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Old May 16th, 2007 | 08:29 AM
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German Translation Help Needed

Hello,
DH and I, along with our parents, depart for Germany at the end of next week. My mother-in-law is very sensitive to eggs and wishes to know how she can order salads with no dressing. I've been trying to figure it out using www.freetranslation.com but I don't think I've got it, as when I re-translate, I get "salad without clothes"!

Could someone please help me figure out how to order a salad in German without any dressing on it?

Many Thanks
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 08:31 AM
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If she can muster some German, she could say, "Ich möchte einen Salat ohne Vinaigrette". Or "Salat ohne Vinaigrette" should do the trick.
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 08:44 AM
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Thank you very much!
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 08:53 AM
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"Den Salat bitte nicht angemacht"
"Bitte den Salat ohne Essig und Öl"
"Bitte kein Dressing im Salat"
The word "dressing" will be understood everywhere!, Vinaigrette sounds "exotic".

Ich bin allergisch gegen Eier.
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 08:57 AM
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J62
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TxAggie,

Does she want a salad with no dressing period, or just no dressing that contains egg (mayo)?

In my experience salads typically come with just a vinaigrette (oil, vinegar & herbs), not cream or mayo based dressings like thousand island you find in the US.

The phrase pavfec uses will do the trick regardless.
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 09:03 AM
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You just have to hope that the waitress knows what a Vinaigrette is
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 09:06 AM
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I'd write on a card one - or more - of the phrases that Logos999 supplied. Then you can show it to the waiter/waitress to be perfectly clear.
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 09:18 AM
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MKE
 
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Salad dressing may not be the only problem as some salads are served with sliced eggs. When ordering, you should also include "keine Eier" (no eggs) in the instructions. Also, look up food allergy translation cards on www.selectwisely.com.
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 09:40 AM
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Vinaigrette exotic in German? How come there are 260,000 hits for "Salat Vinaigrette" on German sites in Google then? I'm sure that it would be understood.

I also forgot to say it's nice to add "bitte" (please) at the end of your request.
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 09:53 AM
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>pavfec
I'm just trying to help! The stuff is called "Essig und Öl". For more info, you need to ask the cook! . I learned to speak from my parents, not google ;-)
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 10:06 AM
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I don't know German that much at all, but why would you just say salad without vinaigrette? Surely Germans don't use that term to refer to any salad dressing of any kind, do they? That's a specific kind. This isn't an American issue, there are lots of other kinds of salad dressings used in other countries. I know I've had other kinds in France, Greece and other countries, also.
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 10:17 AM
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If it's a life-threatening allergy, forget about salad and focus on the eggs. Don't mess around with this.

<b>SelectWisely.com</b>
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 10:17 AM
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I am too, logos999. If there are that many hits for it in Google, it means that it's common in German. I was in Germany in September, but unfortunately, I don't remember what was on the menus.

Since Dressing also seems to be common, TexasAggie could use that. She should also write down your suggestion for I'm allergic to eggs.
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 10:21 AM
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Christina,

Vinaigrette is a dressing made with oil, vinegar and seasonings, which is exactly what Essig &amp; &Ouml;l is (Essig - vinegar; &Ouml;l - oil).

At least in Canada, I think it's gaining ground because oil-and-vinegar dressings are more and more common (also, I work as a translator for a living and one of my specializations is the food industry).
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 10:21 AM
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&gt;Surely Germans don't use that term to refer to any salad dressing of any kind
That's the point. It's a &quot;Vinaigrette&quot;, not a dressing.
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 10:24 AM
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Well, now you've learned something for your translations. . Don't use the term, when translating into German, if you want the text to be understood.
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 10:32 AM
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Logos999, I don't translate into German, don't worry! I wouldn't even dare! Translators translate into their native language - for me, that's English, and I only translate from French (can you tell I live in Canada)?
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 10:43 AM
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&gt;can you tell I live in Canada)?
Oui, c'est ce que j'ai pens&eacute; quand tu as dis &quot;Vinaigrette&quot;
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 10:47 AM
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Logos, don't you say Salat Sosse? (Salat Sauce) That's what we would say in Switzerland.
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Old May 16th, 2007 | 10:54 AM
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Sure, &quot;So&szlig;e&quot; or Salatso&szlig;e would be fine too.
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