| I am a blonde Viking. I would love to decipher the | | | | thousands of dialects. The languages with several |
| documents my Norwegian ancestors left for our | | | | dialects are difficult to translate accurately. You |
| family, but alas, the language was lost somewhere | | | | need an expert translator who is familiar with the |
| between great great and great Grandma. Did you | | | | dialects of the language. German is a language |
| inherit documents in another language? Take | | | | with many dialects, and in fact, it is common that |
| advantage of the modern day convenience of | | | | German people in Berlin do not understand |
| translation services and enjoy the treasure of | | | | German people in Munich, so different are the |
| family secrets in your inherited letters and diaries. | | | | dialects. |
| Whether you need a hebrew translation or a | | | | If I hire a professional to do my Norwegian |
| norwegian translation, there are experts in all | | | | translation, will I find treasure? Perhaps I will |
| languages, ready to help you. | | | | literally find instructions in my great great |
| Today you can translate in a do-it-yourself | | | | Norwegian Grandmother's diary on where to find |
| fashion, but only within limits. It is easy to | | | | buried treasure. Okay, maybe that is slightly |
| translate word for word on the Internet, using | | | | wishful thinking. Actually, my goal is to feel closer |
| free translator tools, but translating more than | | | | to my roots and more connected to my distant |
| one word gets tricky. I speak German fluently, | | | | cousins in Norway. |
| but I often find a word that I cannot remember. I | | | | The penny pincher in me would like to just find |
| just Google it and up pops several choices of | | | | someone who speaks fluent Norwegian, and |
| German-English dictionaries. This meets my needs, | | | | bypass the professional translator. However, a |
| most of the time, but only for defining one word | | | | wee bit of research proved that a staggering |
| in a sentence that I otherwise understand. Try | | | | 1.62% of the five million Norwegian Americans in |
| translating an entire letter by yourself, word for | | | | the USA speak Norwegian. In addition, if I were to |
| word, and you end up with a gobbly gook of a | | | | track down that 1.62% of people, how would I be |
| mess. | | | | sure of their level of Norwegian comprehension? I |
| You save time and you do it right by hiring a | | | | know a few Norwegian speakers in town, but all |
| professional translator. Although there are online | | | | of them speak at a grade-school level, as they |
| sources where you can enter an entire letter | | | | are second generation Norwegians who speak |
| from another language and have it immediately | | | | mostly English. I am sure they would be guessing |
| translated into English, just try it and you will see | | | | half the time at my ancestor's old, scribbly |
| many errors and strange phrases that you know | | | | Norwegian. |
| cannot be right. Part of the reason for these | | | | I have decided I do not want to waste my time |
| errors is the flexible nature of linguistics. | | | | in a painful, probably lengthy search for the 1.62% |
| Languages change constantly as people adopt | | | | of Americans who speak Norwegian, and then |
| new words and idioms. What was a language 100 | | | | take the risk of trusting them with family |
| years ago is a different language today. Just look | | | | heirlooms. Choosing a professional norwegian |
| at old English! | | | | translation is an investment in my heritage, my |
| Then there are dialects. One language may have | | | | family, and my life. |