SPECIALISATION

I specialise in legal texts, including contracts, finance, marketing, and other areas of commerce.

LANGUAGES

The first and most important requirement for a translator is to be passionately interested both in his own mother tongue and in the languages he or she translates from.

My interest in languages began in school, in the UK, where, against all the odds, I had a brilliant and eccentric French teacher. (In our first lesson he taught us to growl like lions - and to that I owe my ability to reproduce a French rr.)

In 1970, I had my first big career break: I was appointed to teach Philosophy, English and English literature in the EU School in Brussels, L'Ecole Europeene de Bruxelles I. Mostly I taught in English, but all meetings, all administration, and almost all contact with colleagues was in French. My wife and I lived, worked, talked, ate, read and slept in French. Our two children went to French-speaking nursery school and primary school: naturally, when they came home, they spoke French to each other and we followed suit.

In the late 1980's I began learning Spanish and German. German lagged behind: I have never mastered it. But Spanish was different. By 1990, my wife and I decided to leave for Spain, to Valencia: once again, we avoided the expatriate life, and lived our lives in Spanish with Spaniards.

How is one to keep up with a language when one no longer lives in the country of its use? I do it largely by reading. Novels, of course: but I also read French, English and Spanish newspapers every day, especially the financial sections so that I am completely at home with the vocabulary of business and finance in three languages. The Internet is also a great source: I listen to Spanish radio, the BBC World Service in Spanish,beamed to Latin America, and of course to French radio too.

QUALITY AND APPROACH.

Translation is an art of precision. How many times have you come across translations - on the back of a wine bottle, say, or in a tourist brochure - that do convey something to you, but make you want to laugh? Translation isn't just about meaning - it's about tone, use, style. What sounds fine in one language sounds ridiculous, or pompous, in another. When you translate, you are translating from one culture and one history to a very different culture and history. Not easy.

My approach is careful and meticulous. Before I begin a translation I familiaries myself thoroughly with the document. Then I begin putting together a glossary, researching the possibilities with the help of huge dictionaries, both specialised and general, Internet resources, professional translators' web sites, and so on. For really difficult cases, I consult with fellow translators on the Web.

Once this is done, and after using any help I can get from my own glossaries and dictionaries built up on my translators' software, I do the work of translating itself. Then, and most importantly in my experience, I take a complete break.

When I come back, I read the English version. Is this the kind of thing an English or American would write? Is the style right? Does English say it like this? At the end,hopefully and when time permits, I have a text which you would never guess has been translated, plus one very satisfied customer.

DEGREES AND QUALIFICATIONS.

It is sometimes said, and I think with some truth, that a translator's mastery of his or her own language is even more important than mastery of the foreign language.

How can you know whether your translator has a good command of his own language? How do you know whether he or she has the analytic ability to deal with precise concepts and ideas in more than one language?

In my own case, I have excellent academic qualifications in English. I have a First Class Honours Degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics - the latter two subjects being very relevant to some of my specialisms. I was also partly educated in the United States, at Harvard, which gives me a good sense and command of American English. Moreover, I write in English for my own pleasure: I have had poetry published in numerous literary magazines in the UK, including Poetry London and other famous publications. The resources of English - its amazing flexibility and variety - never ceases to amaze me.

As far as translation itself is concerned, I have been studying during the past year for the UK Institute of Linguists Diploma in Translation, and have just taken the 7 hour exam for this demanding qualification. (I'll let you know the result as soon as I get it!)

And as far as my foreign languages are concerned, I have studied at the Institut Francais and the Instituto Cervantes in Brussels, with private teachers in Valencia, and at the Summer University courses in Santander, all eventually to a high advanced levels.

Excellent academic background and qualifications: please see CV.
Excellent skills in English at a high academic level.
Over 25 years experience European Union educational institutions.
Over 25 years living and working in French.
Over 7 years living and working in Spanish.


TEACHING TRANSLATION:

I teach regularly on two courses, a Course on Political and Economic Translation, and a Course on Literary Translation, both given at OISE, in Bristol,UK. The students are studying for entrance to the French Grandes Ecoles, such as L'Ecole des Mines and L'Ecole des Ponts et des Chausees.

LEGAL TRANSLATIONS

· Contract between SourcingParts, an Internet company, and Users (Buyers and Sellers). 4000 words, on behalf of Tradutec, France. Category, Legal, Internet. French to English.
· Deuxieme Conclusions Additionnelles et de Synthese sur Reouvertures des Debats, an intellectual property case brought before the Tribunal de Commerce de Bruxelles. 15,000 words. Category: Legal, Intellectual Property. French to English.
· Conclusions d’Appel et d’Intervention Volontaires, a trademark and intellectual property case brought before the Appeal Court of Paris. 10,000 words. Category: Legal, Intellectual Property. French to English.
· Evidence brought by Alain Karleskind, Expert Agree par la Cour de Cassation, in a technical case concerning asbestos pollution. On behalf of Cabinet Bonnefous, Paris. 6000 words. Category: Legal, Technical. French to English.
· Convention de Services de Location Evolutive. 2000 words, on behalf of Tradutec, France. Category: Legal, Contracts and Agreements. French to English.
· Translation of Fiscal and Legal Declarations to the Department of International Exchange of the National Bank of the Republic of Colombia. (6000 words.) On behalf of Ubersetzungsburo Strauss. Colombian Spanish to English. Category: Legal, Company Law.
· Translation of Legal Submission to French Technical Expertise Board on behalf of GC EUROPE (7000 words), on behalf of Tradutec Mediterrannee. French to English. Category: Legal,Technical.
· Translation of Model Contracts for the Transfer of Intellectual Rights and the Commission of Sculptures and Maquettes by Arcelor S.A, together with assorted press articles and a series of Technical Specifications. On behalf of JMC Translations, Vienna. French to English. Category: Legal, Contracts, Technical.

ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL TRANSLATIONS

· ‘Au detriment des clients?’ Translation of 6000-word article by Sébastien Buron from the Belgian finance magazine, ‘Tendances’ of 21st April 2005. Category: Finance, Journalism.
· Valtech Annual Report 2004, French to English. (8000 words) Category: Finance, Reports and Accounts.
· I translate daily stock market reports on behalf of Tradutec Mediterranne, Sophia Antipolis, France. (1000 words per day.) Category: Finance, Stock Markets.
· Translation of “Pauvreté, croissance et ciblage: propriétés asymptotiques des estimateurs des élasticités avec application au Bénin” by Cosme Voudounou, of the Institut Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Analyse Économique, Benin. (6000 words) Category: Economics, Development.

ART, MUSIC, ARCHITECTURE TRANSLATIONS.

· Translating a long-term project, on behalf of forumtranslations, Madrid and Valencia, on the History of Architecture in the 14th and 15th Centuries in Southern Spain, Sicily, and the Southern Mediterranean. Category: Art and Architecture, Architecture.
· Detailed Programme Notes and Musical Descriptions (Faure, Messiaen, Shostakovitch....) for the ACCENTUS CHOIR directed by Laurence EQUILBUEY. Category: Art and Architecture, Music.
· Translation of the Catalogue of a Travelling Exhibition of Paintings by Janos Ber, Jean-Louis Gerbaud, Simon Hantai, Patrice Pantin, et al. 4,500 Words. Category: Art and Architecture, Art, Painting.
· Depuis plusieurs décennies, et avec le mouvement Supports/Surfaces en particulier, la peinture a intégré dans sa réflexion les contraintes matérielles de sa fabrication. La pratique picturale s'est éloignée ainsi de la transcription émotive ou psychologique des sentiments pour mettre en exergue un fait pictural réduit à quelques manipulations élémentaires, toutes détachées des nécessités de la représentation du réel. Une exposition qui réunit Janos Ber, Jean-Louis Gerbaud, Simon Hantaï, Patrice Pantin, Bernard Piffaretti, Cédric Teisseire et Claude Viallat.
· Translation of Materials and Documentation for a “Concours Européen de Sculpture Monumentale en Acier” organised and funded by Arcelor S.A including a history of metal sculpture, a technical history of the invention and development of steel, “Une Hymne a l’Acier”, an “Accord de Cession de Droits Intellectuel” and a “Cahiers de Charges” giving the technical specifications of the proposed sculptures. On behalf of JMC Translations, Vienna. Category: Art and Architecture, Art, Sculpture.
· « L'Auteur garantit être l'unique créateur de la maquette, que celle-ci ne porte nullement atteinte à tout droit que pourrait détenir un tiers, et avoir la libre disposition de l'ensemble des droits nécessaires à la participation au concours et à la signature du présent accord. L'Auteur garantit ARCELOR DISTRIBUTION contre toutes les prétentions que des tiers, y inclus les sociétés de gestion collective, pourraient faire valoir en raison de l'exercice par ARCELOR DISTRIBUTION de l'un quelconque des droits concédés aux termes du présent accord et indemnisera intégralement ARCELOR DISTRIBUTION de tout dommage qu'elle pourrait subir en raison d'une telle prétention ou action »