English
English translations are of increasing importance, for English is used regularly by over 500 million people.
Good English translations are becoming more important all the time, despite the large numbers of people for whom it is the first or second language. For a working knowledge of English is by no means sufficient to allow for satisfactory translation out of it, and certainly not into it. Not without reason do translators and interpreters go through intensive studies to attain the proficiency needed for accurate, readable translations. Here are some examples of ‘traps for the unwary’ which can cause amusement, sometimes embarrassment and in the worst case serious misunderstandings – so-called ‘false friends’.
| Germanic word | false English translation | Meaning of the false | English translation correct English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kompetenz | competence | Fachwissen | authority |
| Sensibel | sensible | vernünftig | sensitive |
| Dom | dome | Kuppel | cathedral |
| eventuell | eventual | schließlich | potentially,perhaps |
| winken | wink | blinzeln, zwinkern | wave |
We seek to maintain our high standards of quality by restricting our focus to just a few languages. The language combinations which we offer involving English are as follows:
Translations English <-> German
Translations English <-> French
Translations English <-> Russian
Today, English is the most widely distributed language in the world, whereas High Chinese is the language with the most native speakers. English is the first foreign language taught in the schools of very many countries and it is the official language of the most international organisations, whereby many of these have other official languages as well. English is regarded as the ‘global language’.
According to Wikipedia, English is the first language for about 340 million people, the Anglophones. Together with those who regard it as their second language, the number of English speaking people rises to about 510 millions.