In 2004, the German film Der Untergang (Downfall) made headlines, won awards, and forced people-Germans and foreigners alike-to rethink Adolf Hitler in a compellingly “three-dimensional” light. Much thanks to the stunning performance of Bruno Ganz, whose voice was “chillingly authentic, exactly like that of Hitler’s,” people who watched the film were deeply moved by the sight of a man who was both “incredibly evil” and “pathetically human.” And if you have seen the film, then chances are, you were invisibly helped by some of the most competent German translators today.

The work of proficient German translators in making German made films comprehensible for the rest of the world is not often acknowledged, or at least not very obviously. Like the police authorities, such translators are usually often noticed only when a translation job is botched (a line of dialogue in the film turns out to have a double meaning that puts the scene in an awkward emotional place, for example).

When things are going well-when we are watching a German movie and laughing or emotionally responding to it-we barely think, “This is such a good specimen of German to English translation, isn’t it?”

The growing importance of Germany’s filmmaking industry in the global stage can be seen in some of its recent output.

In 2006, for instance, the film Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) won the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film category, and the key to understanding the film in English in order to be judged by the award-giving panel was the effort of German translation providers working behind-the-scenes to successfully transcend linguistic borders just to deliver the story in its most powerful emotional impact.

If the German translations of its subtitles was less than acceptable, it would have had a detrimental impact to the film’s chances at the Oscars.

And of course, even Hollywood does not run out of the need to use the world’s most favorite and convenient villain-the Nazis-in its most recent and even future movies. It is perhaps a safe bet that the German filmmaking industry will still make great contributions to the world’s film industry.

As it further matures-especially with the help of increasingly advanced but also increasingly inexpensive technologies that make computer-generated imagery as compelling as real life-one can perhaps expect movies from Germany to stand competently and proudly alongside its Hollywood counterparts.

Ensuring that the subtitles are appropriate and to the point and faithfully reflect the thought and gist of the original, German translators are not merely pawns in the grand scheme of things, but rather, they play a vital role in conveying an important message. As one of the country’s major exports, German movies find their way in countries around the world-even as far as, say, Indonesia.

We cannot expect that those who suddenly have a hankering for a nice German movie would make the efforts first to learn the German language, right? As German films are expensive to make and to market to a global audience, successfully getting the message across means the success of a film-or at least, giving it a fighting chance in the international market.

Charlene Lacandazo works with Rosetta Translation, one of the leading, full service translation agencies in London, UK. Rosetta Translation works with qualified German translators to provide its international clients with renowned translation services.

Charlene Lacandazo works with Rosetta Translation, one of the leading, full service http://www.rosettatranslation.com/ translation agencies in London, UK. Rosetta Translation works with qualified http://www.rosettatranslation.com/german-translation/ German translators to provide its international clients with renowned http://en.rosettatranslation.com.cn/ translation services.

Author Bio: Charlene Lacandazo works with Rosetta Translation, one of the leading, full service translation agencies in London, UK. Rosetta Translation works with qualified German translators to provide its international clients with renowned translation services.

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