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I have read the following question in German Quora:

Ist Deutschland mittlerweile vollständig amerikanisiert?

According to Word Reference, "mittlerweile" means "in the meantime", "meanwhile", but those translations to English don't make sense in this context because there's no previously mentioned time period in which the action being mentioned now occurs. In English, one would only use "meanwhile" if there was one, e.g. "She spent two hours cleaning the house. In the meantime, I bought the ingredients for the dinner"

Duden only provides the same meanings.

DeepL Translate translates "mittlerweile" as "now" in this context. It seems to me another good translation would be "nowadays" (i.e. it's being used as a synonym of " "heutzutage"). Is that right?

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Mittlerweile has two meanings:

  1. Referring to the end of something that has occurred over time.
    Possible translations: by now, gradually, since then
    Example: "Sie sollten mittlerweile Zuhause (angekommen) sein." - "They should be home by now."

  2. Referring to something that is happening at the same time as as something else.
    Possible translations: in the meantime, meanwhile
    Example: "Das Flugzeug ist soeben gelandet. Im Terminal laufen mittlerweile die Vorbereitungen auf Hochtouren." - "The plane has just landed. In the meantime, preparations are going ahead at full speed in the terminal."

The question "Ist Deutschland mittlerweile vollständig amerikanisiert?" is asking about the end of a process that has taken place during recent years ("the complete americanization") so mittlerweile in this case is used in the first meaning. The translation could be something like "Is Germany completely Americanized by now?" or "Did Germany gradually become completely Americanized?".

Hope this helps :)

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I would translate it as "by now" in this context.

Has Germany become completely americanized by now?

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    Can "Inzwischen" also have this meaning, which is totally unrelated to "meanwhile" and "in the meantime" ?
    – Alan Evangelista
    Aug 21, 2021 at 16:07
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    Yes, Inzwischen and mittlerweile are synonymous for me, and they can both mean meanwhile or by now.
    – HalvarF
    Aug 21, 2021 at 16:12
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If you want to express "heutzutage", why not? The context of your given sentence seems to be good for "nowadays". Often you need a good appropriation instead of a plain translation.

"Mitterweile" actually focuses more on the change, "heutzutage" focuses on a special and fixed time range, but in your example it's OK.

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    What change? "In the meantime" implies no change, but rather simultaneity, as the example in my question and dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/meantime show. Isn't that what "mittlerweile" means?
    – Alan Evangelista
    Aug 21, 2021 at 15:29
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    @AlanEvangelista In my feeling of language, "mittlerweile" describes a change of time from a former date to today. "Heutzutage" just describes a time we have now without starting from a former point. Not sure if this explains it pretty well.
    – äüö
    Aug 21, 2021 at 15:40

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