Services and experience
TranslationI translate texts of various kinds, both old and modern, from German to English or English to German. |
My translation experience includes texts in the fields of journalism, psychology, biology, medical research, criminology, theater, and music, along with several cookbooks. To see an example of my translation from English to German, you may view the companion guide to the documentary Exodus to Berlin by Peter Laufer.
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TranscriptionI transcribe old German handwriting or script into modern German and translate it into English. |
My transcriptions of old German handwriting include numerous personal letters, postcards, and diaries, from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, of emigrants, refugees, and soldiers, as well as correspondence of famous composers, performance artists, and scholars. I also transcribe and translate marriage and birth entries from church records and registry offices for genealogy purposes. An example of my work, a handwritten nineteenth-century cookbook, can be viewed at Grandmother Dahms Recipes.
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A sample of my workThis happens to be in the Low-German dialect, so I translated it to High-German as well as to English. |
Familien Chronik, aufgeschrieben, von Peter Heinr. Rieckmann 1928. Ick fang dormit an up toschrieben, wo ick geboren bün, Von min Geburtshus un min Vorforen, so wiet aß ich olle Schriftstücke dor von hef, un min Vadder mi dor von vertelt hat. Dat Hus wo ick geboren bün, steit in Aler wau freuer en Brinksitzerstelle har hus No 43. Dat is boot 1765. Von enen Namens Ch Suhr, de het ut Schüttenhus stammt, düsse Suhr un enen Namens Ch Martens hebt dann 7 Jährigen Krieg mit makt hat, do is jüm dat Land to en Brinksitzerstelle, von de Gemeinde öberwiest worden, un ok en Andeel, an de Gemeindeweide. Familien Chronik, aufgeschrieben von Peter Heinr. Rieckmann 1928. Ich fange damit an, aufzuschreiben, wo ich geboren bin, von meinem Geburtshaus und meinen Vorfahren, soweit ich alte Schriftstücke davon habe und mein Vater mir davon erzählt hat. Das Haus, wo ich geboren bin, steht im Ahler*, war früher eine Brinksitzerstelle**, hatte Haus No 43. Das ist 1765 gebaut von einem namens Ch. Suhr, der aus Schüttenhaus*** stammte, dieser Suhr und einer namens Ch. Martens haben den 7jährigen Krieg**** mitgemacht. Da ist ihnen das Land zu einer Brinksitzerstelle von der Gemeinde überwiesen worden und auch ein Anteil an der Gemeindeweide. Family Chronicle Written down by Peter Heinrich Rieckmann in 1928. I begin by writing down where I was born, of the house in which in was born, and of my ancestors, as far as I have old documents and my father has told me about these. The house in which I was born stands in Ahler*, used to be a Brinksitzerstelle**, had house Nr. 43. The house was built in 1765 by Ch. Suhr, who was from Schuetten-House***. This Suhr and someone named Ch. Martens had participated in the 7 year war****. Upon that they were given the land for a “Brinksitzerstelle” by the community, and also a share in the community meadow. (Translator’s notes: As is common practice in transcription, words are written exactly as spelled. *a street in the writer’s village **less than a quarter-size farm ***farms in this region of North-Germany had names other than the family’s name ****1756-1763, Prussia against Austria |
