WE LOVE ENGLISH
WE LOVE GERMAN
WE LOVE THE CHALLENGE OF TRANSLATION
Welcome to our story
WE LOVE ENGLISH
WE LOVE GERMAN
WE LOVE THE CHALLENGE OF TRANSLATION
Welcome to our story
Patrizia:
Do you remember back when you worked in-house and were always on the lookout for a translator who wouldn’t just do a good job, but would also be nice, reliable and easy to deal with?
David:
And wouldn’t tell you about their sick goldfish they had to nurse back to health and therefore couldn’t deliver your translation on time?
Patrizia:
That’s the one. And do you remember how happy you were when you actually came across someone who ticked all the boxes?
David:
So happy I’d have wanted to find out where they lived, pin them down and shackle them to their desk.
Patrizia:
A bit drastic but exactly the right thing to do. Because the whole package is pretty hard to find.
David:
It is. And because we’ve both worked on the other side, we know that.
Patrizia:
Exactly. So when I first went freelance, I swore to myself I wouldn’t be that translator with the sick goldfish. Or feverish guinea pig.
David:
Same here. I think we’re doing a pretty good job.
Patrizia:
Yeah, definitely ticking boxes. So how about giving our visitors a tour round our website?
David:
Good idea. Show them what we do.
Patrizia:
Who we are.
David:
How we work.
Patrizia:
And how to get in touch if they need our help.
Welcome
What we do
Patrizia:
I think it’s pretty handy for our customers that we translate into English and German. They often need both, sometimes even in the same project.
David:
Yes. And don’t forget all the proofreading in both languages.
Patrizia:
True. And they get to speak to us directly and in their own language. Makes it a lot easier for them to tell us exactly what they need.
David:
It certainly does. For example, if I were to ask for something in German in a shop here in Bournemouth I wouldn’t get what I wanted, I’d just get funny looks.
Patrizia:
That’s nothing to do with you speaking German though.
David:
Oh.
Patrizia:
But whether it’s English or German, I love technology. I love how technology is rapidly changing and impacting many different fields.
David:
Me too. There’s a lot happening in the fields we mainly work in – lighting, future mobility, energy and sustainability.
Patrizia:
And because we’re naturally curious, we’re keen to follow any new developments.
David:
Clients who keep coming back to us benefit from that – and from the knowledge we’re building about their company and services with each job.
Patrizia:
And on top of translating any material they need for a foreign audience we can polish existing texts to get the message across more effectively.
David:
Because often authors don’t put down their thoughts clearly or logically. That makes it hard to follow their meaning, so the message gets lost.
Patrizia:
Ah, communication. Isn’t it fascinating? You can say so much by saying so little. Like when someone says: “Oh, interesting jumper.”
David:
Translation: What on earth were you thinking when you bought that?
Patrizia:
So what’s something you’d absolutely love to do?
David:
Play guitar in Paul McCartney’s band.
Patrizia:
Cool. I could play the triangle!
David:
Let me think about that one … What about you?
Patrizia:
Play tennis with Roger Federer. I’ve seen him play live many times, but actually playing with him would be amazing.
David:
He can hit a decent forehand.
Patrizia:
And he’s won a title or two. I wonder how you would spell his name in Gujarati … *checking Wikipedia* … oh, very squiggly. So why German and not, say, Gujarati?
David:
I can do a Gujarati accent, if you like, but let’s not go there … I had a great German teacher at school, figured out I had a smidgen of talent and went on to get a degree in translation. And it was at university where I thought: “Hey, I can really do this. Somebody might actually give me work!” And turns out one or two people have.
Patrizia:
Just a couple.
David:
So how did you end up in the noble profession of translation?
Patrizia:
I wanted to become an English and PE teacher, actually. But teaching lazy kids like me put me off. In my final year at school, a classmate showed me a couple of flyers from a translation school in Munich and that sowed the seeds. I shouldn’t have been surprised really. Because I’d sit down with a dictionary in primary school and translate the lyrics of my favourite Roxette songs. Word for word, so imagine the results!
David:
You should have kept them!
Patrizia:
To remind me how it isn’t done, perhaps. But I’ve improved ever since, hehe.
David:
Marginally.
Patrizia:
My passion – no, obsession – for English made me throw myself into anything English the moment I got to the UK. And I’m getting more English by the day. Worrying, isn’t it?
David:
A bit like some of my German traits that I have carefully acquired over the years. I can be so brusque if I’m offended that I might just forget to put the “Best” in “Best regards”. My silliness is undoubtedly English though.
Patrizia:
Someone once said: “If people never did silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done”. I’d quite happily live by that every single day.
David:
So we’re intelligent, really.
Patrizia:
Absolutely.
Who we are
How we work
David:
Why don’t we give our visitors an idea of the inner workings of our company?
Patrizia:
Yes, so they know what they can expect when they work with us. After all, many different elements go into translating.
David:
It starts with research. Finding the right information, questioning everything you’re not 100% sure about.
Patrizia:
Moving on to the bigger picture and the meaning behind the text. You need to stay faithful to the original meaning, but not make it sound like a translation. Sometimes sticking very close to the source text is best though.
David:
It depends on the type and style of text and what the intended purpose is. And most importantly who the target reader is. A bit of a balancing act. But we like a challenge.
Patrizia:
And in the end we carefully revise the text and let our two sets of eagle eyes add the finishing touches.
David:
We’re annoyingly pedantic about spelling, grammar and punctuation. More often than not we’ll pick something up in the source text too.
Patrizia:
True, a pair of bilingual revisers. And speaking of bilingual, the text obviously needs to resonate with a German or English audience. So we also convey culture, not just language, don’t we? A bit like when translating from Cockney to Scouse.
David:
Don’t be silly. Nobody can do that.
Patrizia:
Yeah, why make life hard for yourself? After all, we’re always making it easier for our clients.
David:
True. Who doesn’t want an easy life? We’re always here to help. They can always rely on us. We always try and find a solution.
Patrizia:
As in “The difficult we do immediately, the impossible takes a little longer.” Apparently, something the US Armed Forces used in WWII.
David:
Nice one. But either way communication is key.
Patrizia:
Rhymes with tea … I’d love a cup. Are you making one?
David:
Yeah, alright then. I promise. And it’s not an empty one. Just like when we agree to a deadline.
Patrizia:
You’re right. Not an empty promise at all. We honestly say what is possible and what isn’t. And if the client’s plans change, so do we. We’re team players.
David:
And our team of two is all there is. We do all the work ourselves and clients can always talk to us directly.
Patrizia:
Sounds so good, I’d want to hire us right now.
David:
We always like a nice chat, about anything, don’t we?
Patrizia:
We sure do. And we’re very easy to chat to.
David:
So if people want to have a nice easy chat to ask questions, discuss their needs or just talk about the state of the world, we’re here to listen.
Patrizia:
And if they want us to be silly, we can do that too. Even though it has nothing to do with translation.
David:
We’re versatile. Serious or not so serious, depending on the situation.
Patrizia:
But, in any case, our details are below. *Searching for one of those index finger pointing down emojis*
David:
So there you have it. That’s us in a nutshell. OK, now back to work.
How to get in touch