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|    Robert Forstag
Translating words, preserving meaning
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ProZ.com Kudoz editor | | | Translation, Editing/proofreading |  | | Specializes in: | | Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc. | Medical: Pharmaceuticals | | General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters | Poetry & Literature | | Law: Contract(s) | Marketing / Market Research | | Law (general) | Advertising / Public Relations | | Psychology | Architecture |
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| | | Sample translations submitted: 1Spanish to English: Historia de unas botas // Shoe story
Detailed field: Journalism | Source text - Spanish
Historia de unas botas
A él le gusta el cuero, por eso me eligió… La sensación de placer que le otorgo es instantánea, en cuanto me agarra… Y yo, a sus pies, dispuesta, con mi lengüeta… Sensibilidad, tracción y suavidad, potencia y tacto, eso es lo que le ofrezco… Pero sobre todo, toque… El tipo de toque que le dibuja esa sonrisa que tiene… Perdón; antes de nada, será mejor que me presente: me llamo Tiempo Air Legend y soy una bota. Y cuando hablo de él, me refiero a mi amo, Ronaldinho.
Le gusto porque soy de la vieja escuela. Hay otras mucho más modernas que yo en el mercado, más futuristas, de fibra de carbono, más afiladas, con más colorines. Pero él me prefiere a mí. Soy lo más parecido que hay a esas botas clásicas de color marrón, con cordones gruesos, cosidas a mano. Al ser de piel de canguro, mucho más flexible que el cuero de antaño, le ofrezco más sensibilidad que las demás, lo perfecto para un jugador fino, para un conductor del juego amante de los matices. Nací en 1994 y peso 330 gramos. Yo atesoro su magia.
Ronaldinho dice que cuando le hablo, sólo pronuncio tres palabras: “Trátame bien, cara”. O sea, trátame bien, tío. A él le gusta pensar que hablamos en brasileño.
Llegará el Mundial y saldré en la portada de los periódicos, pero nadie se fijará en mí. La gente no repara demasiado en nosotras cuando mira las fotos, solemos pasar inadvertidas, poco importa. Así es mi vida, estoy acostumbrada a que me pisen, a que me pisoteen. Y a pesar de todos los pesares, vivo rendida a los pies de mi amo. Yo los arropo. Yo los protejo. Unos pies del 43, un pelín más anchos que la media de los que usan el 43, ? de centímetro más, según dice Erez Morag, el jefe del laboratorio de investigación de Nike, en Beaverton. Hasta este pueblecito de Oregón viajó mi amo hace dos años cuando se abordó mi último rediseño. Les contaré la historia de mi gestación.
Beaverton es uno de esos clásicos mares de urbanizaciones que rodean a las grandes capitales estadounidenses; en este caso, Portland. Y aquí se ubica la sede central de Nike en el mundo, un campus inusual y gigantesco, tranquilo y verde, mezcla de high tech y naturaleza, un espacio de atmósfera casi zen que se extiende a lo largo de 125 acres, o sea, 70 campos de fútbol juntos. Que te conciban aquí, con esta paz, la verdad, da buen rollo.
A las diez de la mañana te puedes encontrar a mamá pata y a sus ocho patitos cruzando por delante del edificio John McEnroe, de donde sale el ejecutivo de cuentas enfundado en su chándal a trotar por la pista de jogging que, entre árboles de todas las especies, rodea las instalaciones. Hay nutrias, halcones, tortugas, ciervos. En el agua en calma del inmenso lago, tan grande como dos campos de fútbol, se reflejan los edificios, bautizados con nombres de deportistas de élite: en el Tiger Woods se celebran conferencias; al Lance Armstrong se va a nadar; el Pete Sampras y el Michael Jordan albergan oficinas; la pista para ir a esprintar recibe el nombre de Michael Johnson: cinco calles de 400 metros hechas con 50.000 pares de zapatillas recicladas.
Pero fue en los Ronaldo Fields, los dos campos de fútbol situados junto al apacible jardín japonés, donde grabaron a mi amo. Sí, porque la gestación de una bota parte de una filmación ultralenta de los movimientos del jugador, con una cámara que ofrece mil imágenes por segundo, lo que permite determinar cómo apoya, cómo se mueve, qué zonas de la zapatilla usa más. En la grabación que le hicieron a mi amo, se le puede ver haciendo sus fintas al ritmo lento de un astronauta mientras un intruso pajarillo se cuela en la imagen.
Después llega el momento de desnudar pinreles para su consiguiente escaneado. Con 10 sensores colocados sobre la piel, el crack introduce la peana en una minicabina que tiene cuatro láseres y ocho cámaras que toman imágenes de cada medio milímetro de pie. La impresión en tres dimensiones resultante permite obtener un molde. El molde en el que se basaron para fabricarme. La información se cruza con la de una docena de profesionales y la de más de 200 jugadores amateurs. En total, nuestro proceso de gestación dura tres años.
“Mis botas están orgullosas de jugar con un equipo como el Barça y se ponen contentas cuando marco goles”, dice mi amo.
Hay 30 señores en Beaverton dedicados a determinar cuestiones tales como la sudoración de la piel a 35 grados y los tejidos más adecuados para cada situación. Un esqueleto con camiseta y gorra preside este laboratorio del doctor Frankenstein, versión high tech: válvulas, volúmetros, paneles con recortes de prensa deportivos, ordenadores customizados con pegatinas freakies, muñecotes… Erez Morag, científico que comanda el equipo, empuña dos pies de plástico: el molde de mi amo y el de Ronaldo. “Hasta 2002, la parte interior de las botas de fútbol era plana”, dice, orgulloso, “hasta que descubrimos que la clave era que había que poner un cojín y arropar todo el contorno del pie”. Lo que supuso todo un cambio en el proceso de manufactura de zapatillas. Pero la mejora de las prestaciones, dice, es sensible. En el caso de la Mercurial, mi hermana, la bota que utiliza Ronaldo, se consigue una mejora de 30 centímetros en una aceleración de 100 metros. Mercurial es más futurista que yo, pero mucho más dura. Persigue un objetivo distinto, la velocidad. Yo proporciono toque.
Un jugador corre entre 10 y 14 kilómetros por partido.
Mi look se gestó a muchos kilómetros de distancia de Beaverton. Concretamente, en Barcelona, en casa de mi amo, que vive con su madre, doña Miguelinha, y toda la familia. Hasta allí viajó Peter Hudson, mi diseñador, para inspirarse. “Me fijé mucho en las fotografías de su casa”, cuenta este británico de 37 años que lleva 10 años como director creativo de Nike. “Se nota que los muebles los compra la madre, es un ambiente casi rococó: hay espejos de marco muy recargado; candelabros; un rollo muy francés, limpio y brillante. Me pareció un ambiente muy familiar. Destilaba orgullo, honor y humildad”.
Hudson se fijó mucho en mi amo. En su personalidad. En esas cadenas que le cuelgan del pecho y tintinean. “Ronaldinho es más conservador que otros jugadores en el look”, cuenta Hudson, hijo de carpintero, con su crestita fina y su ropa fashion. “Le gustan las cosas sobrias, no es de los que van alardeando por ahí”. Todo ello le condujo a un diseño muy vieja escuela en la parte superior, y muy alta tecnología en la suela. En blanco y dorado. Y con dos lengüetas distintas (¡cómo le gustan a mi amo las lengüetas!).
“La parte que más me gusta de la bota es la lengüeta, porque aparece la R y el 10, y el empeine, porque es lo que veo cuando chuto”. Qué cosas tiene mi amo.
Mi diseñador dice que mi personalidad es como la de una madre. “Te inspira plena confianza, y cuando te haces mayor es cuando te das cuenta de lo que suponía para ti”. Dice que la Mercurial, la de Ronaldo, es como un niño, un niño que cree que todo es posible, que sueña sin las barreras mentales de los adultos. Y que la Total 90, la que lleva Rooney, es como el hermano adolescente un poco chuletilla al que le gusta la ropa cool, el que rompe corazoncitos. El 45% de las ventas de Nike en el mundo se las damos nosotras, las Tiempo. Las Total 90, un 35%. La Mercurial de Ronaldo, el 20%. Je, je, je.
Donde más arrasamos es en Latinoamérica. En España, sin embargo, la que más se vende es la Total 90. Claro, como la lleva Torres… Según la web Publicidad y mercadeo, somos líderes en el mundo desde finales de los ochenta y copamos el 33% del mercado de zapatillas.
El jugador bandera de cada bota recibe cuatro o cinco visitas a lo largo del año de enviados de Beaverton que le llevan los primeros prototipos. El crack se los prueba y aporta comentarios. “Ronaldinho insistió mucho en que quería que el empeine estuviera más limpio y que la parte delantera le aportara más flexibilidad”, cuenta Lee Walker, jefe de producto de Nike. También pidió que se trabajara la tracción y el apoyo del tacón, para que no resbalara el pie. Le hicieron caso. Nos colocaron tacos más anchos.
Terminado el rediseño, la bota viaja a la fábrica, la parte del proceso que históricamente ha recibido más críticas. En Nike aseguran que desde 1991 implementaron un código de conducta obligatoria para las más de 700 fábricas subcontratadas que implica que nadie por debajo de los 16 años trabaja en la rama textil y nadie por debajo de los 18 en calzado. Que 200 personas internas hacen controles y auditorías anuales para que se cumpla. Y que hay acuerdos de inspección con Global Impact (que depende de la ONU) y con la Fair Labour Association (Asociación por el Trabajo Justo) que hacen auditorías externas. “Nos lo tomamos muy en serio y lo estamos controlando”, asegura Teresa Rioné, responsable de comunicación en España. Son 650.000 las personas que trabajan en fábricas subcontratadas a lo largo y ancho del globo. Curiosamente, a nosotras, las botas de fútbol, no nos fabrican ni en China ni en Vietnam, sino en Montebelluna, Italia.
La bota que llega a las tiendas es al 99% la misma que calza cada jugador. Pero a los cracks les dejan hacer pequeñas adaptaciones personalizadas. Para la final de la Champions, hicieron un modelo especial para mi amo con datos del partido y de su familia. Por no hablar del día en que me estrenó: yo, en blanco y oro, con 24 quilates repartidos entre la lengüeta, el talón y el logo. Fue el 2 de octubre de 2005, en partido contra el Zaragoza. Antes de mí, Ronaldinho no estaba comprometido con ninguna otra bota. Tiraba un día de una, un día de otra. Hasta que llegué yo. Está bien vivir a sus pies. En cuanto tocamos bola, se le dibuja la sonrisa.
Cada vez que nos presentan en sociedad montan una gorda. Como la que liaron en Berlín, el 13 de febrero, que más parecía un concierto de rock que una presentación de material deportivo. Además de exhibirnos a nosotras, presentaban los uniformes del Mundial. Escenario megailuminado, nueve técnicos de sonido y luces haciendo diabluras, retroproyecciones, hip-hop. Y en escena, Figo, flanqueado por Van Nistelroy, con la música a todo trapo, en plan vaquero, con pose chulesca, creyéndose totalmente el spot, piernas abiertas, marcando pectorales. Luego, a los pobres jugadores les hicieron bajar al gélido césped del Estadio Olímpico de Berlín para una sesión de fotos con 275 periodistas acreditados, procedentes de 50 países. Y los jugadores posando bajo cero en esa catedral ovalada que vivirá momentos de gloria en los próximos días.
El volumen de negocio de Nike en 1994 era de 51,2 millones de euros. Hoy es de cerca de 1.500 millones. Parece mentira que todo esto empezara con una idea de bombero. La que tuvo Bill Bowerman, uno de los fundadores de la empresa, al ver la plancha de hacer gofres de su mujer: aquí meto yo caucho y hago unas zapas muy aerodinámicas. Eureka. En el campus tenemos expuesta la plancha de la señora Bowerman. Porque la verdad, esto es como un museo. Están la rueda de bici de Abraham Olano, el tigre de peluche de Tiger Woods e incluso los primeros bocetos del swoosh, el célebre logo que en 1971 hizo Carolyn Davies y que yo llevo tatuado en mi piel. Le pagaron 35 dólares. Más tarde, cuentan, le regalaron unas participaciones que supusieron que no haya tenido que volver a preocuparse por trabajar.
Empezaron siendo 20 personas. Hoy, a Beaverton acuden cada día 4.511 trabajadores. En todo el mundo suman 26.000.
Lo más sangrante de todo es que a veces nos echan la culpa a nosotras de lo que les pasa a los jugadores. Es lo último. Alec Fergusson cargó hace unas semanas contra las Total 90 por la lesión de Rooney. “Hacen botas para los chavales pero debe haber un límite entre el marketing y lo que es razonable”, soltó al ver que podía perder a su estrella. “Su lesión no tuvo nada que ver con la bota”, se defiende Hudson, el diseñador. “Hacemos muchas pruebas hasta que llegamos al producto final. Fabricamos productos para los profesionales, y, si funcionan para ellos, funcionan para todo el mundo”.
El tiempo de vida estimado de cada par de botas es de una temporada. Pero mi amo las cambia cada tres partidos. La vida sí que es dura para los pares concretos de botas. Hay 1.300.000 Tiempo Air Legend deambulando por Europa. Yo, como soy la bota madre, el concepto, no sufro. Pero a ellas les pasa como a tantas otras. Que viven pensando que son lo más para él, y luego ellos les dan puerta. Ya lo dijo mi amo en la última entrevista que concedió a EPS. “Mi novia es la pelota”. ¡Qué triste destino el de cada par, ser al fin y al cabo como un condón para el pie!
| Translation - English
Shoe Story
He likes leather—that’s why he chose me. The sensation of pleasure that I bestow upon him as soon as he grasps me is instantaneous…. And me on his feet, at the ready, with my tongue…. Sensitivity, traction and softness, power and tactile feel: that is what I offer him…. But above all, touch…. The sort of touch that gives him his characteristic smile…. Pardon me. Before I go further, let me first introduce myself: My name is Tiempo Air Legend and I am a shoe. And when I speak of him, I am referring to my master, Ronaldinho.
He likes me because I am of the old school. There are others much more modern than me on the market, more futuristic models with carbon fiber, sharper profiles, brighter colors. But he still prefers me. I am the closest thing there is to those classic brown hand-sewn shoes with thick laces. Being that I’m made of kangaroo skin, which is a good deal more flexible than the leather of yesteryear, I offer him greater sensitivity than the others, which is perfect for a finesse player, for a leading sportsman attuned to nuance. I was born in 1994 and I weigh 330 grams. I hold his magic within me.
Ronaldinho says that when I speak to him, I say only four words: “Treat me nice, cara.” Meaning: “Treat me nice, dude.” He likes to think that we speak in Brazilian.
He will go to the World Cup and I’ll show up on the covers of newspapers, but nobody will notice me. People don’t pay much attention to us when they look at pictures; we usually remain unnoticed, not that it really matters. That’s the way my life is: I am used to being stepped on and trampled upon. And in spite of all of these sorrows, I am utterly devoted to the feet of my master. I cover them. I protect them. Those size 13 feet that are just a bit wider than the average size 13, according to Erez Morag, head of Nike’s Sports Research Laboratory in Beaverton. My master traveled all the way to this small town in Oregon two years ago at the time of my last redesign. I am going to tell you the story of how I was created.
Beaverton is one of those classic sprawling communities that surround large American cities—in this case, Portland. It is here that the world headquarters of Nike are located, on a strange and gigantic campus that is calm and verdant, a mixture of high tech and nature, a zen-like physical space that extends across 125 acres—the length of 70 soccer fields. It makes me feel really good to know that I was conceived in this peaceful setting.
At 10 o’clock in the morning, you can see mother duck and her eight ducklings crossing in front of the John McEnroe building, from which the head accountant emerged, wrapped in her track suit, for a run on the jogging track that, ensconced amid variegated trees, surrounds the facilities. There are possums, hawks, turtles, and deer. Buildings christened with the names of superstar athletes are reflected within the tranquil waters of an immense lake that is as large as two soccer fields: in the Tiger Woods, conferences are held; in the Lance Armstrong, there is swimming; the Pete Sampras and Michael Jordan house offices. The sprinting track bears the name of Michael Johnson: five 400-meter lanes made out of 50,000 pairs of recycled tennis shoes.
But it was at Ronaldo Fields, the two soccer fields situated next to the tranquil Japanese garden, where my master was videotaped. That’s right, because the creation of a shoe is based upon a super slow-motion film of the player’s movements, with a camera that shoots 1000 frames per second, which allows a determination of how he stands, how he moves, which areas of the shoe he uses most. In the recording that is made of my master, he can be seen making his moves at the speed of an astronaut filmed in a space capsule as a pesky little bird sneaks into the picture.
Afterward comes the moment to strip his feet bare for the scanning that follows. With 10 sensors arrayed on the skin, he superstar sticks his foot in a small compartment that has four lasers and eight cameras that provide images of each half-millimeter of his foot. The resulting three-dimensional image provides the information needed to cast a mold—the mold used as the basis for manufacturing me. The information thus obtained is cross-referenced with that obtained from a dozen professional and 200 amateur players. All told, the process of creating us lasts three years.
“My shoes are proud of playing for a team like Barça and they are pleased when I score goals,” says my master.
There are thirty men in Beaverton who are dedicated to determining the answers to questions such as those regarding skin perspiration at 35oC and the fabrics that are most suitable for each situation. A skeleton attired in a jersey and cap presides over this high-tech version of Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory: valves, volumeters, bulletin boards with newspaper clippings from the sports pages, computers customized with weird decals, large dolls…. Erez Morag, the scientist in charge of the team, is holding two plastic feet: the mold of my master and that of Ronaldo. “Up until 2002, the interior of soccer shoes was flat,” he says proudly, “until we discovered that the key was that we needed to put in a cushion and hug the entire shape of the foot.” This is something that involved a complete change in the process of manufacturing tennis shoes. But, he says, the improved features are noticeable. In the case of the Mercurial, my sister and the shoe used by Ronaldo, an improvement of 30 cm. over a distance of 100 meters was achieved. The Mercurial is more futuristic than me, but is also much harder. It strives for a different goal—speed. What I provide is touch.
A player runs between 10 and 14 kilometers per game.
My look was created in a place many kilometers away from Beaverton. Specifically, in Barcelona, in the house of my master, who lives with his mother, doña Miguelinha, and the rest of his family. Peter Hudson, my designer, traveled there for inspiration. “I paid a great deal of attention to the photographs of his house,” says this 37 year-old Englishman who has been Nike’s creative director for 10 years. “You can see that his mother buys the furniture. There’s almost a rococo ambiance. There are mirrors with highly ornate frames, candelabra, a very French air, clean and sparkling. There seemed to be a strong family atmosphere. It exuded pride, honor and humility.
Hudson paid a great deal of attention to my master—to his personality. Also to the glistening chains that adorn his chest. “Ronaldinho has a much more conservative look than other players,” says Hudson, the son of a carpenter, with his finely coiffed hair and fashionable clothes. “He prefers a more sober style: he’s not one to go and show off.” All of this led him to a very old-school design on the uppers, and to a very high-tech approach to the sole. In white and gold. And with two different tongues (my master really likes the tongues!).
“The part of the shoe that I like best is the tongue, because you can see the “R” and the “10” there, and the instep, because that is the part I see when I shoot. What a character my master is.
My designer says that I have the personality of a mother. “She fills you with confidence and, when you get older, you realize how important she was to you.” He says that Ronaldo’s Mercurial is like a child who believes that everything is possible, whose dreams are unhindered by the mental barriers of adults. And he says that the Total 90 that Rooney wears is like a somewhat cocky teenage brother who likes to wear cool clothes and who breaks the hearts of all the girls. We Tiempos are responsible for 45% of Nike’s worldwide sales. Total 90 is responsible for 35%, and Ronaldo’s Mercurial for 20%. Ha, ha!
Where we are really dominant is in Latin America. In Spain, however, the biggest seller is the Total 90. Of course, the shoe that Torres wears. According to the website Advertising and Marketing, we at Nike have been worldwide industry leaders since the end of the 1980s and we hold 33% of market share for athletic shoes.
Each shoe’s featured player receives four or five visits during the course of a year from Beaverton-based staff, who bring with them the initial prototypes. The superstar tries them out and provides feedback. “Ronaldinho strongly insisted that the he wanted the instep to be cleaner and the front of the shoe to provide greater flexibility,” says Lee Walker, Product Manager at Nike. He also asked that the traction and heel support be worked on, so that the foot wouldn’t slip. They took heed and gave us wider heels.
After the redesign is complete, the shoe is taken to the factory, the part of the process that has historically been criticized the most. Nike claims that since 1991, they have enforced a mandatory code of conduct for the more than 700 subcontracting factories and which calls for a minimum age of 16 for its textile workers and 18 for employees involved in assembling the shoe itself. This code also calls for an internal staff of 200 persons to conduct on-site checks and audits to ensure compliance. In addition, the code requires inspection agreements with Global Impact (an agency of the United Nations) and with the Fair Labour Association for conducting external audits. “We take it very seriously and we have the situation under control,” claims Teresa Rioné, who is Communications Director for Nike in Spain. There are 650,000 persons who work in subcontracting factories all over the world. Oddly enough, we soccer shoes are not manufactured in China or Vietnam, but in Montebelluna, Italy.
The shoe that finds its way into stores is 99% identical to those worn by the player himself. But the superstars are allowed to introduce certain personal touches. For the finals of the European Championship League, a special model with game statistics and references to his family was made for my master. As for the day of my debut: I was decked out in white and gold, with 24 karats apportioned among the tongue, the heel and the logo. It was October 2005, in a match against Zaragoza. Before me, Ronaldinho had not made a commitment to any other shoe. He would wear one pair one day, another the next. Until I came along. Living on his feet is nice. As soon as we touch the ball, a smile comes to his lips.
Each time that we are presented in public, there is a big commotion. Like the one that happened in Berlin on February 13, which seemed more like a rock concert than a presentation of sporting goods. Not only were we displayed—the World Cup uniforms were also shown. It was a brightly lit spectacle, with nine sound and light technicians working their magic, rear projections, hip-hop music. On the scene was Figo, flanked by Van Nistelroy, with music at full blast, showing lots of attitude, cowboy tough, making himself the sole center of attention, standing with legs apart and displaying his pectoral muscles. Later, the poor players had to go down to the frozen turf of Berlin’s Olympic Stadium for a photo session with 275 accredited journalists representing 50 countries. And the players posed in sub-zero temperatures in that oval cathedral that will witness glorious moments in the days ahead.
Nike’s revenues in 1994 totaled 51.2 million euros. They are now almost 1.5 billion euros. It doesn’t seem true that it all began with one fireman’s idea: that of Bill Bowerman, one of the company’s founders who, upon seeing his wife’s waffle iron, thought: I’ll put rubber on here and make some really aerodynamic shoes. Eureka! Mrs. Bowerman’s waffle iron is displayed at Nike headquarters, which is really like a museum. Also to be found there are Abraham Olano’s bicycle wheel, Tiger Woods’ stuffed tiger, and even the first sketches of the swoosh, the famous logo that Carolyn Davies created and that I have tattooed on my skin. She was paid 35 dollars. They say that she was later given stock certificates that left her in a position of never having to work again.
It began with 20 people. Today, more than 4511 people work at the Beaverton headquarters. The number of Nike employees worldwide is 26,000.
Most unjust of all is when we are sometimes blamed for what happens to the players. That really takes the cake. A few weeks ago, Alec Ferguson blamed Total 90 for Rooney’s injury. “They make shoes for the lads but one needs to draw the line between marketing and what is reasonable,” he lashed out upon realizing that he could lose his star player. “His injury had nothing to do with the shoe,” said designer Hudson, defending himself. “We perform a lot of tests prior to arriving at the final product. We manufacture products for professionals: if they work for them, they will work for anyone.”
The life expectancy of each pair of shoes is one season. But my master changes his every three games. Life is indeed hard for the actual pairs of shoes. There are 1.3 million Tiempo Air Legend Shoes walking around Europe. Since I myself am the mother shoe, the concept, I am not affected. But what befalls the rest is the fate suffered by many other shoes. They go about thinking that they are what matters most to their owners, and then they are tossed away. My master said it in his last interview with EPS. “The ball is my girlfriend.” What a sad fate it is that awaits each pair of shoes: to end up being like a condom for the foot!
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| | | MA | | | Years of translation experience: 5. Registered at ProZ.com: Jun 2003. Became a member: Oct 2003. | | | Spanish to English (American Translators Association, verified)
English (Kent State University)
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Legal/Marketing/Medical/Social Sciences
My professional background is in Psychology and Social Work and I am also widely read in a variety of areas, including social sciences, history, and law. I have professional translation experience in the legal, business and medical fields and previously served as the editor of an internationally distributed ophthalmology magazine.
I have a particular interest in, and flair for, marketing copy.
In my own view, the *sine qua non* of any effective translator is a complete mastery of his or her native tongue. I have to offer any potential client or colleague both this essential skill as well as a solid foundation in the Spanish language, which I have studied and worked with intensively for many years. I will work hard to precisely and elegantly translate any text that is placed in my trust.
I am currently working as a freelancer, as well as an editor of texts in the English language, and I would welcome the opportunity to collaborate on projects, large or small, within my areas of competence.
Please contact me if I can be of help in meeting your translation and editing needs.
Testimonial:
Bob is an excellent editor and he was of inestimable help in shaping the language of my doctoral dissertation in anthropology in a way that made it not only more comprehensible, but more natural in its syntax and diction. In addition, he showed himself to be a translator of unusual gifts, and he helped render the transcripts from field interviews I had conducted in a way that captured both the meaning and emotion of my interviewees' speech in ways that were not only lucid, but that were frequently compelling and memorable.
Finally, I very much appreciated that Bob was so easy to work with. He not only corrected mistakes and improved language, but would suggest still further improvements in the final stage of the editing process, and would always take the time to explain the reasoning behind each of his recommendations. Throughout our collaboration on what turned out to be a long project, he consistently conducted himself with notable patience, grace and good humor.
I can thus recommend his services as an editor and translator with unreserved enthusiasm.
Mirella van Dun, Ph.D.
Utrecht University, The Netherlands | This user has earned KudoZ points by helping other translators with PRO-level terms. Click point total(s) to see term translations provided.
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Keywords: medical, psychology, legal, marketing
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Profile last updated
Jul 2 |
The translation workplace 
