I am a linguist by training and a translator by profession. Indeed, languages and translating are my great passion. I have a Bachelor’s degree in German Language from the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. I have studied Swahili at the University of Leiden. I live in an English and Maltese speaking household.

Even before opting to be a freelance translator, translating has also played an important role in all of my past jobs. My translating experience is wide and varied especially since in the past 10 years of translating and copywriting I have been able to use my skills in different work situations. Before becoming a fulltime freelance translator, I worked as an in-house translator for governmental organisations, companies and translation offices. This diverse work background comes in useful when translating. For example, a technical translation meant for a commercial or marketing audience is not a problem for me. In such a circumstance, I fall back on knowledge and experience in translating a range of technical texts while working at one of the largest translating companies in the Netherlands and experience in translating marketing and commercial texts with a mail-order company.

Specialization / Background

While I am an all-round translator I have a special interest in texts related to the food industry (and anything related to food, nutrition and all things culinary), medical and technical fields. I am sworn translator for German.

Food and nutrition
Cooking is more than a hobby for me! I have probably one of the largest collections of ethnic cookbooks in the world (my aim: "Acquire a cookbook of every nation and ethnic group in the world"). I explain this passion and ambition in an interview published in the Dutch magazine “ELLE Eten, the culinary issue of ELLE magazine (issue no. 4, 2007). Since I started, roughly 10 years ago, I have cookbooks from Greenland to Swaziland and from Vanuatu to Abkhazia to name but a few.

Thanks to my reading and studying of my collection I can safely say that when it comes to ingredients I am an absolute expert! I am also very familiar with different cooking methods, utensils and all things culinary making my translations very accurate and reliable.

Medical
I have dealt with large medical texts on several subjects: from medical conditions and diseases (e.g. diabetes, Cushing’s Disease, back aches etc.) to medical equipment and therapies (e.g. on muscle stimulators). Since I have an innate curiosity to know all about medical conditions and diseases I find translating these topics very interesting and motivate me to produce precise translations.

Technical
Here too I have a very broad experience in this field. I can handle the translation of technical manuals of most machinery. Over the years I have developed a very methodical approach to translating technical texts which ensures that the end product is precise and reliable.

Accomplishments

This is a recent selection of types of texts I have translated:
- For the food industry: on the potato starch industry (for Avebe); on kitchen solutions (for Bohlen & Doyen; Carat); several surveys, ingredients of new food products, menu cards, food supplements etc.
- Medical texts: on Cushing’s disease (handbooks and modules for general practitioners and consumers); medicines (Galvus; Rasilez, texts about medicines for diabetes); incontinence materials (for Kimberley Clark); medical equipment; cleaning chemicals etc.
- Technical texts: on pumps and compressors (for Emotron); equipment for the cement and minerals industry (for FL Smidth Airtech); mobile phones (Ericsson); bluetooth (for Sandberg); encoding systems (for Imaje); stoves and fireplaces (for Jötul); products for the engineering and construction industries (for Perstorp); fire alarm systems (for Schrack Seconet); electrical, ventilation, heating, water and sanitation supplies (for Solar) etc.
- Press releases (for L.A.B. Chemische Industrie)
- Others: on architectural sign systems (Modulex); tourism information (for Royal Dutch Mint; Samenwerkende Groepsaccomodaties Drenthe); toiletries (for Unilever); dictionaries (for Van Dale) etc.

Rates in Euro for German-Dutch & English-Dutch
0.10 (USD 0.12) per word of target text
20.00 (USD 30.00) per hour (for example proofreading)
0.03 (USD 0.04) per word (proofreading)
20.00 (USD 36.00) minimum rate

Trados
0.10 (USD 0.12) for 0-84%
0.025 (USD 0.036) for 85-100% + repetitions

Rates for Maltese, long or special jobs are negotiable.

Availability
I follow flexible hours meeting the needs of my clients.

I look forward to doing business with you!