Why your translation should be special

You probably think you know what a translator does, most likely even know that our craft is the written word, not the spoken one which a translator leaves to the other linguistic specialist: the interpreter.

Should you even bother to know the difference? Isn’t it enough to know that the guy (or girl, in my case) speaks both English and German. Translating cannot be that difficult, right?

During my years at work as a risk manager and then as an auditor, I realized that people really do not know the difference, nor do they care. As long as the job gets done, it doesn’t matter what you call yourself. Anyone who learned a second language at school can do that, isn’t that what most people think?

Once you have thought about it, though, you will find yourself questioning the expertise of your translator. How do they ensure that their translation reflects the quality you desire and pay for? How do they ensure they fully understand the source text, and what’s more important: convert it into a target copy that “says the same”? Unless you are happy with some generic text that AI might cough up for you, you will not care. You are different though, you want success to be certain, you do care for the content that sells your products and services. That’s why you asked a translator to work their magic in the first place. (Thank you for the appreciation of the people who work for you, by the way. It reflects your high standards.)

A specialist translator will only take on jobs they are qualified for, have a deep knowledge of (because they studied it, or have extensive work experience in the field, or both). That way they not only have a general overview over the topic and how it connects to other areas, they also understand the context and the finer nuances of your source text. They will be eager to “get it”, to completely understand their client’s business. The skills of a specialist translator are therefore twofold: they have a fundamental understanding of their field of expertise and thorough knowledge in linguistic matters – related and unrelated to their niche.

Since you have found my site, you will already have an idea what kind of specialist texts I can and happily will translate for you. The following represents just a small sample of the kind of documents I can translate for you. If your specific text is not mentioned below, just ask!

Financial / Legal:

Analyst presentations
Business principles
Codes of conduct
Factsheets
Financial statements (quarterly, annual)
(General) Terms and conditions
Guarantees
Info memos
Intercreditor Agreements
Letters of Intent
Loan Agreements
Market studies
Non-financial reports (ESG, CSR, et cetera)
Sustainability reports
Tenders

Economic:

With an MBA and a decades-long interest in economics in general and microeconomics in particular, I translate related documents as well. This interest gained another boost during my time as a lecturer at a professional college.

Brochures
Company presentations, company history
Company profiles
Newsletters and mailings
Newspaper articles
PR documentation (press releases, et cetera)
Rulebooks
Specialist texts on pure economic issues
Surveys
Training material for employees