Students are invited to put their translation skills to the test by participating in the Seventh Annual University of Michigan German Department Open-Book Translation Contest! This contest will be judged by a panel of faculty members. The entries will be identified only by the student’s university ID number, making the judging anonymous. There will be monetary prizes of $150 for first place, $125 for second place, and $100 for third place!

Participants: All undergraduate University of Michigan students currently enrolled in a German course or who are registered as a German major or minor are welcome to participate.

Registration: All contest participants are required to register for the contest by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 25! To register contact Andrew Mills: ajmills@umich.edu.

Alternative times: If students can demonstrate that they cannot make the contest time due to their class schedule or work schedule constraints, an alternative time and location can be arranged. This alternative time must be arranged and confirmed before 5 p.m. on Monday, March 25, and must take place at some point during the day of Thursday, March 28.

Contest Rules: The contest will be held under the same conditions used by the American Translators Association (ATA) for its certification exam. Students will have approximately 70 minutes to translate a text by hand that will be provided for them. The translation will be from German to English. The contest will be held in “open book” format. Students will not have access to the internet, but may bring and use as many hardback or paperback dictionaries as they wish. All students receive the same text, which will be approximately 225-275 words in length. The contest must be written in (dark) pencil capable of being photo-copied for our judges. Students must bring their own pencils. Paper will be provided.

The text to be translated will be “general” in nature. This text expresses a view, sets forth an argument, or presents an idea or situation. Examples include: a newspaper article, an essay, or a passage from a non-fiction book. The contest passage is chosen in such a way as to avoid highly specialized terminology requiring research. There are, however, terminology challenges in the text, and knowledge of German culture, society, and history often is necessary for contestants to excel.

Challenge yourself! The worst that could happen is you discover how things stand with your translation skills. The best thing that could happen: you win some money!