Why German Subtitling and Text Expansion is a Problem
German typesetting and text expansion can often be an issue when your wanting to convert your English videos into German. There are often very long compound words in German, which can create problems. This can produce untidy line-breaks when placed in narrow columns.
Julian, unser Auszubildener,
kam zu uns während eines
Studienpraktikums,
so hat er es sehr schnell
begriffen.
In some German compound words, the first word serves to describe the second word in more precise detail, for instance die Zeitungsindustrie (the newspaper industry.)
They even have awards for the longest German word of the year! In 1999 the winner was: Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz. The monster word consisted of 63 letters, 20 syllables, and ten individual words—all to express a law having to do with British beef (Rindfleisch) and the so-called “mad cow disease.”
Breaking News: BBC news
The German language has lost its longest word (Rindfleischetikettierungsueberwachungsaufgabenuebertragungsgesetz) thanks to a change in the law to conform with EU regulations. It was repealed following changes to EU regulations on the testing of cattle.
The new longest German word is Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaftskapitaenswitwe, which translates into English as the “widow of a Danube steamboat company captain”. This was a subdivision of the pre-war Viennese shipping company known as Donaudampfschiffahrtsgesellschaft (DDSG) that transported both cargo and passengers along the Danube.
So when doing German typesetting and text expansion you really have to know where the hyphens should go.
Adelphi offices
Adelphi Studio offer subtitling and voice over services globally from our offices in the UK and the USA.
All US, Canadian, and South American enquiries should be directed to our US office while all other enquires should go to our UK office.
UK Office
Tel : +44 (0)114 272 3772
Email: sales@adelphistudio.com
US Office
Tel : 916 414 8714
Email: us@adelphistudio.com
