Articles made shorter: abbreviation in proofreading and translation

Here is a request I received today: “We have an article that needs to be translated from German into English for an American scientific journal. But it is 7899 words long, and the journal has a limit of 7000 words. Is there anything you can do?” This is to say: can an article be translated into English and shortened at the same time?

In most cases the answer is yes.

Normally, translations are on average 20% longer than the original (up to 30% if the target language is German), but I know the requirements of scholarly publications and can make sure that the text does not get longer in translation. In most cases it is even possible to shorten a specialist article slightly while translating it, but only to a small extent if the content must be preserved in its entirety. The job is even easier if a text – be it in German or English – needs no translation but only proofreading or editing. Correcting and revising a publication goes hand in hand with abbreviation: if you want to improve the style of a text, it will usually automatically become shorter. Same content, better phrasing fewer words / fewer characters: how do you do that? The main methods are: delete filler words and phrases, formulate as precisely and concisely as possible, eliminate tautologies, get rid of repetitions, use active instead of passive forms (“we have studied” is shorter than “we have conducted a study”). The introduction and conclusion offer themselves for a reduction in redaction: they can be usually pared down and summarized in a few sentences.

How much shorter can I render a text? That depends on the topic. In my fields – social sciences, arts and humanities – I can cut down a publication to any length if my customers allow me to intervene in its content. The important and new things remain and are emphasized; the obvious and less important things go – thus, an article or a book in literary studies, sociology, history, psychology or cultural studies can be made 20% or 30% shorter, it can even be summarized in less than half of its text volume. The situation is somewhat different in sciences such as biology or medicine. Here, I also do proofreading (in German or English), but I can only shorten a professional publication as far as filler words, awkward wording and repetitions are concerned. Due to lack of competence I would never interfere with the content of, say, a medical or financial text. Nevertheless, I can shorten technical articles by 10 or 20 percent. After all, brevity is the soul of peer-reviewed publication.

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  • EXCELLENT
    101 reviews on
    Friederike Buchinger
    Friederike Buchinger
    7. April, 2023.
    Alexandra Berlina hat mir bereits mehrfach sehr schnell und sehr kompetent mit ihrem Fachwissen zur Seite gestanden. Die Zusammenarbeit ist jedes Mal ein großes Vergnügen - inhaltlich absolut fundiert und zuverlässig und menschlich einfach nur toll!
    Igor Neander Bar Knuckle
    Igor Neander Bar Knuckle
    12. March, 2023.
    Very professional translation and responsible approach. Many thanks.
    Mark Lipovetsky
    Mark Lipovetsky
    28. February, 2023.
    Alexandra Berlina is the best translator I've ever worked with. She is thorough, inventive, widely erudite. Working with her is like working with the translator and editor simultaneously. I highly recommend her for texts in humanities, scholarly or artistic.
    bayon1989
    bayon1989
    31. January, 2023.
    Thanks to Alexandra Berlina for a wonderful translation
    Юлия Ш
    Юлия Ш
    22. January, 2023.
    Я любитель поэт с недельным стажем)) «Мой» муза не понимает по-русски, текст переводили на немецкий. Я восхищена, мы восхищены, перевести стих с одного языка на другой, это фактически написать новый. Александра прочувствовала меня ❤️ Скажу честно, у немецких поэтов столь красивых стихов не видела, всегда считала немецкий техническим языком . Спасибо, Александра и до очередного сотрудничества.
    Aligeidar Tagiev
    Aligeidar Tagiev
    24. December, 2022.
    Für mein zukünftiges Buch habe ich eine Übersetzerin gesucht, die meine russischen Gedichte in die deutsche Lyrik übersetzt. Nach langer Suche und verschiedenen Anläufen freue ich mich, dass ich die Übersetzerin Alexandra Berlina gefunden habe. Ich freue mich über die durchaus anspruchsvolle Übersetzungsleistung und möchte daher gerne mit Alexandra mein komplettes Buchproekt umsetzen.
    nick teplov
    nick teplov
    16. December, 2022.
    Our commission was rather specific, we asked to translate a collection of traditional folk songs for a film project. A job that requires much literary talent. The result was both precise and artistic. I should also mention that it has arrived much ahead of time. Highly recommended!
    Ulrich Bäder
    Ulrich Bäder
    18. November, 2022.
    Schnell, zuverlässig, perfekt übersetzt. Besser geht es nicht. Vielen Dank!
    irina moessle
    irina moessle
    18. November, 2022.
    Vielen Dank!! Es war wunderbar, interessant und spannend zu sehen wie meine Texte anfingen auf deutsch zu leben. Frau Berlina hat nicht nur übersetzt, sie erkannte auch den Rhythmus und die richtige Intonation und gab es weiter, was meine Texte sehr lebendig machte.
    Joseph M.
    Joseph M.
    13. October, 2022.
    Frau Berlina arbeitete zügig und ausgezeichnet beim Lektorieren eines englischen wissenschaftlichen Textes. Auf Rückfragen gab sie schnelle Rückmeldungen und verwies nach Möglichkeit immer auf entsprechende Literatur. Ich würde Frau Berlina weiterempfehlen.