Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
USB-Stick
English translation:
USB flash drive
German term
USB-Stick
| 4 +11 | USB flash drive |
784512 (X)
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| 5 +1 | USB stick |
philgoddard
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Jan 7, 2013 16:26: Edith Kelly changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Non-PRO (3): philgoddard, Ramey Rieger (X), Edith Kelly
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Proposed translations
USB flash drive
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Note added at 11 mins (2013-01-07 14:24:27 GMT)
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USB flash drive is the most technically correct and will come across the most professional.
IMHO, you could be a little more creative and call it a USB presentation stick... but we'd need to see the source to see what would fit. If the USB is read-only and autoruns a presenting application, it might work well.
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Note added at 17 mins (2013-01-07 14:31:02 GMT)
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Incidentally, Wikipedia has also gone with USB flash drive as the preferred term, likely for the same reasons as me - it's more technically accurate.
Clicking on this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_stick will redirect you to the "USB flash drive" page.
| agree |
Kathinka van de Griendt
0 min
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Thanks, Kathinka.
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| neutral |
pj-ffm
: Whilst not incorrect, "USB stick" is the English term that the Germans have just adopted, so I don't really see any reason to use anything other than the original English term: "USB (memory) stick".
3 mins
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USB stick is not incorrect, but it is also less technical, and if they are trying to show how modern they are, it'd be better to "wow" customers with a term that shows technical understanding. Not all anglicised terms should be translated 1:1.
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| agree |
Lonnie Legg
: Definition: USB flash drives /presentationsoft.about.com/od/uvw/g/usb_flash.htm)...
4 mins
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Many thanks, Lonnie.
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| agree |
BrigitteHilgner
23 mins
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Thanke Brigitte, and thanks also for the reference above.
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| agree |
Heike Holthaus
26 mins
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Thanks, Heike.
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| agree |
Roman Lutz
36 mins
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Thanks, Roman.
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| neutral |
David Williams
: For promoting fashion lines, I'm not convinced that using the most technical term will "wow" customers in the target group. I'd have thought the most common colloquial term would be preferable, i.e. stick with "USB stick" (sans hyphen!)
1 hr
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See the discussion. I don't think the target group is so lowly...
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| agree |
Kalyani Gadre
1 hr
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Thanks, Kalyani
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| agree |
Milena Sahakian
2 hrs
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Thanks, Milena
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| agree |
Edith Kelly
2 hrs
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Thanks, Edith
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| agree |
Rebecca Garber
: flash drive, thumb drive both work.
2 hrs
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...I've also seen pen drive. :)
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| agree |
British Diana
: flash drive without USB
16 hrs
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| agree |
William Swanson
18 hrs
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United States
Six languages into flawless English
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Spanish to English, and 4 more.
USB stick
| neutral |
784512 (X)
: There's no reason to actively "avoid" it, but given the context, I just marginally prefer flash drive. Both are fine.
58 mins
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| agree |
Martina Fink
12 hrs
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Discussion
Why I posted USB flash drive if I myself thought USB stick was fine? The company is doing something a bit creative here, a bit different, sending out a collection on a USB. They are selling themselves as modern and business-like, following the trends. They could have sent it out via a link by email, or they could have given a postcard collection, etc. But, they chose something that says "we're classy and modern" - the gift of a not so cheap USB flash disk/stick to show off their designs. It says something about their target market. A target market that, to my mind, will appreciate the use of the "grown-up" word one sees on IT websites, too.
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_Stick
USB sticks are frequently referred to (colloquially) as "flash drives" or "thumb drives".
There's a lot of stuff on the net about 'USB stick' technically only referring to a Sony device used for cameras but I'm not sure how seriously this should be taken.