Help with translations

Many terms we use at the University of Erfurt are specific or proper names. We have therefore compiled a glossary for you in which we have collected the most frequently used terms – proper names of the departments, fields of study or everyday service terms – in English and German.

This dictionary is welcome to grow: Please contact the staff unit University Communications if important terms are missing or if alternative translations are established in your field.

Glossar of university terms English-German

The University of Erfurt has currently concluded framework agreements with translators, which will make it comparatively easy to use translation services into English in the future – for example, for individual university websites or for print products such as flyers or information brochures.

The translators are native speakers, some of whom also specialise in specific subject areas. Some of them also offer proofreading of texts already translated into English. Members of the university who would like to take advantage of these services can contact the Max Weber Kolleg. The colleagues will provide you with the names of suitable translators from the pool, the prices they charge and a contact person. The respective translator can then be commissioned directly if there is free capacity – prior documentation of the assignment is not required during the term of the framework agreement (until February 2027). The invoice will then be sent directly to the client and must be settled by him/her.

Against the backdrop of advancing internationalisation and the resulting increase in demand for translations, the computer centres of Thuringia's universities have jointly developed the HS-ITZ Translator, a tool that enables staff at the University of Erfurt to translate texts and files into different languages with minimal effort. A glossary is already integrated, which automatically translates specific terms and proper names used at the University of Erfurt in a consistent manner. You can access the tool at: https://translate.tu-ilmenau.de/ and use it immediately after selecting your university and logging in with your university login. If you have any questions, please contact the University Computer and Media Centre (URMZ).

You can also find various translation tools on the internet, some of which are free of charge. For example, https://www.deepl.com/translator has proven itself so far and can be used free of charge up to a certain number of characters. The pro version of the tool is subject to a fee, but it allows you to translate more characters and even entire (formatted) documents. If you use the paid pro version of Deepl, you have the option of saving our university dictionary as a glossary. Please note that special characters and umlauts in particular must be adjusted manually. >> Instructions for ‘uploading glossaries’ from Deepl

Please note: Today's translation tools are generally very good, but it is always advisable to perform an examination of the translated text afterwards – especially with regard to terms used specifically at the University of Erfurt, which you can find in our glossary. Ideally, you should have the text examined again by a native speaker.