We are wordsmiths: Jess Crutchley

In this issue: Jess Crutchley, Senior Editor and Translator

 

• What is your goal for 2021?

I’d like to run another marathon, ideally in under four hours.

 

• Over the course of your career, have you noticed specific changes in language usage?

I can’t help but notice the ever-increasing and blatant use of English terms and phrases in German – especially in casual, spoken language but also in the written communications we translate.

Every text we translate is different, of course, and has different requirements depending on the customer, purpose and target audience. But the liberal use of English terms in written German can be a headache in, say, journalistic translations into English. I’ve seen countless examples of German text using a German word first, closely followed by the English equivalent as a synonym (or vice versa).

Here’s an example. Wir bieten Ihnen ein breites Spektrum an Dienstleistungen. Zu unserem Serviceangebot gehört unser vielfach preisgekrönter Kundendienst, which, translated literally, means: We offer a wide range of services. The services we offer include our multiple prizewinning customer services.

When we translate these kinds of texts into English, we try to avoid repeating the same word twice in close succession because often it doesn’t read well. This need for stylistic polishing is also a compelling argument for why machine translation (which would happily use the same word twice or even thrice) can’t replace human translators. To get around the issue, we either have to find a different synonym to use in our translation (which isn’t always possible) or come up with a clever way to get the same meaning across that avoids regurgitating the same word: Our multiple prizewinning customer support is just one part of the diversified portfolio of services we offer.

In other cases, the use of English in German can sometimes make our life easier. Once we’ve established that the word or phrase is legit and not Denglish, we can take it and use it in our target texts as it is. This is often the case in high-tech contexts with new concepts that originate in the English-speaking world.

 

• What animal are you tempted to translate literally?

My choice is a bit of a silly one, but to an English-speaking audience the literal translation of the German word for skunk would certainly raise a few chuckles: Stinktier literally translates as “stink animal”, a rather good description given the foul smell the creature gives off. German is such a beautifully literal and illustrative language!

 

• Is the glass half full or half empty?

That reminds me of a clever joke I saw on the back of a German beer mat once: the glass is half full – but not for much longer! I’d say I am a glass-full kind of person – at least I try to be. In my experience, negativity can be incredibly draining, so I try very hard to keep a balanced view on things and look for the positives in every situation. And if I do feel negatively or pessimistic about something, I give myself a choice: either do something to change it, or change my attitude.

 

• Working from home: yes or no?

Working from home has some great advantages, but in an ideal world I’d like a mixture of both home and office. After working from home for almost a year now, there are definitely some things I miss about office life!

 

• Lake or ocean?

Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that Munich has so many beautiful lakes just a stone’s throw away, but if I had to make a choice, I’d have to say ocean. I find the crash of the waves and the sea air incredibly relaxing.