No, because language is not static!
Have you ever been bloomy? Have you dismissed a proposal as “harebrained,” that is, outrageous or foolish? And did you know that an “ankle biter” is a small child and not a vicious dog? The above examples show that language is subject to constant change. Things that were part of everyday language just a few years or decades ago now sound outdated, strange, discriminatory, or may not even be understood. For translations, this means you need to constantly check that your terminology and stylistic patterns are up to date and whether they are still aligned with the Zeitgeist. Professional, native-speaker translators have their finger on the pulse and know exactly when something sounds antiquated and needs to be updated. After all, a suitable, good and politically correct translation is a calling card for any company.
When it comes to language change, you need to overcome these three hurdles:
Hurdle 1: Constant review is a necessity
Ask a 10-year-old for a “florin” or tell a teenager that you would like to “cut some rug.” They’ll probably look at you like you’re from another planet. With every written, filmed, spoken, and also translated text, you have to bear the following in mind: Language changes. Something that has been translated or localized once, therefore, does not remain good and universally understandable for all eternity. Therefore, brochures, websites, corporate videos and professional articles should be continuously reviewed – and not just for their factual content and messages. Companies are also required to have their foreign-language copy retranslated and checked every few years: do your documents still correspond to current language conditions, or not? It is good to set a firm deadline. For instance, both the content and language of company-relevant content should be revised every five years, because every company naturally wants to address and retain their particular target groups in an up-to-date and made-to-measure manner. And this won’t work if terms come across as outdated or are not even understood in the first place.
Hurdle 2: Language feeling and expert knowledge
Duden estimates the vocabulary of German everyday language at about 500,000, the core vocabulary at about 70,000 words. Once you add technical terms, you end up with several million words. Experts believe that the English vocabulary is even larger, while the French vocabulary is somewhat smaller, but this is also related to the fact that words are formed differently depending on the language. Just bear in mind that Germans are very fond of conflating terms, such as Bahnhofswärteruniformjacke (station guard’s uniform jacket). This means you need translation experts – in the various languages and, ideally, native speakers who are well versed in linguistic changes and subtleties.
In addition, each person has a different-sized vocabulary: older people tend to know more words than younger people, and academics tend to know more than people with lower levels of education. Then you also have to bear in mind that some terms, like “music cassette,” are gradually disappearing from the language. Sometimes new terms are added, for example the “Walkman” in the 80s of the last century, which only remained in use for a relatively short time. And let’s not forget terms that were initially used neutrally but now have a negative connotation: just think of relatively innocuous terms such as “knickers” or even “missy.” Today, we would be more likely to say “panties” or “underpants” and instead of “missy” we prefer the term “young woman.”
Another phenomenon of language change are foreign-language terms that find their way into another language, such as “kindergarten” in English, or “Computer” or “Concealer” in German. Anglicisms are particularly widespread in Germany. “Lockdown,” “Superspreader-Event,” “Social Distancing” and “Home-Office”: the corona pandemic has recently brought with it quite a few new English terms that one can hardly imagine German everyday language doing without these days.
One rule of thumb: Anyone who can use about 1,000 terms in a foreign language grammatically and appropriately can get by reasonably well – they can ask for directions, order a meal, or have a conversation by the pool. However, this is nowhere near enough for a good translation of a company text. That’s when you need to turn to professional translation assistance.
Hurdle 3: Watch out for stereotypes, political correctness and the like
Language can also evolve as a result of political and social changes. Whereas in the 19th century, for example, there were still many French terms that were used in everyday German, this changed with the founding of the German Empire. Instead of “Kuvert” (envelope), people started to use the term “Briefumschlag,” the “Trottoir” (sidewalk) became the “Bürgersteig.” In France it’s the Institut Français, in Italy the Accademia della Crusca which advocate for replacing foreign and loan words from abroad with words from their own respective languages. The French, for example, call their computers “ordinateurs” and the software “logiciel” in order to put a stop to the influence of English.
Political correctness is also important: for example, it is wrong to speak of “handicapped people.” The politically correct term is “people with disabilities.” And “manpower” is now “human resources.” Moreover, today the German language no longer has just teachers and doctors, but struggles to find inclusive terms for male AND female teachers and doctors. Translators must be familiar with all these “do’s” and “don’ts” and social guidelines. This means that they should also constantly question their own vocabulary and adapt it if necessary. Because translating technical or specialized texts demands the experience and intuition of industry experts. Language is all about change, and that’s a good thing!
Do you want to calmly overcome these hurdles to present your company in the best possible and most accurate way and master linguistic change so as to always address your customers in the most appropriate way? The experienced and linguistically skilled translators at ACT Translations know exactly what to look out for.
