Translator of the Month of February, 2011

Your blogger, Jonathan Goldberg (himself a professional translator), interviewed Evelyne Skorczynski. She is freelance translator and multilingual website manager. She specializes in business and technical translation. She lives in Las Vegas but travels often to France. More information is available at http://www.gitano.org

 

Jonathan:  What is your experience in foreign languages?

Evelyne : I grew up in a multilingual environment and have always been interested in foreign languages. I studied economics and specialized in international business and business English. I completed my graduate studies in North America where I perfected my English. 

Jonathan : What is your experience in translation?

Evelyne : I have worked in many multilingual settings: 

· Teaching French immersion classes for English speaking students in Canada.

· Participating in a cooperative education program in Eastern Europe where I also taught business in French and in English.

· Working in a research center in upstate New York (along the Canadian-US border) researching and translating various business and economic information. I became the official French translator at the center.

Jonathan : Do you specialize in an area of translation?

Evelyne : My career has evolved into the field of Internet and online communications. I began working for international organizations as a web developer and online editor for French and English websites. Since then, I have been working as a web manager for multilingual sites and have provided translation and localization services for businesses, educational websites and online marketing. 

Jonathan: What is your approach to a good translation?

Evelyne : My approach is to transcribe the ideas and fundamental points of a source text by using appropriate linguistic and cultural references of the foreign audience. This is very important in the field of marketing. 

Jonathan : Which translation tools do you use?

Evelyne :  With existing websites, I will use sometime an online translation tool like "Google Translation" to obtain a quick draft of the translation. From there, I can work to properly edit and elaborate on the content. I use these same online tools to look up exact technical terms. And I always keep my handy dictionaries and grammar manuals beside me!

Jonathan:   Please give me an example of a project you are working on currently?

Evelyne :  One of a latest projects I am working on is the development of a bilingual website on the region of Provence Coast in France. This work includes the translation and localization of web scripts, review and translation of text and online video content - for more information, visit http://www.provence-coast-travel.com