Abstract

The article deals with abbreviations and acronyms in the work of a sworn translator of German
and Polish. In the first part, the author defines the terms “abbreviation” and “acronym”,
presents their structure and then provides several examples for each of them. Moreover,
he outlines selected studies by Polish and German lexicographers codifying abbreviations
and acronyms essential from the translator’s point of view. The second part of the article
is devoted to problems connected with the decoding, appropriate spelling, pronunciation
and translation of abbreviations and acronyms. All the discussed difficulties relating to the
translation of abbreviations and acronyms are illustrated with numerous examples, which
come from the author’s own translation practice or from translations produced by other
sworn translators or candidates for this profession. At the end of the article, the author
demonstrates various techniques of translating a Polish acronym into German.