Group of men in leather pants

Vanilla or tutti frutti? Is advertising in Germany just plain boring…?

Written by Sarah HudsonJune 14, 2022
German Branding , German Language , Slogan

One of the many fun things about visiting another country is watching TV advertisements. It always fascinates me how they vary from country to country and what they tell us about consumer behaviour and cultural mindsets. When I visited Germany as a school student back in the 1990s, I loved watching and hearing advertisements on the TV and radio. Advertising in Germany was different to what I was used to and singing along to jingles such as “Knorr, Essen mit Lust und Liebe!” and “Haribo macht Kinder froh und Erwachsene ebenso!” played a part in helping me to learn the German language and understand the culture.

The Haribo jingle, which was first aired in Germany in the 1960s, can now be heard in English as “Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo!” Long before it made its way to English-speaking realms, I remember being highly amused by my exchange partner’s alternative version which went “Katzenklo macht Katzen froh!” This translates literally as “cat litter trays make cats happy.” Hilarious! Don’t judge me… remember TikTok hadn’t been invented yet.

Busting stereotypes

I have become aware through my translation work that German advertising has earned the reputation of being boring, particularly compared to American advertising, which is generally perceived to be flashier, funnier and more innovative. This might have something to do with the stereotypes that are associated with Germans, such as their orderliness and precision compared to their “free-spirited” American cousins.

The somewhat dated yet still iconic “Unmistakeably German” advertisement by Citroën sums up this stereotypical view of Germans very well.

Image by Siderfly on Pixabay

Now, we all know that stereotypes are unfair and inaccurate. That’s whI’ve done some digging to find out more about the advertising styles in the USA and Germany and to confirm if German advertising really is as dull as ditchwater.

Money, money, money

According to a 2019 report by Düsseldorf Trade & Invest, American companies spend 38% of their total budgets on marketing, while German companies spend less than half of that. This gives us the first clue why German advertising may not be able to push the boundaries of innovation and creativity as much as American advertisers, who have huge budgets to spend in comparison.

Heads versus hearts

In addition to budgets, there are other factors that influence the advertising styles of each country. In broad terms, German consumers tend to make decisions with their heads, while American consumers look to their hearts. This is why German ads often include lots of facts and figures that help the consumer to make wise and rational decisions, while American ads appeal to the emotions.

Food ads in Germany, for instance, often prioritise key information about nutritional benefits or other certifications that attest to the quality of the products rather than the taste experience. For example, German beer manufacturers often highlight the “Reinheitsgebot” (Purity Law) to demonstrate the quality of the beer. Other food manufacturers like to point out the rating they have achieved from the hallowed consumer organisation, Stiftung Warentest.

By contrast, American ads often focus on how the product makes the consumer feel on an emotional or sensory level. This selection of the 25 best food ads in 2021 gives us a little taste. For example, the slogan on an English ad for Nutella is written in the chocolatey spread and states “Please do not lick the page”. In doing so, it is asking the viewer to imagine how the product tastes and feels rather than think about its specific ingredients or other more tangible qualities.

Quality reassurance

According to a thesis on German advertising by Yannick Kluch, avoidance of uncertainty is very important for German consumers, which helps to explain why many ads made for this region feature so many facts, certifications and expert testimonials. Predictability is an important part of this. For example, the slogan for a popular washing detergent is “Da weiss man, was man hat”, which roughly translates as “You know what you’re getting.” It highlights how much German consumers like products that are familiar and that will offer a guaranteed level of quality.

Image by PDPics on Pixabay

The same brand uses a very different slogan in English-speaking domains: “Dirt is good”. The aim of this slogan is not to reassure the customer about the quality of the product but to get a conversation going and create a sense of intrigue.

Tradition personified

If “Qualität” is one of the most often used words in German advertising, then it is closely followed by “Tradition.” The idea that a company has been around a long time and is steeped in tradition provides the German consumers with the reassurance they crave. Companies that go back hundreds of years, such as Pelikan (stationery), Meindl (walking boots) and Villeroy & Boch (ceramics), will take every opportunity to point out their long and noble histories to demonstrate quality and expertise.

The German coffee brand Tchibo even personified these concepts of tradition and wisdom in the form of the Tchibo Man who appeared in ads in Germany in the 1960s and 70s. He is presented as a coffee expert who travels the world in pursuit of the finest coffee beans.

Whilst some American advertising does look back on the past, this tends to be used to evoke feelings of nostalgia and sentimentality rather than to make a product appear credible and trustworthy. As a rule, American advertising mirrors a culture that is constantly looking forward, so much of its advertising highlights newness and innovation instead of the idea of tradition.

Superlatively superlative

Another key difference between German and American advertising is the use of hyperbole. American advertising tends to be bolder and more emphatic with its use of phrases such as “most unique”, “world’s best” and “the very ultimate.” The “Best a man can get” slogan for the well-known razor brand Gillette illustrates this well, while Budweiser confidently calls itself the “King of Beer” and Coors boasts that it is “The World’s Most Refreshing Beer.”  German companies tend to take a more understated and modest approach by comparison.

Home and away

According to Yannick Kluch’s thesis, American advertising is generally more inward-looking while German advertisers like to draw inspiration from the wider world. The American flag can often be seen in American ads to symbolize strength and national pride. American brands such as Levi’s, Ford, Jack Daniels and Coca Cola often feature the American flag or other symbols such as the bald eagle, the Rocky Mountains or cowboys in their advertising.

By contrast, German advertisers are unlikely to focus on symbols of national pride because most Germans have mixed and complex feelings about patriotism. This is why most Germans do not celebrate German Unity Day on 3rd of October in the same way that Americans celebrate Independence Day on 4th of July.

Instead of focusing on Germany itself, German advertising tends to have a more international outlook and will often draw on themes such as travel and adventure in distant lands. This is well illustrated in the slogan of the German beer brand Erdinger Weissbier “In Bayern daheim, in der Welt zuhause” (At home in Bavaria and across the world) and visually through the emblem of Beck’s beer, a sailing ship which is usually pictured gliding over the waves on the open sea.

Vorsprung durch creativity

So, the evidence so far tells us that German advertising tends to be more fact-driven, tradition-focused, outward-looking and restrained than its American counterpart. The German desire for information to avoid uncertainty is perhaps why it has been difficult to produce creative and innovative ads in this region.

However, my research tells me that this only applies to a certain degree. I have actually found plenty of evidence to suggest that German advertising can be just as creative and innovative as its American equivalent, despite the smaller budgets.

According to Yannick Kluch’s report, there was a shift in the advertising landscape in Germany at the start of the 2000s. This is when German advertising started to become more modern, diverse and creative, and the idea of using storytelling, emotion and other tricks started to catch on.

Once upon a time…

Many modern German advertisers make very clever use of storytelling to grab attention and to connect with their audiences on an emotional level. A very good example is the 2020 Christmas campaign by the pharmaceuticals company DocMoris, which took social media by storm across the world.

Accompanied by an emotional soundtrack, the ad shows an old man getting up early every day in the weeks leading up to Christmas to get into shape. He is shown dragging out his rusty old dumbbell from the garden shed to tone his ageing muscles. His neighbours and daughter think that he has gone completely mad. But it all becomes clear in the final scene when he visits his family for the Christmas festivities.

We watch the old man hand his 5-year-old granddaughter a gift box with a glittering star inside. He then takes a deep breath and sweeps her up in his newly muscled arms so she can place the star on top of the tree. The ad finishes with the slogan: “So that you can take care of what really matters in life.” I defy anyone not to get choked up by this tender scene – it gets me every time I watch it. If you need evidence that German advertising is creative and emotionally charged, then this is it.

Super wicked

Mark Twain once said that “A German joke is no laughing matter” which may have contributed to the unfortunate stereotype about Germans lacking a sense of humour.  But you only have to look at a few examples of German advertising to know this isn’t true. There are many German ads that are gloriously funny, whacky and entertaining.

A particularly striking example is the “Supergeil” advert by the supermarket chain Edeka , which became a viral hit. It features the musician Friedrich Liechtenstein slow rapping about how “supergeil” (literally “super wicked”) supermarket purchases can be. He is shown dancing in the supermarket aisles with supermodels, bathing in milk fully clothed and smoking a hot dog like a cigar. It’s a deliciously amusing and ironic ad.

Another brilliant example is a VW Leasing ad featuring fully grown-up humans pretending to be cats and getting up to a range of feline antics, including hissing at their own reflections and coughing up fur balls.

Image by Luis Wilker WilkerNet on Pixabay

Some of the funniest and cleverest German ads I have seen are by the DIY chain Hornbach. Their spring 2022 TV ad features a pile of garden rubbish joyriding through the neighbourhood and causing havoc like teenage gangsters and ends with the tagline “Come to Hornbach before your garden does.”

Ach Jochen!

German advertisers are also not afraid to use sex for comic effect. An advert by the electronics retailer MediaMarkt presents itself as the antidote to modern life by depicting a series of frustrating and embarrassing situations, including a naked yoga session.

What’s more, German advertising is also far from conservative when it comes to swearing. For example, one of Smart Car’s slogans is “F**ing relaxed in the city” and the City of Berlin wasn’t afraid to use shock tactics to get people to comply with mask rules during the pandemic. This translates loosely as “We’re showing the middle finger to anyone who isn’t wearing a mask.”

Innovation is the name of the game

If you think German advertising is not very innovative, then think again. I have found plenty of ingenious campaigns and advertising stunts that show Germany is among the pioneers in future-forward advertising.

For example, the brewery company Astra uses the latest facial recognition technology to create personalised ads. The video ads, which target female beer drinkers, change according to who is viewing them. If a man or underage drinker approaches the billboard, they are told in a comical way that the ad is not for them.

The soft drink brand Powerade also created interactive “workout” billboards in the form of a rotating climbing wall to encourage audience engagement.

But for me, the best example of innovative German advertising is the edible hemp tickets in Berlin Transport’s 2021 Christmas campaign. The tickets are infused with hemp oil to help passengers combat pre-Christmas stress. This is an ingenious idea that taps into the wellness trend in an innovative and witty way.

A rainbow of flavours

I started my investigation of German advertising thinking that it was as bland as vanilla ice cream compared to the fun and flashiness of American advertising, but it appears I was wrong. Even though German advertisers sometimes aim to appeal to the consumer’s desire for predictability and credibility, there are many examples that show German advertising can be just as entertaining, emotional and inventive.

Whilst a cursory look at a country’s advertising can tell us something about cultural attitudes, it is never a good idea to generalise. Not all American advertising is exciting and humorous and not all German advertising is traditional and serious. So, it’s not a matter of having to choose between vanilla and tutti frutti – there’s a rainbow of flavours to choose from no matter where you are.

Header image by Jollymama on Pixabay

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letters forming the word transcreation

Neither translation nor localization: What exactly is transcreation?

Written by Sarah Di FaustoAugust 18, 2021
German Language , Transcreation

Although transcreation is becoming an increasingly popular service, many struggle to understand what it actually entails. Is it like creative translation? What does it have to do with copywriting? And how is it any different from localization? We try to make sense of all these confusing terms.

1. “Trans… what was it again?”

It’s a phrase we hear often when we speak to colleagues, friends, and clients about our favorite service: transcreation. Responses range from “Did you mean to say transcription?” to “Does it have something to do with the word ‘transgender’?”. We’ve heard it all. And truth be told, we’re aware that “transcreation” isn’t all that easy to pronounce at first. Perhaps a more sophisticated neologism would have been better suited to describe this elaborate service.

But the fact that the word “transcreation” is starting to become commonplace throughout the world is also positive. After all, the term sums it up perfectly. That’s because a transcreation is a mix of two different services:

Transcreation = translation and creation. 

Transcreation combines elements of translation and creation (or copywriting). In other words, a text is translated into another language as though it had been copywritten for the customers in that specific country or region. And here copywriting means more than just writing: It involves crafting a message with a specific target group in mind, one that appeals to readers and persuades them to put their trust in a company or purchase a certain product.

In the following paragraphs, we look at how transcreation differs from standard translation.

2. Translation vs. transcreation

Both translation and transcreation involve a text being rendered from one language into another. Both require intricate knowledge of the source language and the target language. And it is absolutely essential that the right terminology be used. Yet translation and transcreation are two quite different skills.

a. Translation: as accurate as the original

Translation involves the conversion of a written text from one language into another. If you were to place both texts side by side, you would see that all the information is exactly the same in both language versions. 

Here is an example of a typical candidate for translation: 

A software provider needs to have a user guide for their latest application translated into another language. This requires absolute precision as otherwise misunderstandings and a rise in incoming customer support requests will be inevitable. To ensure users are able to follow the instructions quickly and independently, the translation must use expressions correctly and each piece of information must be conveyed with the utmost accuracy. 

Conclusion: A translation is required for all texts that primarily aim to inform a reader, e.g. manuals and help articles, as well as legal or academic documents.

b. Transcreation: as effective as the original

Transcreation also involves the rendering of a text from language A to language B. However, the translation is not linear but focused on conveying the underlying message and achieving the same effect. If you were to place both texts side by side, you would quickly see that the content of the original and the target text sometimes differs considerably.

How about an example, you say? Let’s look at the now-classic slogan used by German electronics store chain Saturn:

Geiz ist geil. 

Whether you like the slogan or not, it is universally recognized in the German-speaking world where it is instantly linked to electronic goods sold at bargain prices. But how should we go about translating it into, say, English?

Stinginess is awesome.

Linguistically, there is nothing to fault. And yet even the untrained eye can spot that the English version is not as effective as the German original. This is partly down to the alliteration of the German slogan, which gives it that extra flair.

But even if we were to go for a slogan that rhymed (“Stinginess is awesomeness”), the message still wouldn’t be as catchy and effective as in German. We need a completely different formulation that reflects what the company offers but aims to preserve the emotional impact of the original slogan.

Conclusion: Transcreation is the right solution for those texts whose main objective is not to inform but to convey a specific emotional message and encourage a specific action, e.g. advertising that aims to generate enthusiasm for a product or PR copy designed to present a company in the best possible light. 

Can’t we just call it “localization”?

Transcreation is also sometimes mistaken for localization. As both approaches focus on culturally adapting the target text to the target market, this can, of course, easily cause confusion. But each involves a different method.

Localization is the process of adapting content or a product to the respective market. This means not only ensuring accuracy, as is the case with translation, but a text that complies with the cultural conventions of the target country. Here are a few examples:

  • In the US, dates are usually written in the following format: “MM/DD/YYYY”. If a text needs to be localized for the German or even the UK market, dates are written “DD/MM/YYYY” instead.
  • If an online store is looking to market their apparel internationally, the brand must be aware that clothing sizes differ depending on the country. For instance, a size 38 in Germany would be a size 40 in France and a 42 in Italy. To ensure customers’ orders fit and the store isn’t inundated with avoidable returns, it is vital to know exactly how sizing works on your target market.
  • In the popular fantasy novel and television series Game of Thrones, names that sound foreign to international audiences, such as King’s Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms, are adapted for each country. In Germany, the capital goes by the name Königsmund, whereas in France it is Port-Réal.

Conclusion: As well as translation, localization takes into account cultural associations, such as currencies, units of measurement, and clothes sizes, along with certain expressions or references specific to a certain territory, to ensure that the text makes sense on the target market. User interface options for software, product details for online stores or video and film content are prime examples of text requiring localization.

Transcreation goes one step further than localization: Individual elements are still adapted, but a transcreated text may also depart completely from the source text if it is deemed necessary to effectively convey the underlying message. This process is suited to content focused on achieving a certain effect, such as copy used in branding and advertising.

Is transcreation similar to copywriting?

To a certain extent, yes. After all, each transcreation requires a hearty dose of conceptual thinking. But the difference is that copywriters design and write content from scratch with the respective target group in mind. The basis for this is always a brief in which the copywriter works together with the client to establish the objectives, the target audience, the desired tone of voice and the effect. Transcreation specialists also work with a brief when transcreating, but they have access to the original text, which they must stick to as closely as possible, presenting them with an additional challenge. 

Transcreation – a combined service for advertising and emotive copy

As we have seen, transcreation is multifaceted and encompasses several services. Translation, localization, and transcreation are all geared towards creating a premium-quality text that is easily comprehensible for the target market. Knowing which service is right depends on each specific project. If a text is designed to elicit a response from the reader, for instance, getting them to make a purchase or sign up to a service, then transcreation is clearly the right way to go. So if a text needs to have a specific impact, you need a mix of translation and copywriting: Time for a “Trans-Creation”.

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Alarm clock and text "how long does transcreation take?"

How long does transcreation take?

Written by Magali KareeJuly 19, 2021
German Language , Slogan , Transcreation

We’re often asked how quickly we can deliver. Generally, transcreating is one of – if not the – final step(s) in a long process that starts with the development of a brand and ends with the rollout of an international marketing strategy. Of course, project management would be a whole lot easier if the time required for transcreation could be neatly summarized in a simple formula, like so: 

Still with me? Jokes aside, working out the number of hours needed is far from straightforward. Clients are often surprised by how long it takes to transcreate a document. They wonder why a text that so many brilliant minds have labored over for countless hours can’t simply be translated into another language. Surely it’s not that hard?!

Exhibit A: the cult slogan

But what actually happens when a text is transcreated? Let’s take a well-known advertising slogan as an example: “Kids and grown-ups love it so, the happy world of Haribo!” At first glance, it seems unbelievably simple. But that is precisely what makes a slogan so unique: It manages to communicate the core message of a brand in just a few words. A slogan should be catchy, convey an emotion, and stick in the customer’s mind.
But what appears effortless is in fact the result of countless hours of brainstorming and seemingly never-ending discussions. To put it plainly: That one short sentence required a whole lot of work. If you were to literally translate the Haribo slogan into French, you would get the following: Les enfants et les adultes l’adorent, le joyeux monde d’Haribo. Although an accurate translation, it’s nowhere near as memorable. And you don’t have to be a French native speaker to see it: The rhyme is nowhere to be seen and the catchy melody of the original has been lost.

The transcreation process: back to the drawing board!

What we need is an alternative. To ensure the slogan (and thus the product) is also successful in the French-speaking world, a French version is required that customers will remember as soon as they hear it. But the French slogan must also stay true to the original. So, we need to

  • convey the message of the original slogan,
  • elicit a similar emotion among our French-speaking target audience, 
  • respect the brand’s tone of voice and values,
  • and create something that is short, snappy, and memorable.

In other words, a transcreator must come up with a brand-new slogan. And their method is similar to the one used to develop the original tagline. First, they make sure they have an overview of the company and their services, their target audience, and USPs; second, they brainstorm, i.e. develop several different versions; and, thirdly, they tweak the chosen phrase until it is as good as the original (if not better). If we return to our original example, we can compare our direct translation to the actual French slogan: Haribo c’est beau la vie, pour les grands et les petits. It sounds just like the original: It rhymes, it’s catchy, and it’s accurate. And it’s clear that this new transcreated version is a world away from the literal translation.

Worth the effort?

The second question that clients most often ask when considering transcreation is: “Is it worth the effort?” Most can understand the importance of going to such lengths to get a slogan right, but what about online copy, social media posts, and emails to clients? Surely they can just be translated, right? In her book Translation-Transkreation, Nina Sattler-Hovdar, the authority on the subject in the German-speaking world, recommends always resorting to transcreation if

“[…] the text to be translated is important for the client’s image (and thus has a direct or indirect impact on their revenue). […] This means texts that can substantially benefit a brand’s image (or do lasting damage to a brand if they underperform).” [Sattler-Hovdar, 2016: p. 20] (own translation).

But why? Let’s imagine you are working on an email campaign specifically aimed at a younger target group, e.g. millennials. You use a more informal style and perhaps consider a funny play on words for the subject line to grab your prospective customers’ attention (and to boost your open rate). What happens when this email is directly translated into German? Can you be sure to keep the same laid-back tone without offending any prospective readers? And what about your attention-grabbing subject line? Any sort of wordplay is almost always lost in a literal translation. In sum, everything that would resonate with your English-speaking audience and make your email unique would simply vanish – unless you decide to have your email transcreated so that the modern, fresh tone of voice is still conveyed but in a different way. 

Stay closely involved

Marketing texts involve considerable human and financial resources, and that is precisely why it is wise to also plan sufficient time for your transcreation. Only then can you be sure to convey the right message to your customers. So, how much time should you set aside for your transcreation? A good rule of thumb is to look at how much time it took to create the original: the longer it took to develop the final copy, the more time you will need to finalize your transcreation.

Ideally, you should ask an experienced transcreation specialist to give you their opinion. They should be able to tell you where the text is likely to cause issues in the target language and why. You might also be able to offer some helpful tips that enable transcreation professionals to come up with some effective alternatives: Even if you’re not a professional linguist, nobody knows your product or your company better than you. This means you are more involved in the transcreation process and may allow you to keep the number of necessary revisions to a minimum. It’s also important to thoroughly brief your transcreator. How should an audience perceive your brand? What does your company stand for? Who is your target audience? A professional will ask you all of these questions. The more information you can provide, the more efficient the remaining steps will be.

To summarize

The length of time needed to transcreate a text largely depends on how much creativity has gone into the original. For instance, a slogan usually requires more creative thinking than a newsletter text as it has to capture the very essence of a brand in just a handful of words. An experienced transcreation specialist will be able to give you an accurate estimate of the time required for your project so that the resulting text is just as well thought out, catchy, and compelling as the original.

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Gender-friendly German

Gender-friendly German – a question of choice

Written by Sarah HudsonJune 22, 2021
German Language , Transcreation

Language is a powerful thing. The words we use say a lot about our beliefs and the world we live in. When it comes to gender politics, it is widely agreed that language should be as gender-neutral as possible to avoid implying that one gender (namely the male gender) is the norm. But the issue is far from straight-forward in German-speaking countries where a fierce debate is raging on the subject. Firstly, not everyone agrees that language should be changed in an artificial way for the sake of gender neutrality, and secondly, even if they do, there is no consensus on how it should be done.

by our guest author Sarah Hudson, our UK-based transcreator colleague with a passion for the German language

Strange stars and unusual underscores

The situation is quite complex in the German-speaking world because German is an inflected language. This means that, unlike in English, endings are placed at the end of certain nouns to denote gender, for example, Lehrer (male teacher), Lehrerin (female teacher). In recent years, a range of different options have been devised to make these kinds of nouns more gender-neutral. These range from using both the feminine and masculine forms of the noun (the paired form) to the more unusual ‘ich’ and generic neuter forms. So, for example, when German speakers want to write the word “Student”, they can in theory choose from a plethora of options:

Student und Studentin                  Paired form

Student/-innen                                Oblique

StudentInnen                                   Connecting ‘I’

Student*innen                                 Gender star (Gendersternchen)

Student_innen                                 Gender gap

Student:innen                                  Gender colon

Student!nnen                                   Gender exclammation mark

Studierende                                     Nominalised form

der Student                                      Generic masculine

die Studentin                                    Generic feminine

das Student                                      Generic neuter

Studentich                                        ‘Ich’ (I) form

Twinkle, twinkle, gender star!

The form chosen very much depends on the user’s preferences. The paired and oblique forms are most often found in official writing, for example, by the tax authorities; the connecting ‘I’ is the preferred option in Switzerland; and the city of Lübeck in northern Germany even decreed that everyone living in the area should use the colon because it is easy to find on a computer keyboard. Meanwhile, the gender star (Gendersternchen) has found favour in academic circles, partly because it covers non-binary forms. But despite its increasing popularity, not everyone likes it. In 2020, the Association for German Language (GfdS) called for it to be scrapped, along with other punctuation forms used for this purpose such as colons and underscores. The GfdS argues that they are not precise enough, and cause inconsistencies and grammatical confusion. And then there is the issue of how to pronounce words such as Student*innnen – Studentsterncheninnen is almost unpronounceable!

One gender marker for all

Despite these concerns, some German speakers and academics are calling for even more radical change to avoid discriminatory language of any kind. One option is the use of the generic neuter. This means that instead of saying ‘der Student’ (male student) or ‘die Studentin’ (female student), ‘das Student’ should be used. Another option advocated by German feminist linguist Luise Pusch is the use of the ‘ich’ suffix. ‘Ich’ is the German word for ‘I’. Luise Pusch is in favour of placing it at the end of nouns to create forms, such as ‘Studentich’. Some German speakers have also started to adopt a gender-neutral pronoun system using the word ‘xier’ to replace ‘he/she’. Graphic designer and linguist Anna Heger has even developed an entire alternative grammar system using these forms. For example, the sentence Sie packt ihren Koffer (she packs her suitcase) would become Xier packt xiesen Koffer and the same form would be used for ‘he packs his suitcase’. Similar systems are also being developed in French and Spanish, but it is very unlikely that any of these more radical approaches will be widely accepted any time soon. If nothing else, they are helping to stoke the fires of debate.

A triumph of reason

Various prominent newspapers, such as Die Welt am Sonntag in Germany and the Krone newspaper in Austria, have recently run surveys to gauge public opinion on the matter of gender-neutral German. The results of the surveys may possibly say more about the politics and age of the participants; however, they demonstrate that a high proportion of the general public is against the use of “artificial” non-gendered language, with Die Welt reporting that 63 per cent of those surveyed would rather the language was left well alone. Germany’s other prominent language association, Verein Deutsche Sprache, has described these results as a “triumph of reason” and believes that they underscore the fact that it is the media and academia that are trying to force change and not the average person in the street. There are also signs that some people are becoming more than impatient about recent attempts by organisations to impose gender-sensitive language. An Audi employee has recently filed a lawsuit against the company because he believes its “dictatorially prescribed” language infringes his personal rights.

Case not closed

It is therefore clear that many people in German-speaking countries are not in favour of their language been radically changed, but this does not mean that the matter of gender-friendly language is closed. Many organisations, including government departments, are still laying out clear policies to increase the visibility and rights of women, transgender and non-cis people, and this extends to the use of language. It could be argued that the debate around the subject in German-speaking countries is diverting attention away from the real issue at hand, in other words, the rights of marginalised groups. Moreover, focusing on concerns about controlling or policing language ignores the fact that providing different options actually gives people the opportunity to decide for themselves and represents the exact opposite of control. The issue therefore centres on choice. When all is said and done, the debate is at least helping to stimulate discussion and raise awareness about an important subject.

Navigating the gender-friendly German minefield

So, what should you do when you need to translate information or marketing materials into German? The simple answer: know your audience and ask them what they would prefer. Their preferences may depend on their own personal stance or on the rules the organisations they represent follow. It is especially important to work with native German-speaking translators or transcreators who are knowledgeable about the different issues and who can provide you with the best possible advice. Experienced translators keep up to date with prevailing opinions and understand how to comply with the wishes and expectations of your target audience. A trusted language specialist can also help you compose a style guide to ensure the rules are followed consistently across your organisation to avoid any unnecessary uncertainty or confusion. It is also important to be very careful if you use machine translation tools such as Google Translate or DeepL because they do not handle non-gendered language accurately or consistently. If you do decide to use machine translation for simple and repetitive texts, it is definitely worth working with a trained linguist who can check that the machine output is correct and appropriate because getting it wrong can cause significant reputational damage.

Language is not set in amber and is constantly evolving to reflect our changing lives, experiences and cultures. Some of the seemingly madcap options mentioned above may actually become mainstream one day. In the meantime, we should think of Bob Dylan’s sage words, “The times they are a-changin’” – to remind us that we must do our best to change with them too.

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