FAQs

“What about references?”
References are available upon request only. Please understand that the client relationships of a translator, whose customers are often competitors in their respective markets, are highly sensitive and subject to non-disclosure agreements. Besides, publishing the names of individual clients might cause an unacceptable frequency of reference requests. Please feel free to contact me (akuehner@germantext.de) at any time for up-to-date contact information of reference customers.

“Could you publish some samples of your work?”
Copyright and contract stipulations often prohibit the publication of such samples. In particular, I am not allowed to disclose any information about my customers or their customers, products and services. However, upon request I will gladly provide samples in the form of links to Web pages I have localized, or as pdf files of published documents.

“We have decided in favor of a lower quote”
Price levels on the translation market differ as widely as quality levels. You get what you pay for, simply put. It all depends on the impression you wish to leave with your audience. The linguistic quality of your documentation speaks for you!

“How do you assess the quality of a translation?”
There are a number of approaches to quantify certain quality criteria. Issues such as terminology errors and other criteria relating to “craftsmanship” (grammar, sentence structure, clear understanding of the original text etc.) can be measured quite easily. But that is just the beginning. Knowing how to handle language to achieve the intended impact is largely a matter of talent (and it takes some practice). Trust your instincts when you read a translation: Does it make sense? Did you get the message right away? Or does it appear awkward? Is it vague? And so on...

Spelling
The news has made it around the world that there has been a spelling reform in German-speaking countries. There have been some reservations against this reform here and there, but I believe it is correct to say that the spelling reform has been implemented successfully and is widely accepted.

Austrian, German and Swiss German
There is some confusion about the differences between German, Austrian and Swiss German. These differences are minimal. As far as spelling is concerned, the only discrepancy affects the “ß” character which is not used in Switzerland (the Swiss use double-s instead). Also, there are a few words (or word variants) that are only in use in Austria or Switzerland, respectively. They are fully understood in the respective other countries, however. There is no reason to worry that a document written for an audience in Germany will not be fully understood in Austria or Switzerland. German literature is universal to the three countries. Documents destined exclusively for Switzerland should not contain the ß character - that’s about it.

Also, there is no such thing as “Low German” as opposed to “High German”. There is only “good German” and ”bad German”!!

More FAQs to follow. Ask your own questions:

akuehner@germantext.de

back