8th March is International Women’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world. This year’s campaign theme is to Inspire Inclusion. To find out more about International Women’s Day and the 2024 campaign take a look at there website here.
We have asked several of our female translators three questions:
- Could you please tell us a bit about yourself? What inspired you to join the translation industry?
- What has been your biggest success so far?
- If you could give one piece of advice to younger girls and women, what would it be?
In this blog we’ll share their responses to their first 2 questions, so stay tuned for their advice in our next blog. It’s been lovely to see how the range of women all have their own successes and their different journeys into the translation industry.
Ulrike – German
Could you please tell us a bit about yourself? What inspired you to join the translation industry?
I enjoyed languages in school and didn’t want to become a schoolteacher, so translation/interpreting seemed a good career choice at the time. I studied German, English and Italian at Vienna University and graduated in 1998. Men were the exception rather than the rule, the courses were pretty much all-female. Many things have changed since then, but, men are still a rarity in the translation and interpreting classes that I teach at Innsbruck University today. Languages, I believe, are still seen as “female” subjects. However, I have noted that the men who DO end up on language degree courses are often quite technologically minded, which I put down to the rise of AI etc in the language industry. Maybe this development will end up attracting an additional target group, which might be a good thing.
What has been your biggest success so far?
My biggest success, is the fact that I have been making a living out of freelance translation and interpreting for almost a quarter of century. I love our line of work! The fact that it is so varied and that you never know what will come along next. Freelancing keeps you on your toes! You have to constantly adapt and learn new skills – including how to use CAT tools to subtitling programmes. I am hardly ever bored by my work, which is a great success indeed. Also, there are many advantages to working in an industry that is dominated by women, especially once you have a family. Other women tend to be more supportive in difficult situations. For instance when you have a sick child at home but are booked for an interpreting assignment.
Katrin – Swedish
Could you please tell us a bit about yourself? What inspired you to join the translation industry?
I have long harboured a passion for language and communication, which initially sparked aspirations toward careers in writing or journalism. However, it was upon relocating to the United States that I found myself immersed in the multilingual environment of a company. This is where I had the fortune of befriending individuals from diverse linguistic backgrounds. One such friend, who happened to work intermittently for a local translation firm, made me curious. I soon after started my journey as a full-time freelance translator, now 24 years in, I am happy I started that journey.
What has been your biggest success so far?
Without a doubt, my most cherished achievement in life transcends any professional or personal milestone. It is the privilege of witnessing the growth and development of my daughter into an exceptional young woman.
Ulgen – Turkish
Could you please tell us a bit about yourself? What inspired you to join the translation industry?
I have been actively working as a full-time freelance translator and a private tutor of English, Italian and Turkish since 1996. In fact, my experience as a translator goes back to the years when I worked for IBM Turkey in different positions and even to my university years. After discovering that I was putting my heart and soul more into translating and tutoring others than my then current job, I decided to work as a freelancer. I offered my language skills to companies and individuals as both a translator and an instructor. I can say with confidence that this was one of the best decisions I have made in my life. It is very satisfactory and perfectly fits my personality.
What has been your biggest success so far?
The definition of success depends on one’s expectations from life. For me, even the smallest achievement towards my dreams is success. I have always been wary of having big expectations and objectives. My dreams are generally realizable and they never revolve around materialistic values. One dream, however, always seemed unrealizable to me: writing a book. I ignored the urge to write professionally for so many years, but finally in 2018 I prepared a spiral bound Italian language book to use for my lectures. The book got more appreciation than I had expected. So I decided to transfer the content of this book to a blog where I would also post some articles.
However, one month in, the pandemic started. During lockdown, though often stressed and depressed, I had an incredible inspiration to write and very soon the blog became a therapy room for me. I wrote one long article almost every day and on some days I published even two. My mother, who had an unrealized dream of becoming a writer, wished that these articles be compiled in a book and not eventually get lost in the virtual world. I knew this would not have been easy under the circumstances of that period, but I would have done anything to cheer her (and myself) up. This is because in 2019 we lost my younger sister.
I worked very hard and compiled a book of more than 400 pages and got it published. When my published books arrived, I gave my mother one saying that the book of a new author had come out. I will never forget the expression on her face when she hugged me and expressed her hope that with this book good days would start again. At that moment, she did not even know that I had dedicated this book to my beloved sister. I now feel vey happy to know that my book, or rather my sister’s name, is in numerous book cases in Turkey and abroad. I believe that my book, through which I touched the hearts of so many people, has been my biggest success so far.
Yinli – Mandarin
Could you please tell us a bit about yourself? What inspired you to join the translation industry?
The very first time I started doing translation work was in my second year at university. I didn’t think much about it at the time and just went with what came to my mind after a bit of research. Besides taking on projects from a media and communications company, I also worked as an intern in a team preparing for World Design Weeks. This involved mainly editing/writing about art and exhibitions as well as translating.
It was during my first full-time job that I realized I just wanted to use language consciously, especially when it came to work. I thought it would be great if the work I would deliver was simply a product of language, so I started to work as a freelance linguist.
What has been your biggest success so far?
Constantly taking dreamy breath.
Cassandra – Danish
Could you please tell us a bit about yourself? What inspired you to join the translation industry?
I have been in the translation industry for five and a half years at this point. I decided to get into translation as a result of my interest in (effective) communication. For the first four and a half years, I worked as an in-house translator for a retail company. I then left that role to focus exclusively on my freelance career. The flexibility and freedom of freelancing really appealed to me.
What has been your biggest success so far?
Entering into freelance, I was aware that it would come with a unique set of challenges. This includes striking a balance in regard to how much work to take on as well as navigating the worries when not enough work comes in. But also learning to decline projects that I’m not qualified for, even when I could use the money. My biggest success so far is that I have learned from the mistakes I have made. I also take constructive criticism into account, rather than feeling defeated and giving up. This can be challenging at times however.
Laura – Italian
Could you please tell us a bit about yourself? What inspired you to join the translation industry?
I was born and grew up in the North-East of Italy, just 12 km away from the border with Slovenia and 90 km from the border with Austria. Foreign trade and relationships were common occurrence, even with Eastern European countries back in the days of the Iron Curtain. So I realised I wanted to work with languages quite early on. My attraction towards other countries and cultures was also stirred by the postcards we received from a family friend.
I studied German and English at school, then Russian and English at university. During my university years, I started dipping my toes in and falling in love with technical translations. I also did some temp work for local companies, which led to a 6-month contract as interpreter & translator after graduation. It was based in a remote location in Siberia. The rest of my career has been a mixture of employed roles in different industries, and “pure” translation as self-employed, mostly in the UK after my move here in 1998. There is no doubt that my experience within corporate environments has made me a better translator, with a hands-on knowledge in a variety of fields.
What has been your biggest success so far?
Many colleagues in the translation industry struggled during the Covid years; many more are now venting on social media about work dwindling significantly due to MT/AI. So far for me (fingers crossed!), business has remained stable, thanks to several, lovely clients who keep contacting me for their translation projects. I used to get stressed if my emails would go quiet for a few days, now I’ve learnt to embrace the peace and fill my time in lots of other ways. In preparation for the busier days that inevitably follow. Should this change in the future, I’ll find a way to use my skills for something else!
Ingrid – French
Could you please tell us a bit about yourself? What inspired you to join the translation industry?
After three years in the US, I came back to France and decided to be a teacher… But soon, I realized that was not for me. I then thought about another way to use English and translation was the best choice! It’s been 17 years now and I’ve never regretted it for a second 🙂
What has been your biggest success so far?
I don’t know if I have had any big success. I am just doing my job the best I can every day, and getting some positive feedback from the client is very rewarding.
We hope you’ve loved finding about some of our female linguists and their successes in honour of International Women’s Day. Keep your eye out for the blog with their advice which is coming soon, and they have some great tips. In the meantime, if you have any questions for our linguists, please just get in touch with us here.
8 March 2024 09:52