For our final linguist spotlight post of the month, we’re shining a light on four more of our fantastic freelance linguists: Basel, Laura, Echo, and Mercedes. Working across Arabic, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, and more, their stories remind us of the passion and precision behind great translation. Read on to hear about their career journeys, language tips, and some of their favourite cultural quirks.
Basel
Basel is a talented Arabic linguist who translates both from and into English. His areas of expertise range from fine art and history to social media and marketing. A lifelong language enthusiast, Basel traces the roots of his career back to his mother, an English teacher. “From a young age, I saw her speaking English and thought – I want to do that too. It felt like opening a door to the world.”
When he first moved to France, Basel tackled a new linguistic challenge: French. “When I first arrived, I started listening to podcasts and TV in French, even if I didn’t understand much. With help from my teacher and some personal effort, I now understand almost everything!”
Asked about the future of the industry, Basel sees a hybrid path ahead. “The industry is moving towards more collaboration between human linguists and technology. Machine translation is widely used, but those who want quality content increasingly understand the value of human input.”
Fun facts from Arabic:
- Hard to translate? Popular sayings and socially constructed mottos are very difficult to render well in English.
- Interesting language fact: Arabic uses so many prefixes and suffixes that a single word can form a complete sentence. For example, كتبتها means “I wrote it”.
- Funny phrase: تقبرني (ta’burni), common in the Levant, literally means “may you bury me”, but is actually an affectionate phrase expressing deep love – often from mothers to children.
Laura
Laura is a multilingual translator based in Italy, working mainly between English and Italian, with a soft spot for websites. She also translates from Russian and has a background in German. Her real mother tongue? Friulano – a Romance language spoken in the northeast of Italy. “It’s still my favourite language of all.”
Laura has had an inspiringly flexible career. “I’ve been a translator, interpreter, admin assistant, PA, business analyst… and translator again! I’m proud of being able to adapt to change, try new things, and reinvent myself.”
When it comes to the difference between translation and interpreting, Laura says: “Interpreting is fast-paced and demands quick thinking. You need to be good at letting go – you can’t beat yourself up for not thinking of a better phrasing on the spot. With translation, you have time to research and refine.”
Her advice for language learners? “Expose yourself to the language as much as possible, especially through things you enjoy like films and TV. And once you’re in the country, don’t worry about making a fool of yourself!”
As for the future, Laura offers a thoughtful perspective: “I probably wouldn’t pursue a translation degree in today’s climate. I’d recommend specialising in another field, and adding languages as a valuable extra.”
Fun facts from Italian (and Friulano!):
- Hard to translate? The word simpatico doesn’t quite translate – it means someone who is pleasant, funny, and nice all in one. Russian has a similar word, симпатичный (simpatichnyi), which can mean cute or nice.
- Funny phrase: In Friulian, at the end of a night out, you might say No varìn migo di lassâsi come cjans? – “Are we really going to part like dogs?” It means: one more drink before we go!
Echo
Echo has been a freelance Mandarin and Cantonese translator since 2009, working on everything from luxury branding to government initiatives. Based in China, she’s a native speaker of both Mandarin and Cantonese and specialises in creative, culturally sensitive content.
Her language career began with online tutoring in 2006. “Eventually, I offered editing and translation services too. One client, Dallas, became a regular and kindly introduced me to a whole network of freelance translators. (He’s now known as the brilliant mind behind GT4T!)” With regular work and a growing family, Echo made the leap to full-time freelancing in 2009 – and hasn’t looked back since.
Echo has interpreted once – “at a trade fair in Germany, back in 2017” – but prefers translation, which lets her work at her own pace. “Both require preparation and creativity. But interpreting, especially live, is definitely more challenging for me!”
For language learners, her advice is simple: “Immerse yourself daily – listen, speak, and watch things slightly above your level. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. I’ll take this advice myself when I finally try to learn French again!”
Looking ahead, Echo sees technology playing a bigger role. “AI tools will grow in use, but human translators will remain essential for capturing nuance and cultural depth.”
Fun facts from Chinese:
- Hard to translate? 缘分 (yuán fèn) – a concept of fated connection. There’s no exact English equivalent.
- Interesting language fact: Written Chinese is logographic, so it remains consistent across dialects even if spoken Mandarin and Cantonese are very different.
- Funny phrase: 啊，真香！ (ā, zhēn xiāng!) means “Ah, this smells so good!” It’s used humorously when someone changes their mind and ends up loving something they originally rejected – a bit like “Okay, fine, I actually love this!”
Mercedes
Mercedes is a freelance translator and editor working between German, English and Spanish (Spain). She specialises in software localisation and technical translation – and she loves diving into all things tech.
She got her start in subtitling, translating film and TV in London, before joining a language services provider as a project manager. “The most rewarding part of my job has always been meeting people from all over the world and learning about such a wide range of topics.”
If she could instantly master another language? “Chinese – without a doubt. It’s so commercially relevant, and I’d love to be able to connect with that part of the world.”
Her advice for language learners is refreshingly simple: “Don’t feel silly. Own your mistakes and have fun. Enjoying yourself is half the battle.”
Mercedes sees a future where machine translation and AI are the norm, but not the whole story. “There will still be a real need for human insight – especially in areas like medtech, marketing and indie games. Clients who value cultural nuance will keep turning to real people.”
Fun facts from Spanish:
• Hard to translate? Estar en la edad del pavo – literally “to be in the turkey age”! It’s used to describe that awkward, emotional teenage phase when you’re figuring everything out.
• Funny phrase: Estar como una cabra – “to be like a goat”. It means someone’s acting totally wild or silly… in the most entertaining way!
We’re incredibly proud to work with such talented, passionate linguists from around the world. Need help with your next translation project? Get in touch – we’d love to hear from you.
25 April 2025 15:14