| Entschuldigung | Excuse me |
| Bitte | Please |
Population vs. Internet Penetration
Population
82,438,636
Internet users
79,127,551
Penetration
96.0%
FACT
Source: mosalingua.com
German Translation Tips
- There may sometimes be a need for language expansion when translating into German as the language is known for long compound words.
- Have good command of German nouns and their genders – know whether a word is der (masculine), die (feminine), or das (neutral).
- In most sentences, all verbs other than the main verb must be placed at the end of a sentence. For example – Ich möchte Eis essen. (I would like to eat an ice cream).
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