Foreign words

Certain words at Universität Hamburg are not translated and require italics:

Diplom, Habilitation

Consult our Glossary and/or database.

Italics for unusual foreign words (but not proper names) in flowing text: consult Merriam-Webster dictionary. Use German word followed by English translation or explanation in parentheses:

The Habilitation (postdoctoral qualification) is a German university qualification.

Jettison English explanation in brackets once term has been well established in text, for example, on second mention in one-page-long text or after second or third mention in a longer text.

No italics for foreign words “endemic” in English. Lower case for German words:

laissez-faire
café
realpolitik
kindergarten
zeitgeist

Retain accents and foreign characters in foreign words.