Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Mit freundlichem kollegialem Gruß
English translation:
With kind regards/Yours sincerely
Added to glossary by
Woodstock (X)
Jun 7, 2007 16:38
17 yrs ago
22 viewers *
German term
Mit freundlichem kollegialem Gruß
German to English
Law/Patents
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
This is the umpteenth letter in an endless exchange between a British and a German lawyer. Now, all of a sudden, the "Sehr geehrter Herr" in the beginning has changed to "Sehr geehrter Herr Kollege", and the "Mit freundlichen Grüßen" has changed to "Mit freundlichem kollegialem Gruß". How do I express this slight change of tone in English? So far, I have used "Dear Mr." and "Yours sincerely".
Proposed translations
(English)
4 +2 | With kind regards | Woodstock (X) |
3 +2 | Yours sincerely | Peter Bajorek |
5 | Yours sincerely/yours fraternally | AllegroTrans |
4 | Yours sincerely | David Moore (X) |
4 | warmest regards | Courtney Sliwinski |
3 +1 | Dear Colleague ..... With Collegial Greetings, Yours Sincerely, | Joern Gaedcke |
3 | sincerely, your colleague | Maureen Millington-Brodie |
3 | Cordially yours | Brandis (X) |
Change log
Jun 7, 2007 18:37: Steffen Walter changed "Field" from "Other" to "Law/Patents"
Jun 7, 2007 18:50: Marcus Malabad changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Jun 8, 2007 00:00: Cilian O'Tuama changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"
Mar 15, 2013 19:24: Woodstock (X) Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+2
1 hr
Selected
With kind regards
Having taught innumerable correspondence courses to German managers and staff, including how to differentiate between formal and informal forms of address and closes, I would recommend changing the close to "With kind regards" if you want to express the change in register, which is the next degree of informality in an all-purpose close in English correspondence. The books I used were all of British origin, and a very common formal British English sign-off still in use is "Yours faithfully". As already stated several times, we don't really use the "collegial" part in an English close that I'm aware of.
Hope this helps. :-)
Hope this helps. :-)
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Courtney Sliwinski
: I think this sounds less informal than the Sincerely yours, and that is the difference you are looking for
1 hr
|
Thank you, Courtney.
|
|
neutral |
Textklick
: In a letter, "With kind/best/ regards" would be followed by "Yours sincerely". Added: Madam, the neutrality of my comment does not constitute disagreement per se. It was merely tendered as a complement to your suggestion.
2 hrs
|
In this case I speak with the authority of 10 years of teaching (past and present), using Cornelsen and Oxford textbooks, so I know that this is correct./Lol, Tex! Your wording sounds as if you think yours is the ONLY option. Writing has its drawbacks!
|
|
agree |
Marcus_UKDE
8 hrs
|
Thanks, Marcus.
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Many of you have deserved credit, but I can only select one answer in KudoZ. Following the invaluable input from all of you, I have decided to go with
Dear Mr. X
...
With best regards,
Yours sincerely,
XY
Steffen: I admit I didn't see the previous coverings of this issue, but now I am glad that I asked anyway.
Textklick: Thanks again for your input!
With kind regards,
Tobias"
+2
5 mins
Yours sincerely
Personally, I think that German people add a lot more variation to correspondence forms that the English do. I think it is perfectly acceptable to stick to plain old "Yours sincerely".
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Textklick
: Dear Dr. Ernst/Yours sincerely becomes Dear Tobias (assuming first name terms)/With kind/best regards, Yours sincerely. Members of the professions prefer to stay a little "stuffy" here, particularly if they are writing something which will be on record.
3 hrs
|
agree |
Astrid Elke Witte
7 hrs
|
5 mins
Yours sincerely
There's no way you can express the change of tone in English, IMHO; I'd perhaps add a little note, if I'd done all the translation work, telling my English customer of the change in emphasis from the German side, but I can't say whether it's even desirable without knowing the whole story!
4 mins
Yours sincerely/yours fraternally
We DON'T usually express this nuance in English - yours faithfully and your sincerely are pretty well universal. SOMETIMES (not often) I have seen lawyers & doctors, for example, sign off as "yours fraternally" but it is rare and I don't think you need to translate as anything other than "yours sincerely".
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2007-06-07 16:44:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"Dear Colleague" would, I suggest, be acceptable for the commencement of a letter in your context.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2007-06-07 16:44:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
"Dear Colleague" would, I suggest, be acceptable for the commencement of a letter in your context.
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Richard Benham
: "Yours fraternally" is probably best left for the union movement....
1 hr
|
OK but surely you aren't neutral on "yours sincerely" which was my 1st suggestion
|
|
neutral |
Textklick
: With Richard. Maybe O.K. for writing to the Provincial Grand Master: Added: sure Allegro, I agree with that. Do we vote on a "first past the post" basis, first complete solution, or should we go for proportional representation? ;-)
3 hrs
|
and what about my first suggestion? Are you neutral on this??
|
8 mins
sincerely, your colleague
this might cover it
13 mins
Cordially yours
or I have observed people using " many cordialement" that did not sound bad either.
2 hrs
warmest regards
Just another option. Gives it a more personal touch. I agree with everyone else that the English language does not usually convey such relationships in the saluations or closings of letters.
+1
5 hrs
Dear Colleague ..... With Collegial Greetings, Yours Sincerely,
Why not use the 'German' phrase in the translation ? It is not a letter written in English by an Englishman after all. So why should the translation pretend to be that?
And 'my' version makes it clear that is it a translation and at the same time shows a change in tone. And the expression 'Dear Colleague' is certainly one that is correctly understood in English, I think.
And 'my' version makes it clear that is it a translation and at the same time shows a change in tone. And the expression 'Dear Colleague' is certainly one that is correctly understood in English, I think.
Discussion
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/379443
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/1511392
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/1827754
gesehen?