German uses more and more English words, sometimes inevitably, sometimes irritatingly, sometimes both. Especially when it talks about computers. This is sometimes called Neudeutsch (in German) or Denglish (vocabulary list). But with the Americanization of the German law firms, and with international mergers, perhaps, there are more and more anglicisms in the law.

Perhaps it’s particularly rife in the glossy magazines for young lawyers, which appeared in Germany slightly later than in Britain, I think. Juve publishes a Handbuch Wirtschaftskanzleien (also in English: Handbook [sic] for US clients: German Commercial Law Firms) and also a periodical for law students looking for jobs with law firms called azur. Continue reading →

The EU has diagrams with vocabulary on titles, subtitles, chapters etc. of legal instruments, in both English and German.
This applies only within the EU context. Outside that, the situation is much more complex.

Die EU hat Tabellen mit Wortschatz zu den Bestandteilen der Rechtsakte: Titel, Untertitel, Kapitel usw., auf Deutsch und Englisch.
Sie beziehen sich auf EU-Dokumente; außerhalb der EU ist die Situation komplizierter für Übersetzer. Continue reading →

The EU has diagrams with vocabulary on titles, subtitles, chapters etc. of legal instruments, in both English and German.
This applies only within the EU context. Outside that, the situation is much more complex.

Die EU hat Tabellen mit Wortschatz zu den Bestandteilen der Rechtsakte: Titel, Untertitel, Kapitel usw., auf Deutsch und Englisch.
Sie beziehen sich auf EU-Dokumente; außerhalb der EU ist die Situation komplizierter für Übersetzer. Continue reading →

Via Marshall Fuss in alt.coffee (on Usenet), an article in The Onion finds that the majority of human discourse now occurs in online product reviews.

‘Duke sociology professor and study head Dr. Allan Piersall’ said, inter alia:

bq. “Not only was I impressed by the large number of people expressing themselves through the written word, but I was amazed by the sophistication of the rhetoric,” Piersall said. “In the same review, I saw examples of parallel construction, metaphor, and tautology, as well as standard debate devices like propositions of policy and use of evidence—all to support the argument that the Krups 872-42 Bravo Plus Espresso Maker is not worth the money.”

Via Marshall Fuss in alt.coffee (on Usenet), an article in The Onion finds that the majority of human discourse now occurs in online product reviews.

‘Duke sociology professor and study head Dr. Allan Piersall’ said, inter alia:

bq. “Not only was I impressed by the large number of people expressing themselves through the written word, but I was amazed by the sophistication of the rhetoric,” Piersall said. “In the same review, I saw examples of parallel construction, metaphor, and tautology, as well as standard debate devices like propositions of policy and use of evidence—all to support the argument that the Krups 872-42 Bravo Plus Espresso Maker is not worth the money.”

I am recovering from a day at the annual general meeting of the Bavarian chapter of the BDÜ (Bundesverband der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer) typing up this blog with the Eurovision Song Contest in the background. I won’t offer a comparison of the two experiences.

The Wikipedia has nothing on the BDÜ but it has an entry on the Eurovision Song Contest. This was news to me (the second bit about the two-day event):

bq. Up until 2003 entry to the Eurovision song contest also requires the country to have performed with a reasonable amount of success for the previous few years. France, Germany, Spain and the UK automatically qualify.

bq. At the beginning of 2003 the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) decided to make the Eurovision Song Contest a two day event as from 2004. This means that the previous restrictions for countries to participate will be dropped. Any EBU member country will be able to participate in any given year. Continue reading →