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UK

German translation: Großbritannien

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:UK
German translation:Großbritannien
Entered by: Steffen Syhré - German Translator, Copywriter, Editor

09:39 Mar 26, 2003
English to German translations [Non-PRO]
English term or phrase: UK
It sounds silly, but it always sounds very odd to me to use "Vereinigtes Königreich" in German for UK. Isn't it more common in Germany to also use UK?
Eveline
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:04
Großbritannien
Explanation:
is the best term in German, "Vereinigtes Königreich" is very very formal
Selected response from:

Steffen Syhré - German Translator, Copywriter, Editor
Germany
Local time: 15:04
Grading comment
I am impressed by the lively discussion on the question and indeed it seems to stay a problem to some degree and it will have to be solved each time according to the relevant text and to personal judgement. So actually, thanks to all who answered!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +11GB
LegalTrans D
4 +9Großbritannien
Steffen Syhré - German Translator, Copywriter, Editor
5 +5Großbritannien
AngieD
4 +2Not as silly as it might sound!
Robin Ward


  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +11
GB


Explanation:
In bestimmten Fällen verwende ich einfach das Autokennzeichen. Das geht zwar nicht immer, aber doch sehr häufig, und erspart mit das vereinigte Königreich.

In anderen Fällen ist es gelegentlich möglich, das "VK" einfach durch "England" zu ersetzen. Das ist jedoch sehr eng begrenzt, manchmal aber äußerst praktisch.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-03-26 09:47:57 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Wie Steffen richtig anmerkt, ist Großbritannien die Möglichkeit, das VK zu umgehen, vor allem, wenn wirklichn das gesamte Stattsgebiet gemeint ist. Angeblich gibt es einen Unterschied zwischen GB und UK, bisher konnte mir den aber niemand erklären.

LegalTrans D
Türkiye
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in pair: 2342

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Harry Bornemann: Manche Briten scheinen die Bezeichnung "England" nicht zu mögen, aber als Deutscher denkt man sich dabei nichts Böses..
1 min
  -> Ich hatte in Australien einen englischen Kollegen. Wurde er gefragt "Are you British", antwortete er immer "No, I'm English".
agree  Robin Ward: Stimmt "nur" zu 80%, denn "VK" umfaßt auch Nordirland, GB aber nicht.
6 mins
  -> Danke für die Aufklärung!
agree  AngieD: It's simple really: GB=England, Scotland + Wales; UK=GB + Northern Ireland
10 mins
  -> Thanks, now I got it!
agree  Norbert Hermann
11 mins
neutral  Louise Mawbey: I have to disagree with the 'England' bit - England is only a part of the UK and many UK citizens would find this very offensive indeed (including my Scottish sister-in-law) It would be like calling Germany Bavaria!!
11 mins
  -> That's why I said this may be used in certain cases only, Louise, like if the place is really located in England. See my comment to Harry_B.
agree  Steffen Walter: mit Krokodil - genau da liegt der Unterschied
11 mins
agree  Herbert Fipke: QAls Abkürzung ist GB genial, da es sich die Briten selbst auf ihre Autos kleben. Daher politisch auf jeden Fall korrekt.
16 mins
agree  Nicole Tata: Großbritannien, Nordirland, England, Schottland, Wales - je nach Bedarf! Nur VK würde ich nicht sagen.
27 mins
  -> VK habe ich nur benutzt, um nicht jedes Mal "Vereinigtes Köngreich" schreiben zu müssen.
agree  Сергей Лузан: mit Krokodil - genau da liegt der Unterschied
27 mins
agree  Susanne Rindlisbacher
28 mins
agree  nettranslatorde
37 mins
agree  Geneviève von Levetzow
1 hr
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5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +9
Großbritannien


Explanation:
is the best term in German, "Vereinigtes Königreich" is very very formal

Steffen Syhré - German Translator, Copywriter, Editor
Germany
Local time: 15:04
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in pair: 347
Grading comment
I am impressed by the lively discussion on the question and indeed it seems to stay a problem to some degree and it will have to be solved each time according to the relevant text and to personal judgement. So actually, thanks to all who answered!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ivo Lang
2 mins
agree  Robin Ward: It is, even if it leaves out Northern Ireland and is not, strictly speaking, correct.-
2 mins
agree  Norbert Hermann
10 mins
agree  Steffen Walter
11 mins
agree  Herbert Fipke: So mache ich das auch immer, da es die meisten Kunden so verlangen und vor allem die Presse so macht.
13 mins
agree  hanna
26 mins
agree  Сергей Лузан
27 mins
agree  Anna Bittner
28 mins
agree  nettranslatorde
38 mins
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Not as silly as it might sound!


Explanation:
Based on my experience I can confirm that UK (or even more frequently Großbritannien, even if this isn't strictly correct as it leaves out Northern Ireland) is used a lot more often than "Vereinigtes Königreich", which, at least to me as a non-native German speaker, sounds strange and outdated.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2003-03-26 10:03:11 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

.... and not to mention stilted!

Robin Ward
Germany
Local time: 15:04
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 148

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Harry Bornemann: "Vereinigtes Königreich" may also be the Netherlands, Belgium, Saudi-Arabia and who knows...
2 mins
  -> Interesting point!
agree  AngieD
17 mins
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12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +5
Großbritannien


Explanation:
I agree with the other 2 answerers, but I suppose it depends on how formal your context is.
In spoken German, you very rarely hear "Vereinigtes Königsreich". Großbritannien and (unfortunately for us Scots living here) England are much more common.



AngieD
Local time: 15:04
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 131

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Robin Ward: Yes, it's a pity that "Great Britain" and "England" are so frequently equated. -
1 min
  -> ... it's something I'll never get used to (or stop correcting) :-)
agree  Herbert Fipke: Germans are very ignorant regarding these things. They also say "Holland" instead of "Netherlands" which is a very similar problem for the Dutch. But: they do it for the ease of pronounciation, not for political reasons.
13 mins
  -> Agree, but as a Scot married to an Englishman and living in Austria...
agree  Сергей Лузан
21 mins
agree  LegalTrans D
35 mins
agree  Geneviève von Levetzow: Es ist genau wie mit Holland....
55 mins
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