MODERN GERMAN LANGUAGE: TRANSLATION

MARKING GUIDELINES
CLASS

70%
+

II, I

6069%

II, ii

5059%

III

4049%

Fail

039%

Fully grasps the sense of the passage. Hardly any errors

Knowledge of vocabulary largely, but not totally accurate.
Impressive use of Fachsprache. Very few errors.
German syntax, sentence structures and grammar largely
understood. Occasional misreading.
Overwhelming evidence of awareness of style.
Consistently appropriate register and tone.
English fluent, imaginative, accurate and readable.
Grasps the sense of the passage as a whole. Some points of
detail wrong.
Knowledge of vocabulary. Good use of Fachsprache. Several
errors only.
German syntax, sentence structures and grammar understood,
but with some misunderstanding.
Considerable but not overwhelming evidence of awareness of
style.
Largely appropriate register and tone.
English fluent, imaginative, accurate and readable, but not
consistently so
Grasps the overall sense of the passage, but inaccurate in
specific details
Some gaps in knowledge of vocabulary. Some use of
Fachsprache. Some significant errors.
German syntax, sentence structures and grammar only
partially understood. Some serious misreadings.
Limited awareness of style.
Limited awareness of register and tone.
English fluent on occasions, but sometimes merely a literal
translation of the German
Very limited grasp of the overall sense of the passage
Knowledge of vocabulary limited. Large number of errors.
Considerable number of basic syntactical errors. Majority of
complex sentences misunderstood.
Not a great deal of awareness of style.
Very little awareness of register and tone.
English fluent on a few occasions, but often too literal
Little evidence of understanding of the text.
Knowledge of vocabulary very limited indeed. Majority of
words not known.
Overwhelming number of basic syntactical errors. All complex
sentences seriously misunderstood.
Hardly any awareness of style.
Hardly any awareness of register and tone.
Little feel for English. Mostly a literal translation of the
German

MODERN GERMAN LANGUAGE

TRANSLATION
How to produce a good translation
The aim of a good translation is to produce an accurate version of the original
text. Accuracy involves the following:
1. Correctly understanding the German syntax, i.e. the way in which
the grammar combines to produce meaning.
2. Understanding lexis, i.e. knowing what the individual words mean.
3. Producing a piece of English prose that reads like English and is
pitched in a register and style appropriate to the original.
Questions that markers ask:
1. How accurate and extensive is the candidates knowledge of
vocabulary?
2. How accurately has the candidate understood the grammar of the
German text?
3. How accurate is the candidates understanding of the German
syntax and sentence structure?
4. How aware is the candidate of the original texts style?
5. How appropriate is the candidates rendition of register and tone?
6. How fluent and readable is the candidates English?
Re 1. Vocabulary. Does the candidate use the appropriate English equivalent
terms, esp. with regard to Fachsprache (e.g. business, politics, history,
literature, film etc.)?
Re 2. & 3. Grammar, syntax and structures. Deconstructing sentences is a key
stage in the process of translating. German sentences differ from English in that
they often start with words other than the subject. It is crucial to identify which
noun is the subject (nominative), which is the object (accusative), and which is the
indirect object (dative). It is also important to identify cases, genders, and
adjectival endings, and to decide whether the verb is singular or plural, and
which noun it is meant to agree with. Obviously a firm grasp of grammar is
particularly important if this is to be done properly. Inflection (changes in words,
especially their endings, according to their grammatical function) is the key to this
process. It may be that the meaning of a sentence can be grasped without going
through this process, in which case only the most complex structures need to be
deconstructed. But careful close reading is always crucial.
Highlighting (literally) the core of a complex sentence by isolating all subordinate
clauses, encapsulated adjectival clauses, adjectives, adverbs, etc. can help clarify
structures and reveal their meaning.
Re. 4 & 5. Style, register and tone. When reading the German text try to
establish a) what kind of language is being used (is it technical/specialist
(Fachsprache), bureaucratic, journalese, slang, dialect, colloquial, academic?) and
b) the overall style and tone of the passage. Is it emotive or dispassionate, ironic,
lyrical, indignant, bitter, understated, full of hyperbole? A really good translation
will provide the appropriate English tone and register.
Re. 6. Use of English. A good accurate translation will read like English, rather

than a literal translation of the original. Regular reading of good English (e.g. a
quality broadsheet or journal) is crucial here. The more jargon you know in
English in areas such as business, politics, history, literature and film, the more
likely you are to come up with the appropriate term for its German equivalent.
Grammatical accuracy in your use of English (e.g. correct spelling and
punctuation) is also an important criterion.
In the examination we suggest you first read the passages through for a general
sense of the topic, tone and register, identifying vocabulary problems, and
particularly tricky sentences whose structure is not immediately clear. Some will
then produce a rough draft of the whole passage; others will prefer to do a draft of
only the syntactically complex sentences. This is a matter for individual choice.