Germany

To which language should you translate to localize in the DACH market?

There are many local dialects and regional language variants in the German-speaking market, which comprises a population of 100+ million people. This broad variety is true both within Germany as well as in the larger DACH market, which consists of Germany (“Deutschland”), Austria (“Österreich”), and Switzerland (“Schweiz”). Additionally, there are German-speaking populations in the small states of Liechtenstein and Luxembourg (“Luxemburg”), and in the Italian province of South Tyrol (“Südtirol”). Context therefore matters very much: We always need to consider the specific audience in order to provide natural, idiomatic translations. The safest choice for addressing the entire market is to use Standard High German, a standardized variety of German for communication in formal contexts and between different dialect areas. That said, cultural sensitivity is important, as seemingly simple choices can make quite a difference. For example, a “chair” could be a “Stuhl” for most people in Germany, whereas most Austrians would call it a “Sessel”, which in turn would be a rather specific form of chair (i.e. an armchair) for Germans. Context also matters for grammar and even spelling: A “month” would be “der Monat” (masculine) in Germany but “das Monat” (neuter) in Austria; and “street” would be spelled “Straße” in Germany and Austria but “Strasse” in Switzerland.

To which language should you translate to localize in Germany?

“The average level of English in Germany is B1 in the Common European Framework of Reference.
Among the most English-friendly cities we find Berlin, while the regions that have recorded the worst knowledge of English are those bordering France, in which priority has been given to French as a second mandatory language. The Saarland, in fact, is the Land with the worst result. Berlin is the city who speaks more English, but keep in mind that purchasing power in Berlin ranks among the lowest of any region in Germany. Berliners have to make do with 48% less income than a person living in Munich. Moreover, the further you move away from cosmopolitan areas, the more conservative people are. So make sure your product is fully translated in German and l that your messaging reflect that. An example? In your ads, using the more formal Sie instead of the less formal du can significantly increase conversions.“

Official language

German (90.1%; 76.11 mln)

Actual languages

German (90.1%; 76.11 mln), Russian (3.6%; 3.04 mln), Turkish (2.6%; 2.19 mln), Italian (0.7%; 591k), Greek (0.4%; 337k), Polish (0.3%; 253k), other (2.3%; 1.94 mln)

What the top 150 best localized websites in the world do in Germany

(Top 150 websites listed in the Global by Design ranking – published annually by Byte Level Research, this report provides a list of globally localized websites, showcasing best practices and emerging trends in their globalization)

• 136/150 localize by translating into German
• 1/150 localizes by translating into German, French and Simplified Chinese
• 1/150 localizes by translating into German, French, Spanish, Italian and Simplified Chinese
• 1/150 localizes by translating into German, French, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian and Portuguese
• 1/150 localizes by translating into German, French, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Polish, Korean, Japanese, Russian and Portuguese
• 1/150 localizes by translating into German, French, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Polish, Japanese, Portuguese, Arabic, Czech, Hungarian, Dutch and Swedish
• 1/150 localizes by translating into German, French, Spanish, Italian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hungarian, Bahasa Indonesia, Romanian, Turkish, Thai and Ukrainian
• 1/150 localizes by translating into German, Low German (Plautdietsch), Romany and German Sign Language
• 1/150 localizes by translating into German, Low German (Plautdietsch) and Palatine German