I’ve had the chance over the years to do these kinds of things:
- Interpreting for football teams – new players on trial don’t speak English
- Car engine manuals and Formula 1 documentation – cutting edge technical development and high profile sport combined
- Hot air balloon crash reports – a story of risk and chance involving highly technical equipment and real life drama
- Rescuing lost lorry drivers in the snow to assist the local police
- Translation of instructions for an illuminated festive snowman decoration – just plain whacky
- Chatting in French and German to clients who don’t speak English but become good friends over time.
- Interpreting at short notice when a costly machine breaks down and the manual to fix it is in German
- Interpreting at a wine tasting in France – really hard work!
Every day I see different texts, new words and languages evolving.
As IT develops at a storming pace, the technology we use to perform our translations becomes more complicated and the time available more limited.
It’s an ever changing, fascinating world, where people skills and word mastery are vital, but it's never a dull place to be.