Translations and editing are an integral part of my life since 1997 if not earlier. Despite my growing portfolio of creative projects and services, I still like to translate and devote a portion of my time to it.
Translations into English
Thanks to having native English speakers at my fingertips, we specialize in demanding translations from Czech to English and proper editing of the result. I deeply value the ‘second pair of eyes’ effect, practically never letting a text out without editing by a native speaker. We also offer English editing to our non-native-English writing clients, particularly university scholars, who publish their works internationally.
Over time, I also began translating for this clientele, so my expertise now includes subjects such as stem-cell research, growing conditions of sunflowers and marketing analyses of the fashion industry. For many years, we also worked for various legal firms, so if you need some off-hand advice on property leasing or creating a franchise, here I am. Being conversant in ‘legalese’ enabled me to draft many by-laws, regulations and procedural documents for my charity projects, that our lawyers then simply vetted.
Creative Translations
That said, my skills are best used for assignments where direct translation isn’t enough. These are projects that need a dose of creativity – creative writing, screenplays, marketing and advertising texts, speeches and presentations. These are all areas where, besides transferring information, we aim for the same impression in an audience. What’s funny in Czech may not be such a riot in English. This demands close collaboration with the author as well as familiarity with the intended audience. Languages are the results of individual cultures and their cultural context is the most challenging part for a translator.
Enjoying Diversity
This approach enabled a very broad portfolio of work, including such diverse projects as Slovak experimental fiction, a documentary on UFOs, a screenplay about Jan Žižka, art exhibition catalogs, a ceremonial Mass, an anthology from a ceramics symposium, a book about advertising and annual reports concerning environmental protection.
One of our largest and most complicated projects was a translation of a 500-page historical encyclopedia for His Highness Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein, whose scholars were interested in Czech publications related to the Liechtenstein and Dietrichstein aristocratic families. In this case, we put together a team of translators, coordinated by a native-speaker editor. Again, his role proved invaluable.