Member since Feb '18

Working languages:
English to Czech
German to Czech

Martina Balzano
Games & Apps, YA Books, Marketing

Czech Republic
Local time: 10:10 CEST (GMT+2)

Native in: Czech Native in Czech
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What Martina Balzano is working on
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Oct 7, 2019 (posted via ProZ.com):  Children's book, 45856 sw. ...more, + 2 other entries »
Total word count: 4400

Account type Freelance translator and/or interpreter
Data security Created by Evelio Clavel-Rosales This person has a SecurePRO™ card. Because this person is not a ProZ.com Plus subscriber, to view his or her SecurePRO™ card you must be a ProZ.com Business member or Plus subscriber.
Affiliations This person is not affiliated with any business or Blue Board record at ProZ.com.
Services Software localization, Website localization, Translation, Editing/proofreading, MT post-editing, Transcreation
Expertise
Specializes in:
Games / Video Games / Gaming / CasinoPoetry & Literature
Marketing / Market ResearchIT (Information Technology)
Computers: Systems, NetworksAdvertising / Public Relations
Business/Commerce (general)Computers: Software
Media / MultimediaHuman Resources

Rates
English to Czech - Rates: 0.07 - 0.80 EUR per word / 40 - 54 EUR per hour
German to Czech - Rates: 0.07 - 0.80 EUR per word / 40 - 54 EUR per hour

KudoZ activity (PRO) Questions asked: 4
Payment methods accepted PayPal, Wire transfer
Portfolio Sample translations submitted: 2
English to Czech: Novel
General field: Art/Literary
Source text - English
It’s probably not been that long, but it feels like it. It seems like I’ve been sitting on this uncomfortable plastic bench with my head on my knees, my arms curled around myself, the sounds of this police station going on around me for long enough for me to feel like my life is draining away. People come and go, the officers behind the bulletproof glass of the reception desk have conversations that are touch too far out of range for me to understand or hook myself into. Every time the door opens I am treated to a blast of the noise of the outside world, and it, like everything else, is a reminder that I probably shouldn’t do this.
If i have to wait to speak to someone, then maybe it’s a sign that this is not meant to be. Maybe I need to unfurl myself, stand up, walk out of here. Slip back back into the world outside and disappear again - become as faceless and invisible as everyone else out there.
Maybe, because I have to wait - and the second thoughts I didn’t have before I walked in here are now arriving, settling in my mind like roosting pigeons on a roof - I should admit to the absolute stupidity of this. Maybe I should be more brutally realistic with myself about what the repercussions will be, how doing this will touch the lives of everyone I know. Maybe I should stop thinking of justice and start thinking of real life and what honestly happens to people like me.
A voice calls my name.
Too late to run now, too late to change your mind, I think. Slowly, I raise my head, lower my legs, place my feet on the floor, my gaze seeking out the person who called my name.
I stumble a little when I am upright, but catch myself before I fall, curl my fingers into the palms of my hands, trying to hide the trembling. No escape, no retreat. I have to go through with this now.
“How can I help you?” the police officer asks. Plain clothes, some kind of detective, as I requested. He comes closer to me, but not too close. He doesn’t want to get too close to someone like me. Despite his slightly bored, uninterested expression, when he continues to speak, he sounds neutral and polite: “The desk officer said you wanted to talk to a detective, but you were reluctant to say exactly what it was about?”
I take a step closer, try to narrow the distance between us, so I can speak without being overheard. There is no one here now except the person behind the desk, but I still want to be careful. Quiet. I can’t do this, I realize. I need to, but I can’t. I can’t open my mouth and say another word.
The detective’s face quickly slides from ‘slightly bored’ and ‘uninterested’ into ‘perturbed’, teetering on the edge of ‘annoyed’. I am wasting his time and does not like that.
I take a deep breath, inhale to see if I can shake off the second thoughts and recapture the certainty that brought me here. “I… I… “ My voice fails. I really can’t do this.
Unbidden, the sound, the one I first heard less than a week ago, streaks through my head, as sudden and loud and clear as the first time I heard it. It ignites every memory cell in my body with horror and I almost slam my hands over my ears again, try to shut it out.
Determined now, I firm up my fists, I strengthen the way I stand and I look the detective in the eye as I say: “I … I need to report an attempted murder.”
Translation - Czech
Jsem tu už nekonečně dlouho, nebo mi to aspoň tak připadá.
Čelem se opírám o kolena, oběma rukama objímám sama sebe. Sedím na nepohodlné plastové lavici obklopená šumem policejní stanice dost dlouho na to, aby se mi zdálo, jako by z mého těla unikal život. Lidi přichází a odchází, strážníci za neprůstřelným sklem vrátnice mluví o něčem, čemu nerozumím, protože jsem od nich moc daleko. Pokaždé, když se otevřou dveře, ke mně zalétne kousek venkovního světa. Považuju to, jako ostatně všechno ostatní, za připomínku toho, že bych tu neměla být.
Musím čekat na někoho, kdo si se mnou promluví. Možná je to znamení, že by se to vůbec nemělo stát. Možná bych měla vstát a odejít. Vklouznout zpátky do světa venku a zmizet, být stejně neviditelná a anonymní, jako všichni ostatní.
Snad právě kvůli čekání se mi další a další pochyby začaly usazovat v hlavě jako holubi na střeše. Měla bych uznat naprostou hloupost téhle situace. Možná bych si měla natvrdo připustit následky a dopad na život všech mých známých. Možná bych měla zapomenout na spravedlnost a začít myslet na skutečný život a na to, co se doopravdy stává lidem jako jsem já.
Někdo volá moje jméno.
Už si to nemůžu rozmyslet, je pozdě na útěk, pomyslím si. Pomalu zvednu hlavu, spustím nohy na podlahu, rozhlížím se po člověku, který mě volal.
Postavím se a trochu zavrávorám, včas se zachytím a nespadnu, zarývám si nehty do dlaní, abych zakryla, jak se třesou. Není útěku, není návratu. Musím dokončit, co jsem začala.
“S čím vám pomůžu?” ptá se policista. Nemá uniformu, bude asi něco jako detektiv, přesně jak jsem chtěla. Přistoupí ke mně, ale ne moc blízko. Nechce být v blízkosti někoho jako jsem já.
Přestože se tváří trochu znuděně, tón jeho hlasu je neutrální a zdvořilý: “Řekli mi, že chcete mluvit s detektivem, ale odmítla jste vysvětlit proč.”
Udělám krok k němu, snažím se zmenšit vzdálenost mezi námi tak, aby nás při rozhovoru nikdo další neslyšel. Kromě jednoho člověka na vrátnici tu nikdo není, ale stejně chci být opatrná. Neříkám nic. Nezvládnu to, uvědomím si. Potřebuju to udělat, ale nejde to. Nemůžu se sebe dostat ani slovo.
Nezájem v detektivově obličeji rychle vystřídá zmatek a náznak podráždění. Marním jeho čas a jemu se to nelíbí.
Zhluboka se nadechnu, zjišťuju, jestli můžu setřást pochyby a znovu najít jistotu, která mě sem přivedla. “Já… Já…” Selhává mi hlas. Nezvládnu to.
Zvuk, který mi náhle bleskne hlavou, je stejně hlasitý a ostrý jako před necelým týdnem, kdy jsem ho slyšela poprvé. Každá buňka v mém těle je zasažená hrůzou, mám chuť zacpat si uši, abych už nic neslyšela.
Odhodlaně zatnu ruce v pěst, narovnám se, podívám se detektivovi do očí a řeknu: “Chci… chci nahlásit pokus o vraždu.”
English to Czech: News article
General field: Other
Detailed field: Journalism
Source text - English
Brock Turner's Mother Foresaw Public Outcry Against Ex-Stanford Swimmer in Letter to Judge
The mother of former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner anticipated the outrage her son would face after being convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman on campus.

In an anguished letter to Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky prior to her son’s sentencing, Carleen Turner pleaded for mercy, saying sending him to jail would be “a death sentence.”

“I beg of you, please don’t send him to jail/prison. Look at him. He won’t survive it. He will be damaged forever and I fear he would be a major target. Stanford boy, college kid, college athlete -- all the publicity,” Carleen Turner wrote in her statement, which was among the court documents made public today. “This would be a death sentence for him.”
A jury found Turner, 20, guilty in March of three felonies: assault with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated-unconscious person, penetration of an intoxicated person and penetration of an unconscious person. He was sentenced to six months in jail and three years of probation by Persky last week, sparking national uproar from critics who questioned why Turner received such little prison time.

Turner must also register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. He plans to appeal his conviction and is expected to be released three months early on Sept. 2.

In her letter to the judge, Carleen Turner insisted her son “has lived an exemplary life” and was on a path to success at Stanford, all of which she said has been “shattered” by the guilty verdicts. Carleen Turner's letter does not mention the victim.

“He has never been in trouble, never even had a demerit in high school, he studied, swam worked hard,” the mother wrote. “His dreams have been shattered by this. No NCAA Championships. No Stanford degree, no swimming in the Olympics (and I honestly know he would have made a future team), no medical school, no becoming an Orthopedic surgeon.”

Carleen Turner also described how the trial has “destroyed” her family.

“I know what a broken heart feels like. It is a physical pain that starts just below the collar bone and extends to below the rib cage, it is a crushing and heavy ache that feels like I am being squeezed. This feeling has not left my body since the verdict. This verdict has destroyed us,” she wrote.

Carleen Turner said she and her husband are a “working middle-class couple with Midwestern values” who had recently downsized their house to ease their financial burdens. Her two other children have collectively accumulated $150,000 in student loan debt, Carleen Turner said, because she and her husband were unable to pay for college tuition. Brock Turner had been awarded a 60 percent swimming scholarship by Stanford University prior to his expulsion over the sexual assault case.

“There have been many references to Brock being from a wealthy, privileged background and he thinks he is entitled. Your honor, this could not be further from the truth,” Carleen Turner said in her statement to the judge. “We do NOT come from money, rather the opposite.”

USA Swimming, the national governing body of competitive swimming, announced earlier today that it has banned Brock Turner for life from competing in events sanctioned by the organization. Although Turner’s membership with the organization expired at the end of 2014, before he committed the crimes, the move blocks him from being eligible for one ever again. Swimmers must be a member of USA Swimming to compete in sanctioned events, including the upcoming U.S. Olympic Trials that select the Olympic team every four years.
Translation - Czech
Matka Brocka Turnera v dopise soudci předvídala nevoli veřejnosti

Matka bývalého člena plaveckého týmu univerzity Stanford očekávala pobouření, kterému by její syn čelil po usvědčení ze sexuálního útoku na bezvládnou ženu. K události došlo na pozemku školy.
Dopis s prosbami o milost a vyjádřením, že uvěznění by pro jejího syna by znamenalo “trest smrti,” odeslala soudci vyššího soudu v Santa Claře Aaronu Perskymu ještě před před vynesením rozsudku.
“Naléhavě Vás žádám a prosím, abyste ho neposílal do vězení. Nepřežil by to. Je zničený už napořád a bojím se, že by se jako student, sportovec, a také kvůli publicitě stal terčem útoků,” napsala Carleen Turner. Její dopis byl dnes zvěřejněn spolu s dalšími soudními dokumenty. “Znamenalo by to pro něj trest smrti,” dodala.

Porota uznala dvacetiletého Turnera vinným ze tří trestných činnů: útok s úmyslem znásilnění bezvládné osoby, sexuální styk s bezvládnou osobou a sexuální styk s osobou pod vlivem návykových látek. Turnerovo odsouzení k šesti měsícům vazby s tříletou podmínkou vyvolalo bouřlivou kritiku, podle veřejnosti není trest dostatečně přísný.

Turner bude trvale vedený v registru sexuálních útočníků. Proti rozhodnutí soudu se chce odvolat a podle očekávání bude na svobodu propuštěn začátkem září, tedy o tři měsíce dřív.


V dopisu soudci Carleen Turnerová trvala na tom, že “příkladný život” a cesta k úspěchu jejího syna je po vynesení rozsudku “v troskách.” O oběti útoku se nezmiňuje.
“Byl úplně bezproblémový, nikdy nedostal ani poznámku. Učil se, plaval, hodně se snažil, “ napsala Turnerov matka. “Jeho sny jsou v troskách. Nesmí závodit, nebude mít titul ze Stanfordu, nepojede na Olympiádu (a upřímně si myslím, že by byl oporou týmu), nikdy se nestane ortopedem.”

Carleen Turner popsala, jak soudní proces zničil její rodinu.
“Vím, jaké je mít zlomené srdce. Je to fyzická bolest, která začíná pod klíční kostí a sahá až pod žebra, jako by se mě nekdo snažil rozdrtit. Cítím se tak od vynesení rozsudku. Zničilo nás to,” napsala.
Turnerová uvedla, že ona a její manžel pochází z “pracující střední třídy se středozápadními hodnotami,” a nedávno se museli přestěhovat do menšího domu, aby se dostali z finančních problémů. Jejich další dvě děti splácí třímilionovou studentskou půjčku, protože si Turnerovi nemohli dovolit platit jim školné. Brock Turner dostával před vyloučením ze Stanfordské univerzity šedesátiprocentní sportovní stipendium.


“Spousta lidí označuje Brocka za kluka z bohaté rodiny, který si myslí, že může všechno. Ctihodnosti, nic není dál od pravdy,” řekla Turnerová v dopisu soudci. “Nejsme bohatí, spíš naopak.”
Vedení Americké asociace plaveckých sportů dnes oznámilo, že Brock Turner je ze závodního plavání trvale vyloučen. Členství v asociaci je podmínkou přijetí do všech závodních týmů, včetně Olympijského. Turnerovo původní členství sice vypršelo v roce 2014, na základě dnešního prohlášení o něj nesmí znovu žádat.

Translation education Other - Cambridge English: Advanced Certificate from Cambridge English Language Assessment
Experience Years of experience: 9. Registered at ProZ.com: Jul 2016. Became a member: Feb 2018.
ProZ.com Certified PRO certificate(s) N/A
Credentials English to Czech (CAE, level C2)
Memberships N/A
Software Aegisub, Crowdin, memoQ, MemSource Cloud, Smartcat
Professional practices Martina Balzano endorses ProZ.com's Professional Guidelines.
Professional objectives
  • Learn more about additional services I can provide my clients
  • Stay up to date on what is happening in the language industry
  • Help or teach others with what I have learned over the years
  • Learn more about translation / improve my skills
  • Meet new end/direct clients
  • Get help with terminology and resources
  • Improve my productivity
Bio

I've been translating full-time since 2016, and since early 2020, I've been working mostly on localization of books and marketing content.

During 2024, I worked mostly on New Adult book translations (Geneva Lee, Parker S. Huntington and more), and long-term, socail media app loacalization.

I'm open to work in the marketing/social media market, and game/book/story localization.


2023 projects:

>YA novel translation (380 pages)

>Interactive stories and other digital entertainment (RPG)

>Social media, mobile apps––including UI/UX, legal content

>Corporate materials covering career advice, goal setting, etc.

>Item descriptions for major American e-commerce retailer


+ marketing and commercial content (for engineering and tech companies), career related training materials for European e-commerce retailer

Other projects:
Four series of short stories––e-books and audio books––crime, erotica, children's stories


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Profile last updated
Mar 27