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Meet our member Laura Elvin!

Name: Laura Elvin
Services offered: Translation
Language combination(s): French to English
Specialisms: Law
Location: Meldreth, South Cambridgeshire
Website: https://www.themislegaltrans.co.uk
Contact info: laura@themislegaltrans.co.uk

Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?

I studied French and Spanish at university but then decided to go to law school. That led to me working as a lawyer in a busy and well-respected Cambridge firm for 18 years, before and after qualification as a solicitor. Much of my work involved handling property transactions for university clients. Later on, I became a professional support lawyer, providing in-house advice to colleagues, creating precedent documents and editing client newsletters. In the end, though, I couldn’t resist the urge to work with languages again and so re-trained as a legal translator about 12 years ago.

What services do you provide and in what areas?

I translate legal documents from French into English. This can cover anything from judgments of the Court of Justice of the EU and decisions of international tribunals to employment contracts, confidentiality agreements, terms and conditions of sale and personal documents such as wills, divorce settlements and powers of attorney.

What makes you stand out?

My years of hands-on experience in legal practice give me a thorough understanding of why legal documents are drafted in the way they are, how transactions are structured and judgments arrived at and, ultimately, what makes lawyers tick!

What do you like most about your job?

I love being able to work with both law and languages. The combination of the two ticks all the intellectual boxes in my brain and I find it immensely satisfying. I also love the fact that no two days are the same and there’s always something new to learn. But more than that, I really appreciate the feeling of camaraderie among translators, both in the East Anglia Network and further afield, who never hesitate to provide help and support when needed. More generally, I love freelance work for the flexibility and work–life balance it offers.

What do you do when you’re not working?

If I’m not walking the dog or doing Pilates, I’ll be singing! For many years I’ve been involved in barbershop singing, a hobby that has taken me all over the UK and even to Honolulu and Las Vegas. I’m also in a pop choir which is a lot of fun. I find singing to be a real tonic and perfect antidote to sitting at a desk for hours.

In addition, I volunteer once a week through a charity called REUK, helping a young refugee with his English and Maths homework, which is very rewarding.

What’s your favourite part of East Anglia?

Despite having grown up in Oxford, I really love Cambridge. There is something special about wandering through the ancient streets and watching the punts on the river, while areas like Mill Road have a great vibe. I also have a soft spot for Ely, where my daughter lives. There’s a fantastic market and of course the cathedral is spectacular. I also enjoy holidays on the North Norfolk coast and especially love seeing the seals at Blakeney Point. But East Anglia is so varied that I know I still have a lot more to explore!

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Meet our member Frances Clarke!

Name: Frances Clarke
Services offered: Translation
Language combination(s): German to English
Specialisms: Finance (financial reporting, corporate communications, investor relations and sustainability reporting) and sport (primarily football)
Location: Saffron Walden, Essex
Website: www.fclarketranslations.com
Contact info: frances@fclarketranslations.com

Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?

After studying German and Italian at university, I worked as an investment bank and hedge fund analyst for several years. Although I loved the work, I soon realised I wanted to make better use of my languages, so I left the City behind to retrain as a German to English financial translator. More than a decade later, I’m still so glad I took the plunge.

What services do you provide and in what areas?

The majority of my work is financial translation from German into English, which usually means translating company accounts and corporate communications for specific companies as well as market reports and economic forecasts for research firms and government departments.

To add some variety to my professional life, I also specialise in sports translation, particularly football. In November and December last year, I worked on my third World Cup, translating match reports and player interviews for fans around the world to enjoy. I love the beautiful game, so being personally involved in a major tournament gives me a real buzz!

What makes you stand out?

My real-world experience in investment banking and asset management informs each and every one of my translation decisions. Whenever I’m trying to find the right words for an annual report or press release, I think back to my time as an analyst and remember how important it was to be able to find accurate, clear and concise information quickly and easily – not least because I was usually working around the clock to meet tight deadlines.

What do you like most about your job?

I love the puzzle of translating: the quest to find precisely the right way of reproducing the meaning, intent and even the style and tone of the original text. It involves so much more than just leafing through dictionaries to pick out the correct words; it also means immersing yourself in the subject at hand, putting yourself in the author’s shoes to work out precisely why they chose the particular words they did, and thinking about who will read the text at the end of it all.

What do you do when you’re not working?

As translation involves sitting at a desk for hours at a time, I spend much of my free time chasing a ball around on either a football pitch, a tennis court or a netball court. Like many of us in wordy professions, I’m also an avid reader – and right now I seem to have a particular obsession with anything involving anatomy, forensics or medical memoirs! Last but not least, I find playing the piano an amazing way to unwind, and I’m also a keen singer.

What’s your favourite part of East Anglia?

Although I was born and raised in South Essex, I’ve only discovered East Anglia slowly over time. It revealed some of its secrets when my husband and I moved to beautiful Saffron Walden in the far north-west corner of Essex seven years ago, and more still when my parents relocated to Norfolk last year.

There’s so much to love about the region – cities, coastline and countryside – but I think we’re so lucky to have Norwich and Cambridge close by. They’re both utterly charming, steeped in history and each have their own distinctive character. Southwold also deserves a special mention.

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Meet our member David Stockings!

Name: David Stockings
Services offered: Translation, editing, copywriting
Language combination(s): Translation: German and French to English, Editing and copywriting: English
Specialisms: Finance (particularly CSR), sustainability, environmental science
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dstockings/
Contact info: dstockings.translation@gmail.com

Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?

Before becoming a translator, I was working in the charity sector and training as an accountant, and I completed the ACCA’s Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Business. When I first started as a translator after completing my MA in Specialised Translation, I mainly worked on financial reporting and other mandatory disclosure documentation. I always found the way companies of all sizes think about and present their non-financial impact and targets fascinating, so over time I have slowly focused in on the areas of corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investing, sustainability and environmental science.

What services do you provide and in what areas?

I provide translation of written documents from French and German to English, primarily in the fields mentioned above. I also offer editing of English texts, particularly (but not exclusively) for academics and researchers writing in English as a second language. I also recently started offering copywriting services in English for projects or initiatives relating to environmental impact, corporate social responsibility, socially responsible investing, the circular economy and biomimicry.

When not translating, I teach French and German to English translation on Master’s courses at three London-based universities. I also make a podcast for new and prospective translators called Source2Target.

What makes you stand out?

Beyond all the normal attributes you need to make it as a freelancer, I think what makes me stand out is my curiosity and commitment to really understanding whatever I am working on. I love getting below the surface into the detail of the processes and mechanisms involved, be they scientific, regulatory, societal, etc. I love coming across an idea or an approach to a problem that I have never heard of or would never think of, particularly if it challenges something that is generally taken for granted. That genuine interest really drives me to really ‘get it right’ for my clients.

What do you like most about your job?

Carrying on from the previous question, I love that I get to work on material that my clients are so passionate and enthusiastic about. It gives me great satisfaction to know that I am helping in some way to advance ideas and practices that will make the world a better place, and particularly a more sustainable place. And I love the variety, too! There is practically no part of our lives that is not affected by questions of sustainability, so I get to work on texts looking at issues that span every part of our global supply chains and economy.

What do you do when you’re not working?

The curiosity I mentioned extends into every area of my life, and I have a lot of hobbies that would probably be classed as ‘crafts’. For me though, they are united by the core principle of understanding how everyday things actually work. For example, I spin wool, knit and weave, and I have previously learned about bookbinding and stained glass window-making. The hobby that takes up most of time, though, is my allotment, where I grow a fair share of my family’s food. I spend a lot of time thinking about how food is produced and how it could be done more sustainably.

What’s your favourite part of East Anglia?

My allotment, of course! But really, I love most of the Essex countryside, which is hugely underrated in my opinion. One of my favourite places to visit is Hyde Hall, not least because of their fascinating international vegetable garden. I was born and raised in Essex, so I have many happy memories of the county’s coast as well, like Frinton beach. The town of Maldon is also special to me, as it’s where I (theoretically, at least) learned to sail, though you wouldn’t necessarily want to get into any boat I was helming these days!

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Meet our member Sarah Bowtell!

Name: Sarah Bowtell
Services offered: Translation
Language combination(s): French/Arabic to English
Specialisms: Travel and tourism, education
Location: Witham, Essex
Website: www.ztranslations.co.uk
Contact info: sarah@ztranslations.co.uk

Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?

I graduated with a degree in French and Arabic in 2014, which included a fantastic year abroad in Jordan. I then spent a year as an English language assistant in the wonderful Champagne-Ardennes region of France. Job opportunities led me to the luxury travel industry followed by the education sector where I did a lot of work with international students. I decided languages had been on the fringes of my career for too long and I wanted to return to using them in my main work, so in 2021 I completed my MA Translation Studies. Since then, I’ve really enjoyed using the skills I’ve developed over the last eight years in my translation work.

What services do you provide and in what areas?

I offer translation services from French and Arabic into English with a focus on content in the fields of travel and tourism as well as education. I’m particularly interested in marketing texts like website content, blogs and social media posts. I’m also currently building my knowledge in the field of finance. As a self-professed maths geek, it’s always been something I’m interested in and I’m hoping to be able to take on some finance translation work soon.

What makes you stand out?

I think I’m just really friendly! I always try to connect with the people I work with, whether that’s clients, project managers or other colleagues and I love to hear people’s life stories. As well as being personable though, I’m reliable, realistic and client focused. I see translations as a joint venture, where the client is trusting me with their content and it’s my responsibility (and joy!) to bring that content to the English-speaking audience in a culturally sensitive way.

What do you like most about your job?

I’m still fairly new to calling myself a translator but so far I love the supportiveness of other translators (especially the ITI East Anglia network!). I also really enjoy getting to learn new things all the time, whether that’s through terminology research or meeting people from all walks of life.

What do you do when you’re not working?

With a baby and a dog, there is always plenty to do outside work. I love going for a long walk as a family followed by coffee or lunch. I’m also a member of Essex Bootcamp, an exercise class where we train in all weathers so it’s really fun to try and get out and train as much as possible even on dark winter nights. When I can, I also try to fit in a spot of ballroom dancing as it’s a great way to relax and learn a new skill. 

What’s your favourite part of East Anglia?

For me, it has to be Maldon. I must have walked around Promenade Park hundreds of times (and run it a few times now too since starting the park run) but the view across the Blackwater Estuary looking up to St Mary’s Church and across to the Thames barges never ceases to delight me. The high street also has a great collection of cafés, tea rooms and independent shops like Maldon Books.

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Meet our member Roger Rayner!

Name: Roger Rayner
Services offered: Translation & MTPE
Language combination(s): German/French to English
Specialisms: Music, Art, Architecture, Travel and Tourism, Culinary, Automotive
Location: Norwich, East Anglia
Website: www.languistory.com
Contact info: roger@languistory.com

Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?

As a translator involved for many years in the arts, especially music, and as a traveller, I now communicate through words instead of music in order to bring these subjects to a wider international readership. My specialist knowledge and language skills guarantee translations that endorse the authority of the original author. I also offer experience in automotive translation especially diesel engines and tracked vehicles; I further offer well developed skills in MTPE.

What services do you provide and in what areas?

Translation of documents, academic papers, biographies, film scripts, new products, including snow groomers…

My specialisms include music, architecture, art/literary, tourism and travel, culinary, automotive translation.

MTPE

What makes you stand out?

My lifelong experience of language use hopes to guarantee accuracy and punctuality along with the willingness to perform an extra service if I can. I aim to help with culturally adapted material especially in architecture, art, classical music and travel. My training in two completely different performance traditions alongside my knowledge and experience as a traveller maybe enables me to bring a particular insight into European cultures.

What do you like most about your job?

There’s a lot of pleasure in searching for exactly the right term to match the source, at the same time keeping the tone and register in mind. Even texts that might at first produce just a slight groan turn out far more interesting than at first glance; and there is so much to be learnt from pieces even on familiar subjects. It is good to be able to work at the moments when my concentration is at its best (early morning, to my own surprise) and to be alone!

What do you do when you’re not working?

Walking is my favourite way of leaving everything behind, and I love going to the theatre and concerts, especially events such as plays, opera and ballet where I don’t know enough to be too critical. Radio comedy has always been a great way to unwind, and I am addicted to Just a Minute – now wonderfully chaired by Sue Perkins, herself a brilliant player.

What’s your favourite part of East Anglia?

Thetford Forest, where my parents took me as far back as I can remember. It made me love pine trees particularly, which are very much a feature of the Fichtelgebirge, the first place I visited in Germany.

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Meet our member Hazel Hayman!

Name: Hazel Hayman
Service(s) offered: Translation & Editing
Language combination(s): Spanish to English
Specialism(s): Medical
Location: Suffolk, East Anglia
Website: www.avellanatranslations.com         
Contact info: hazel@avellanatranslations.com

Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?

I always had a passion for both languages and medicine. When I left school I studied Spanish at university, however, after that I trained as a nurse. I worked in the NHS for around 10 years in various posts. In 2019, I couldn’t ignore my passion for languages anymore and I returned to translation. I worked as an interpreter at the Monaco Grand Prix, which was amazing, but I prefer working with the written rather than the spoken word. I then went on to take on some stand-alone projects and humanitarian work, before settling in pharmacovigilance, clinical trials and medical journal work.

What services do you provide and in what areas?

I offer medical translation and editing services from Spanish to English (all variants). My translation work is primarily with pharmacovigilance and clinical trials. I also peer-review edit and/or translate academic articles for publication. 

In addition, I have an interest in literary translation and academia, particularly in the areas of constrained translation and humour. This is an area I have been working on out of hours and is something I am looking to expand into in the future.

What makes you stand out?

My background as a nurse means I have experience and understanding that goes beyond solely linguistic knowledge of the subject. This, combined with my linguistic training, enables me to quality control documents more thoroughly and ensure attention to detail at all times. However, I am always mindful this is the client’s project and may be the culmination of many months of hard work. I understand this and respect the different skill sets each professional brings to a project.

When working in the medical sector confidentiality is crucial; I maintain many of the confidentiality practices I was taught whilst in the NHS to ensure no-one other than myself has access to my client’s data whilst it is in my care.

What do you like most about your job?

I love the problem-solving aspect of my job. Words across different languages don’t always map together equally, and sometimes it can be a challenge trying to find the right word. For example, at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, new words were being generated and they also had to be re-created in the other language. For me, every word is like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Individually it may not mean much, but the right words, fitting together in the right way, have the ability to paint a powerful image.

What do you do when you’re not working?

I love being in the water! I spend much of my time kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding and swimming. Lowestoft is a great place for this! (I recently built a paddlesports translation glossary too.) I also love sitting in a café on the seafront with a good book and a nice cup of coffee or three (latté for me please). If I’m not doing that, I’m probably going to be relaxing with my church family or spending time with my boyfriend.

What’s your favourite part of East Anglia?

I would say Lowestoft; it’s the place I have spent the most time in the region. I love the beaches, the broads, the café culture, and most of my family and friends are here. It’s where I’ve spent the last 15 years of my life. However, I’m spending increasing amounts of time in Stowmarket these days and I’m getting to explore other parts of the region. But Lowestoft definitely has a special place in my heart (plus it has the sea!).

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Meet our member Catherine Hurst-Hewett!

Name: Catherine Hurst-Hewett
Service(s) offered: Translation, proofreading and QM.
Language combination(s): German/Italian to English
Specialism(s): Clinical trial documents/agreements
Location: Long Stratton, Norfolk, UK     
Contact info: catherinehwt0912@gmail.com

Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?

After graduating in Modern Languages and Linguistics (with German and Italian) at the University of Salford in 2004, I moved to Vicenza, Italy where I taught English at a language school for a few years before moving to America in 2009. Vicenza is also where I first started my translation journey, I worked on various projects which at one time took me to the car show in Bologna which was a great experience for someone just starting out! I have been working as a freelance translator, proofreader and QM ever since on a practically full-time basis and this year joined the Institute of Translation and Interpreting as an affiliate member with the aim to further my career.

What services do you provide and in what areas?

I provide translation, proofreading and quality management services from German/Italian into English currently in the field of clinical trials but would love to expand this to other areas in the near future. I also work with machine translation technology on a daily basis and consider myself to be very confident with this new development.

What makes you stand out?

I consider myself to be a very client-oriented translator being well-versed in complying with client style guides and glossaries and I always put the client first. I pride myself on being very meticulous and always strive to deliver the best translation possible in terms of both content and presentation while staying true to the source text. My many years of experience have equipped me with the knowledge necessary to perform my role well and as a translator I appreciate the importance of keeping my knowledge and language abilities up to date.

What do you like most about your job?

Obviously, I love working with languages, but I also enjoy the flexibility this job offers, meaning that you can work while also having time to do the other things you love. It also opens you up to different worlds that you otherwise wouldn’t have access to if you didn’t speak those languages, like foreign language books, films, tv etc. It never stops being special to me.

What do you do when you’re not working?

A lot of my time is spent on ‘mum’ duties as I have two very active boys and two dogs. We are lucky to live in the country and quite close to the beautiful Norfolk beaches, so we spend a lot of time walking and exploring the countryside. Lockdown led us to discovering geocaching and, dare I say it, Pokémon Go which we dabble in from time to time! We are also a family of swimmers, both boys swim competitively and I am a qualified swimming official, so I get to officiate at their galas which I love!

What’s your favourite part of East Anglia?

This is tough but I love the beaches, there is something about walking along the beach at the far end of Great Yarmouth or Winterton and being followed by the seals watching you from the sea that is just so special. There is also a vast amount of history in the area and wherever you go you can get glimpses of the past. We are lucky to have a very beautiful and varying coastline, it’s definitely a must for anyone visiting the region!

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Meet our member Alanah Reynor!

Name: Alanah Reynor
Service(s) offered: Translation & Writing
Language combination(s): Dutch, French & Spanish to English
Specialism(s): Marketing & Business
Location: Namur, Belgium
Website: www.alanah-reynor.com         
Contact info: alanah@alanah-reynor.com

Could you tell us a bit about your professional background?

Between my Bachelor’s degree in Translation and Interpreting and my Master’s degree in Conference Interpreting, I spent three years in France teaching English and learning about my students’ varied disciplines. Once I completed my postgraduate, however, I decided it was time to finally do what I love: languages.

I started my translation business in 2018 in France, before moving to Belgium shortly afterwards. I’ve found that marketing and business play best to my strengths, because there’s always an element of creativity; in marketing it’s obvious but, in business, the creative touch you can add to communications is often more subtle.

What services do you provide and in what areas?

I love creating, so creative translation was definitely the way to go for me. I thrive when working on business and marketing texts that promote women’s health, sustainability, animal welfare and other topics that are important to me. A business should share its values and I help them speak from their heart.

I also offer writing services. My clients don’t always want the same content in each language, but prefer something fresh based on their notes, ideas or a combination of texts. Recently, I helped a client put together his business book through a blend of translation, writing and editing. 

What makes you stand out?

Thanks to my background (my mum is Belgian), I have in-depth knowledge of Belgium and its linguistic differences which can be very useful to my clients, many of whom are based in Belgium. This understanding helps me pick up on nuances and sensitivities and adapt the text for an English-speaking audience.

While my subject specialisations are fairly specific (although I like to test the waters of something new from time to time), I am flexible in my service offering. Whether translation, editing or writing, it often turns out that a mixture of services is what would suit my client best.

What do you like most about your job?

This is such a hard question, because there’s so much I love: the freedom to be creative, the variety of subjects, the relationships I have built with my clients, the community of translators around me, to name but a few. I have to admit though that accounting doesn’t make that list.

There’s also something immensely satisfying about hitting that send button after completing a complex project and, of course, receiving feedback. It’s not just feedback from the client that counts, but also from others who have read your work and enjoyed it.

What do you do when you’re not working?

I spend most of my time with my partner, our cocker spaniel and three rabbits. Being with them is my preferred way to unwind, although our rabbits (and the dog) have a naughty streak – many of my books feature nibble marks! I love reading. My favourite genre is historical fiction, but I also enjoy memoirs, non-fiction and romance on occasion.

At the weekend, you can often find me watering my houseplants, dabbling in some gardening or making granola. Throw in an afternoon of board games with friends and a long walk with our dog for a pretty perfect weekend.

What’s your favourite part of East Anglia?

This question makes me feel nostalgic, seeing as I don’t live there anymore. I used to call North Norfolk home. A few places stand out: Cromer where my dad used to have a second-hand bookshop and I worked on the pier; Felbrigg Hall where I used to go with my family for a picnic and long walks; and Heydon, its tea room and florist, which has become a ritual for my mum and I whenever I visit. But I also just miss the coast: the sea air, the sound of the waves, the wind in your hair… true bliss.