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Once upon a time there was an enthusiastic woman, enthusiastic about words. Her raison d’être is to craft your beautiful French prose into elegant, faithful and meaningful English. This in fact entails far more than ‘just’ translation…
I seek to adapt, to localise (to use professional jargon) and to target your readers so that they identify with your website, leaflet or marketing plan… Ideally, I meet you to discuss and gain an insight into your project so that I can transform your words into impactful, targeted English.
BRIDGING THE LANGUAGE BARRIER!
I’m a translator – you guessed!
What can I bring you?
Why call on me rather than Google Translate?
Why spend weeks dithering over the tiniest comma of your brand-new, knock-out website, product launch or PPT of your new marketing strategy to then pass it over some random unexperienced translator with no interest in your business or, even worse, let it be massacred by Google Translate?
Good translations take time, they require reading and rereading, over and over again. At the end they should read seamlessly and no longer have the slightest whiff of translation. My objective is to not recognise my own work! The final text must represent the essence of your writing, which leads me to my first and practically only question: who are you writing for?
If your translator doesn’t ask you this question, it will be impossible for him or her to adopt the right style, words or syntax… You don’t use the same English when addressing American, British, International, or even French speaking readers… Similarly, what is the context? Are you a starting up? Expanding? Getting your message across the language barrier is about much more than words.
To do so, I immerse myself in your environment– your wine-growing estate, guesthouse, restaurant, tourist office or your business. I become you, an English-speaking you. I come to meet you in person, I get you to talk about your past and your project to gain an insight into your values, ethics and vision. All of which without losing sight of the ultimate goal, make you attractive to potential clients, be they American, British, Chinese, European or from elsewhere
There is no point in creating complicated puns or looking for 100% English cultural references if your readership is international; the final text must convey your message and target your readers.
Your needs – My solutions
I work in partnership with the agence Web Ruhrmann & Cie
We can offer you a range of solutions for your website
All our solutions are customised and provide assistance before, during and after the launch of the site.
You don’t have a website:
Development of a bilingual website that can be:
- static “shop window”
- e-commerce
- corporate
Responsive design, turnkey, with or without assistance for French texts.
You’ve got a website with which you are fully satisfied and want a professional English translation:
I carry out the English translation of your existing site.
If you need help to integrate it into your site, no problem, my web partner will happily deal with this aspect.
You’ve got a website that you would like to update:
We will carry out a customised study of your needs.
The services of a professional photographer are also available if required.
THE WORLD IS CHANGING!
To keep pace with this changing world, I listen to and watch Anglo-Saxon radio and TV series, read the trade press – because it is essential to remain abreast of the evolution of the English language (which, FYI, acquires a new word every 98 mins), new marketing expressions, buzz words:
airbrush, empower, enhance, cutting-edge, timely, deadline, tracking, lean, accountability, foster, breakthrough, photoshop, reach out, spin, wellness, streamline, wheelhouse…
However much it may displease the other languages, English has become the language of business and international communication (treacherous Albion!). In Belgium, for example, to overcome the French-Dutch linguistic conundrum, many companies carry out meetings in English. Similarly, for reasons of efficiency, many French businesses use English as a means of communication to prepare for an increasingly global market.
