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Düsseldorf

English translation: Düsseldorf

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Düsseldorf
English translation:Düsseldorf
Entered by: Orla Shanaghy

09:52 Aug 25, 2006
German to English translations [PRO]
Science - Geography / English spelling of place name
German term or phrase: Düsseldorf
I have it in my head that Düsseldorf is one of those place names that has an English version (like München->Munich) and that it should be spelled "Dusseldorf" in English i.e. the Umlaut is omitted. However, Merriam-Webster gives it as Düsseldorf. Anyone know for sure? TIA, Orla
Orla Shanaghy
Local time: 16:52
Düsseldorf
Explanation:
Use the umlaut

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Note added at 7 mins (2006-08-25 10:00:05 GMT)
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PONS says so and it is well backed on the Web
Selected response from:

Stephen Sadie
Germany
Local time: 17:52
Grading comment
Thanks Stephen and everyone else for suggestions and a very interesting discussion!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +12Düsseldorf
Stephen Sadie
4 +3Dusseldorf
Marcus Geibel
4 +2Düsseldorf
Languageman
3Düsseldorf
Natalie Aron


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +12
Düsseldorf


Explanation:
Use the umlaut

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 mins (2006-08-25 10:00:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

PONS says so and it is well backed on the Web

Stephen Sadie
Germany
Local time: 17:52
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks Stephen and everyone else for suggestions and a very interesting discussion!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Claire Cox: Looks most odd without...
9 mins
  -> thanks claire
agree  Ken Cox: In this age of electronic text, there's no excuse for pretending that diacritical marks don't exist in English (which anyhow came from reluctance to spend money on extra patterns in the era of lead type).
10 mins
  -> thanks kenneth
agree  Klaus Herrmann: That's how Düsseldorf presents itself in NY :) http://www.nycvisit.de/index.cfm?ID=152904
17 mins
  -> thanks klaus
agree  Melanie Nassar: I have a client that prefers it like this, and it doesn't change the pronunciation for English speakers, unlike ß which I avoid in all translations.
1 hr
  -> thanks melanie
agree  Sarah Downing: I generally do, but I know that guides such as Associated Press, tend to prefer Duesseldorf. Personally, Dusseldorf seems wrong to me, even if it purports to be acceptable usage
1 hr
  -> Indeed substitutuin of the umlaut has always been an adequate workaround for those not able to use up-to-date technology
agree  IanW (X)
2 hrs
  -> thanks Ian...even if you are on the other side of the Rhine / Rhein
agree  milinad
2 hrs
  -> thanks milinad
agree  Julia Lipeles
2 hrs
  -> danke julia
agree  Ingeborg Gowans (X)
4 hrs
  -> thanks ingeborg
agree  Rebecca Garber
6 hrs
  -> thanks rebecca
agree  Kathrin.B
9 hrs
  -> danke kathrin
agree  Lancashireman: Also voting to reverse status switch. The fact that PRO translators choose to debate this is reason enough for it to be considered a PRO question.
12 hrs
  -> exactly why I voted it PRO, thanks andrew
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Düsseldorf


Explanation:
As far as I know, the name is the same in German as well as in English.
You can also write "Duesseldorf".


    Reference: http://www.duesseldorf-international.de/
Natalie Aron
Austria
Local time: 17:52
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: German
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Düsseldorf


Explanation:
I don't think anyone would shout too loud if you drop the umlaut, but the official version seems to keep it.

http://www.duesseldorf.de/en/index.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusseldorf

Languageman
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Francis Lee (X): the only German town I can think of where both versions are commonly used (try Googling either with "BBC" ...)
9 mins
agree  Ian M-H (X): with Frank: one sees both, so it's a question of style/preference
19 days
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Dusseldorf


Explanation:
I disagree with Stephen. It might well be that the Umlaut has entered dictionaries - but still many English word processors don't support these characters. And as the spelling with simple "u" has been in official use, why not avoid such problems?

Regards

And mind: "If in doubt, leave it out" :-)

Marcus Geibel
Germany
Local time: 17:52
Native speaker of: German

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  erika rubinstein
0 min
disagree  Klaus Herrmann: A heartfelt disagree from Düsseldorf. It's a town on the Düssel, not a town for the Dussel (=moron); umlauts are accessible to anyone who cares to use them.
11 mins
disagree  Stephen Sadie: see kenneth's comment, we are living in the 21st century and with pcs
12 mins
agree  Ingo Dierkschnieder: Actually, both spellings are accepted, and I've seen both being used here in the UK. The fact that English word processors might not support Umlauts is a good point.
12 mins
agree  earthreptile: I work for a financial information company with stock exchange listings and we hold Dusseldorf, i.e. without the umlaut, as we do not support extended character sets in our systems.
29 mins
agree  Edith Kelly
6 hrs
agree  Lancashireman: Also voting to reverse status switch. The fact that PRO translators choose to debate this is reason enough for it to be considered a PRO question.
12 hrs
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