Today I wrote an email in German to tell someone the topic of their translation was practically unknown in the English-speaking world, so we needed to add a little explanation to the text. I wrote “im angelsächsischen Raum” for “in the English-speaking world” and then, as I often do, I second-guessed myself and Googled it to make sure it wasn’t a phrase I had just imagined or misremembered.
It does mean what I thought it meant, but — and here’s why I’m writing this blog post for you — some of the translations on the Linguee page are not quite right:
| Neben der konsequenten Fortführung der bisherigen Strategie für Asien erweiterte PWM erfolgreich das Booking-Center-Angebot im angelsächsischen Raum. | strategy for Asia, PWM successfully expanded the range of services offered by the booking center in the Anglo-Saxon area. |
| Geschäfte vorantreiben, wobei insbesondere eine stärkere Präsenz im angelsächsischen Raum ganz oben auf unserer Agenda steht. | internationalization of our businesses, with particular emphasis on strengthening our presence within the Anglo-Saxon markets. |
| Sachwert- und Ertragswertverfahren – angeboten, wie auch das Residualverfahren und die angelsächsichen Methoden – Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) und Monte Carlo Methode – zur Ermittlung des Open Market Value (OMV). | Both the – “Classic German Method” and the Anglo-Saxon Method – Discounted Cash Flow (DCF), as also the Monte Carlo Method for establishing the Open Market Value (OMV) can be provided. |
Although we sometimes use “Anglo-Saxon” in a colloquial way (e.g. WASPs or White Anglo-Saxon Protestants), these days, in English, it’s usually a specific and rather academic term referring to people who shaped the culture and government of England from ca. 500-1066. You can recognize Anglo-Saxons by their distinctive long hair and mustaches:
So the “Anglo-Saxon area” mentioned above should extend from Northumbria down to Sussex. An “Anglo-Saxon market” sounds like a place where you go to purchase barley and rough woolen tunics, and if your accountant is using the “Anglo-Saxon method” of discounted cash flow she’s probably a very old lady with a name like Æthelthryth and you should fire her and hire someone who knows how to use a computer.
The disambiguation page for “Anglo-Saxon” on Wikipedia does show the term “Anglo-Saxon world,” but if you click on it, you get redirected to “Anglosphere.”
Which brings us to today’s translation tip, which is that if you run across “der angelsächsische Raum,” you should translate it as “the English-speaking world,” “English-speaking countries” or, if you like, “the Anglosphere,” but not “the Anglo-Saxon area.”
In conclusion, please enjoy this link to Old-English Wikipedia. You’re welcome.
Þæτ ƿæſ ᵹod bloᵹᵹınᵹ!
I think the last person who actually “strengthened his presence in the Anglo-Saxon markets” was William the Conqueror.