Contemporary business correspondence in German requires application of the new spelling rules. This seminar helps participants overcome any uncertainty they may have when it comes to spelling. They find out how to apply simple rules to decide confidently how to handle commas, capitalisation and compound verbs. DIN 5008 provides clear answers to everyday formal questions such as how to set out addresses and abbreviations.

The new German spelling rules are now well established. Nowadays, writing in a contemporary style means sticking to the new norms. These guidelines represent a clear move away from learning spellings off by heart towards the application of simple rules and a more tolerant fundamental approach. The reform offers clear improvements, especially for those who write a lot.

The German DIN norm 5008 “Spelling and layout rules for text processing” makes writing easier by setting out formal specifications: How are addresses laid out? What is the correct way to spell abbreviations, titles, telephone numbers, characters for words and much more besides?

Seminar objectives: Participants find out how to write in a contemporary in German according to the rules of new German spelling and DIN 5008.

Duration: 1 day, e.g. 9 am. to 4 pm

Content

• The function, purpose and benefits of the spelling reform: clear rules and less need to look up
• Sounds and letters: ss/ß rule, word stem principle, umlauts, systematisation of individual cases
• Hyphenation rules
• Capitalisation: many exceptions no longer apply
• Commas: only seven rules to remember!
• Hyphenation
• Verbs that are joined or separated: “zurück schicken” or “zurückschicken”?
• DIN 5008 rules and regulations, in particular: abbreviations, titles, addresses, telephone numbers, spacing where characters are used to replace words
• Practical exercises