The idea behind the newsletter is simple. Every couple of weeks, I chose a word or saying that is often mistranslated from German into English. I explain why it’s wrong and what you can write instead. I’ll cover some more familiar ‚Denglish‘ words but a lot of these are more subtle. They look like they could be correct and many non-native English speakers won’t even notice them. But native speakers will and they’ll bump on them. (That means, they’ll notice them and it will make them pause, and stop reading – which you don’t want them to do!)

I’ll also cover some stylistic differences between German and English which will make your writing feel more natural.

I chose the name of my newsletter – the direct German translation of ‚Lost in Translation’* – quite deliberately, my tongue firmly in my cheek**. The literal translation of idioms always amuses me.

So, if you understand only train station, follow my newsletter to bring your English to the foreman.

*Non-German speakers – please don’t use ‚Verloren in Übersetzung‘. It’s a joke. And now I feel very German for explaining the joke.

**’tongue in cheek‘ is a humourous or sarcastic statement that is said in a serious way but isn’t meant to be taken seriously.

PS I’ve decided to write the newsletter in English and won’t have it translated into German. I’m going to assume that if you are looking to improve your English to this level, you already have a fairly good grasp of the language.

Read VERLOREN IN ÜBERSETZUNG

Convince yourself

Überzeugen Sie sich warum ‚convince yourself‘ (fast) immer falsch ist.

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A tricky one – that often slips past even eagle-eyed readers but using ‚offering‘ isn’t correct, and here’s why.

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