Björn Vrooman Oct 10, 2014:

So much for... ...building a "glossary". See related discussion at "electronic witnessing".

Björn Vrooman Oct 9, 2014:

@Ramey and Michael Even in the US, you may just call it "commercial texts/documents", as they did here:
http://www.bellevuecollege.edu/ce/category/translation-and-i...

All in all, having been a Fremdsprachenkorrespondent myself, I find all these references to specialist/speciality/specialised quite cute.

"technical" cannot be correct, considering how the courses look like, e.g.:

"B. Fachgebiet Wirtschaft oder Technik"
http://www.eu-bs.de/index.php?id=869

The only "specialisation" you have is the one for being able to translate general and either commercial or technical documents. But don't expect too much - a Fremdsprachenkorrespondent is an assistant position not comparable to a translator.

These commercial and technical texts won't be as special as you may think. May even be risky - claiming more skill than you have could be your downfall.

Would have been enough to say "general and commercial texts".

Another example - from the UK this time. Note how they call "business" texts semi-specialist ones, even for a translator!

http://www.city.ac.uk/courses/cpd/institute-of-linguists-edu...

Ramey Rieger (X) Oct 8, 2014:

@Brigitte Good thing I'm traveling with public transportation!

BrigitteHilgner Oct 8, 2014:

@ Ramey Rieger http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/essen-und-trinken-auf-...
Maybe that makes this trade fair a bit more enjoyable ... ;-)

Ramey Rieger (X) Oct 8, 2014:

Hi Brigitte Yes, association. Fachmesse - trade fair, Fachzeitung - trade journal, Fachbericht - trade report.
I guess it just depends on where we're coming from that determines where we're going to? I'm not insisting! Time for a bath and make myself presentable for the Frankfurt Book Fair! Happy translating!

BrigitteHilgner Oct 8, 2014:

trade To be honest: whenever I read "trade", spontaneously two German words come to my mind: "Handel" and "gewerblich". Others seem to react in a similar way, e.g.: http://www.dict.cc/?s=trade
Therefore I find it difficult to associate "trade" with "fach-" whatever.

Ramey Rieger (X) Oct 8, 2014:

Hi Michael 'Widely used' is not necessarily a recommendation, and Google contributes more to diluting language than any other source I know of.
The way of least resistance can be both enlightening and stultifying. That's just a fact, not a judgment. Just as much as variety is the spice of life... happy translating to you and Mill2!

Michael Martin, MA Oct 8, 2014:

General and technical documents or texts It’s not about what that term excludes or doesn’t exclude. It’s just widely used (not only by Germans) as an umbrella term to cover any subject area whether ‘technically’ accurate or not. Just google “general and technical documents”. If there’s a phrase out there that’s more accurate, yet SHORT and widely used, I am all for it. But so far, I haven’t been convinced..

Ramey Rieger (X) Oct 7, 2014:

Fachsprachliche Texte refers to trade-specific documents. The subject is English to German translations (or whatever languages) of general and trade-specific documents. The trade she will eventually translate for is unspecified.

mill2 Oct 7, 2014:

@Ramey In this context though, it's about school and academic disciplines / school subjects. Nothing to do with trades.

Ramey Rieger (X) Oct 7, 2014:

I really don't see what is sooo left field about trade-specific. It's a suggestion, not a fact of life. In business, I translate documents (AE), not texts, which is more of a German term. Also, when I receive projects from the States, they are often referred to as trade-specific, as opposed to general, in-house newsletter, memos, etc.

BrigitteHilgner Oct 7, 2014:

I agree with Armorel Young ... and mill2.

Armorel Young Oct 7, 2014:

Definitely not trade-specific - we're not talking about plumbers and electricians here. Absolutely nothing wrong with the asker's own suggestion of "specialised".

Jacek Konopka Oct 7, 2014:

Trade- specific?????????

Armorel Young Oct 7, 2014:

agree entirely with mill2. He/she should post this as an answer.

mill2 Oct 7, 2014:

kürzer: translation of general language and specialised texts from foreign language into German
(das subject area in Klammern brauchst du wirklich nicht)