General academic language in German-English translation: a nuanced view

Abstract

Abstract Combining traditional methods with state-of-the-art corpus analysis, this article discusses problems associated with the translation of general academic lexis from German into English. In particular, it offers a more nuanced view on the often-made claim that there are ‘major differences’ between the two languages, many of which are said to stem from the spatial metaphorics underlying general academic German. Section 1 deals with problems that arise at the level of words and their lexico-syntactic environment, paying particular attention to spatial metaphor. Moving on to level of the paragraph, Section 2 continues the theme of spatial metaphor, showing how even quasi-terminological equivalents such as Struktur and structure exhibit subtle differences in use and may occasionally require re-metaphorization under the influence of the wider context. Section 3 provides a summary of the argument and suggests avenues for future research.