The KIT Translation Service
The Translation Service deals with stylistic and linguistic matters at KIT and offers its services to the Executive Board, the Business Units (DE), scientists, and KIT’s technical and administrative staff. Its range of services includes interpreting and translation in German, English, and Russian, advising all employees on translation processes and other linguistic matters, and maintaining the KIT Glossary. The Translation Service does not proofread or revise scientific publications, theses or automatically pre-translated texts.
In addition to a high level of linguistic competence, the Translation Service also possesses cultural know-how and a sound understanding of scientific contexts. Thanks to many years of close cooperation with KIT's staff, the Translation Service is familiar with their concerns and areas of work.
Essential information on English expressions and specifications for KIT's corporate design:
» KIT Glossary with KIT-specific wording (German ⇔ English)
» KIT Style Guide for texts in English
» KIT’s organizational chart in German and English
Explanations on translating texts at KIT
What are the criteria for the translation of a text into English or German by the language service?
- Size of the (international) target group at KIT (employees and/or students - example: circulars, central rules and regulations)
- Safety relevance (example: safety regulations, laboratory regulations)
- Size of the need (one or more organizational units, feedback from many international employees and students - example: employment contracts)
- External impact (example: materials for trade fairs, university alliances, international job advertisements)
- Confidentiality/secrecy obligations that prevent the commissioning of third parties (example: confidentiality agreements, cooperation agreements)
- Framework or model regulations, agreements, etc.
Does a text have to be translated in full or is it sufficient to translate a summary?
Example: Numerous activities at KIT are subject to higher-level legal provisions and regulations (LHG, LDSG, etc.). Translating these provisions, which are written in complicated legalese, in their entirety (or only in part) is not very helpful. It would be more helpful for the respective international target group at KIT if the relevant organizational unit (OU) summarized the regulations applicable in this particular case in its own words and then had this translated for the target group by the language service.
Example: Some forms may not be translated (LBV forms). In this case, you could consider creating completion aids and having these translated.
What should I bear in mind when placing a translation order with the language service?
Contact us by e-mail with the following information:
- Who is the target group?
- Is there a hard deadline?
- Who is the contact person for queries?
Important: Always send the text directly, otherwise the language service will not be able to provide an assessment.
Only Word and PowerPoint files are accepted; other file formats or even links to the pages to be translated will not be processed.
Think about the translation well in advance and allow sufficient time to process the order.
What are the criteria for an OU-internal translation?
What helps me as a KIT employee with the translation?
Always use the KIT glossary, which contains many translations of KIT-specific terms and is constantly updated by the Language Service.
The State Coordination Office for University Translation in Baden-Württemberg at the University of Mannheim has an extensive collection of translated documents, especially from the university administration (LBV forms) and a glossary of university terminology with contributions from all universities in Baden-Württemberg.
When using publicly accessible translation tools, e.g. DeepL, the translated texts must then be critically checked again by you in terms of language and KIT-specific terminology (see glossary and style guide). Please note that DeepL and other AI-based translation tools are not GDPR-compliant! If there are still doubts, these can be clarified with the KIT Language Service.
If you are not sure whether and in what form your text should be translated into English, you are also welcome to consult the language service.
When does the language service translate a text itself and when is an external translation agency called in?
Top criterion: lack of capacity in the language service. The language service is happy to recommend external service providers on request.
Criteria as described above
If an institute has its own budget for the academic project, the Language Service will be happy to recommend external service providers on request.
Who is responsible for the KIT Glossary and how does the cooperation with the State Coordination Office work?
Entries and deletions in the KIT Glossary are made exclusively by the Language Service, if necessary at the suggestion of users.
Any KIT employee can register with the State Coordination Office and then have access to its translations (primarily in the area of university administration). Translation requests are usually rejected with reference to KIT's own language service.