Our Passion, Our Voices

“ A never-ending journey. It all started one summer, many moons ago, somewhere in New England. I was five years old and, for the first time, me, the little girl from Quebec, crossed the language barrier and managed to make friends with children from a different culture.

I started my explorations into the English language then, and I’ve never looked back, discovering as I went along a treasure of different and rich cultures. The journey of language is intricately linked to culture for me and many people, and to the incredible human universe, which never ceases to amaze me.

So I made language my professional pursuit, adding English early on to my native French, with notions of German, Spanish, Italian and Hebrew to widen my perspective and give me more insights into the rich diversity of our world. Variety is, indeed, the spice of life.

I now have been working as a translator for over 23 years, and what I love about translation is that I constantly discover and learn and wonder about the world. And I don’t intend to stop!”

“Most truths are very simple. I think I became an interpreter and a translator because I am in love with words, and because I am deeply interested in what other people think and why they do things that they do. And this, as in many cases, has to do a lot with my family background (at a very early age, I learned how to read and write using two alphabets; my mother was an English teacher, my father is an architect and a writer; my parents taught me more by example and less by pushing me to do things; I lived in a region where people have strong feelings about language, where speaking the “wrong” one can be a matter of life and death, literally; I changed schools, and I lived in different cities and countries; my parents traveled the world, sometimes taking me with them, entertained a lot, and had friends and colleagues from abroad who often visited our home).

I also had some amazing teachers and mentors. Later, I taught ESL and English; I worked with refugees; my friends still come from all races and nationalities. Words convey messages. Words have the power to heal. Because of words, you can get into trouble. One wrong word can sometimes kill. Reading words can take you places. These are some of my life lessons. And, again, this is why I am doing this job.”

“Like most of the things we like in life, it is thanks to our parents who taught us to like it. My parents taught me to talk and write properly. When I received a gift, my father always made sure I wrote a letter to the person who gave it to me to thank them, saying how pleased I was, and why that gift was so special (and, of course, without spelling mistakes). That could have made me hate any form of writing, and I did hate those kind of letters at that time (and, frankly, still do) but I learnt how to express myself properly when I was a kid. It is so rewarding to communicate precisely what you mean and get your point across, the way you mean it, with all the feelings you want to convey – humor, sadness, joy, etc. I love writing. For me, it is like reading a book, I discover and develop my thoughts while writing. I don’t know what the next sentence is going to be until I write it. On another hand, it is so frustrating when you want to communicate in a foreign language, whether it is with friends, for business or as a tourist, and you can’t.

My passion for the French language made me decide to become a translator. In my own little way, I can contribute to helping people say what they mean, the way they would like to say it if they could speak French themselves. When we say something, we want to be precisely understood, if not, not only is it a waste of time, but miscommunication can be very damaging. It is so important to me to be clearly understood that… I speak too much.”

“At age 9, I received my first English class in our public school, and I just loved it right from the beginning. I became very passionate about learning languages – I wanted to learn as many as I could. So I studied English, Latin, Spanish, Swedish, French, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Guaraní, and two Mayan languages. After graduating as a PhD (in Linguistics, of course), I worked as a researcher and university teacher for six years, but I felt my work was too theoretical. So I quit my “safe” job and set up my translation business. I realized that dealing with clients and managing my business was another thing I really loved. Therefore I studied to obtain a Master of Science in Financial Management. Now I am a translator with a specialization in Business and Finance and I am very happy with it!”

“As early as I can remember, my mom (a university lecturer in German) tried to instill in me a love for the language of Goethe. Instead, the language of Shakespeare became my true love, whose pursuit led me to the University of Cambridge (MPhil in Educational Research). There I met my soon-to-be husband. A few years later, following both true loves (my husband and English language, in this order) I found myself living in a one stoplight town in rural North Carolina.

The town looked like towns I had imagined while reading novels by O. Henry – he’s been my favorite writer since childhood. Now, that was inspiring! Less inspiring was the fact that the professional demand for a PhD in Linguistics in this area was as desirable as water in one’s shoe… That’s how my translation/interpreting services started to take shape and created an opportunity for me to work with the languages of my life (Russian, Ukrainian and English).

I’ve been fortunate enough to live in a few foreign countries and experience first-hand the need for precise communication between people who don’t speak the same language. I always consider myself humbled whenever I can help people address this need.”