Which languages do you speak, Alex?
Bulgarian, English, Russian and Ukrainian, and a bit of French, I guess, though maybe not enough that counts! I was born in Ukraine, and I鈥檓 Russian by nationality.

Where did you grow up?
In , it鈥檚 a city on the Black Sea. Similar to Varna, but bigger. I鈥檝e lived in Bulgaria on and off, I left and then I came back, so altogether I鈥檇 say six years.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Well, I didn鈥檛 exactly have a dream job, but I always knew I was going to be connected to languages in some way. I wanted to be a translator at one point, an interpreter, but then suddenly I changed my mind. But hey, I鈥檓 still working in the translation industry. I didn鈥檛 have an exact job in mind, I guess.

So you鈥檇 call yourself a bit of a language nerd?
Yeah, maybe. I鈥檓 a grammar Nazi for sure, but I鈥檓 [mostly] interested in cultures.

What was your first job?
My very first one was here in Bulgaria, in Varna. I was a hostess in a hotel in Golden Sands. It was a five-star hotel, and I was a hostess for four months. It was hard because we would work twelve hours straight 鈥� two days鈥� work, two days鈥� rest. It was tough, so obviously I made up my mind not to work in the hospitality industry.

How did you go from hospitality to working in the translation industry?
滨迟鈥檚 been quite a ride! I always wanted to do something with languages. I didn鈥檛 exactly want to be a translator into Russian, maybe once a long time ago, but now not really. I just wanted to try something different. Before Sandberg, I was working at an IT company doing customer support, but that鈥檚 totally different from what I do now.

What does a normal day look like for a project manager at Sandberg?
Coffee. I need my coffee and then I can start the day!

We receive projects from the client that we need to set up in our system, prepare in the CAT tool (Trados Studio or memoQ, for example), optimise as best possible for the linguist, and we send out purchase orders, keep in constant contact with the client and linguist, answer queries from all possible sides. And in the meantime, we also handle old projects from previous days.

We also have meetings with other teams, vendor management and client services. There鈥檚 also approving projects for invoicing, so a lot of stuff!

What鈥檚 the most important quality for a good project manager?
There are a lot of things a good project manager should have. Attention to detail is important. Patience.

Finding the time for everything is also super important; time tracking. Sometimes the whole process can swamp you, but you need to keep an eye on things because you have several projects ongoing at the same time and you can鈥檛 be engulfed by one.

Multitasking is another very important thing! 滨迟鈥檚 hard to pick just one.

What is your favourite part of your role?
Getting my coffee! Delivering the projects, on time with great quality, without any issues. That鈥檚 the best, best thing.

Any advice for new people starting out in the industry?
My advice would be not to panic and not to get stressed by all the stuff, because it鈥檚 a lot. I鈥檝e been panicking myself, but you just need to get past it and you鈥檒l be alright after some time!

Machine translation 鈥� friend or foe?
From the training I鈥檝e had, I understand that if the MT is good, then it鈥檚 good for the linguist. It can increase productivity and then it鈥檚 a friend. When proper MT is used for the proper job, then it鈥檚 definitely a friend.

If you could do any other job for a week, what would it be?
Testing beaches in different countries. I鈥檇 get cocktails and read a book. I like to chill!

If you could wake up and be fluent in a new language, what would it be?
French. I鈥檝e always wanted to speak French. I鈥檝e been studying French all my life and I鈥檓 still not fluent!

What鈥檚 your favourite word?
Bulgarian is a foreign language to me. I really like the word 谐褍褕泻邪屑听(驳耻拧办补尘), 鈥渢o hug鈥�. Slavs tend to make words smaller and cuter, especially in Russian. 袚褍褕懈 (驳耻拧颈)听is a short version of this word and I really like it, I use it a lot at home!

My mother tongue, so to speak, is Russian. Ukrainian is a bit harder for me even though I was born there. But they鈥檙e so different. People say Bulgarian is like Russian, but that鈥檚 not true. I mean the Slavic languages are all similar, but still different.

People born in Odessa like me speak Russian mainly. But now with the political situation it鈥檚 a bit more complicated, I suppose.

What鈥檚 something about you that surprises people?
When I was smaller, I moved to the United Arab Emirates. I can鈥檛 speak Arabic though, I can only write my name.

People at work know me as a positive person, but once I showed up really tired and moody and everyone was asking if I was sick!

Describe yourself in three words.
Positive, international, sociable. I like to be around people. If I was working from home I鈥檇 go crazy!

Do you have any hidden talents?
I can do origami, but only flowers, so I鈥檓 not sure that鈥檚 a talent! I can rollerblade pretty well and iceskate. I broke my hand when I was little, but that didn鈥檛 stop me. When my cast was removed, the first thing I did was go back and rollerblade.

滨迟鈥檚 fika听time. Tea or coffee?
Coffee, with milk and sugar.

What鈥檚 your idea of a perfect day?
To go to the beach and have drinks and see friends and listen to good music. 滨迟鈥檚 summer, that鈥檚 all I can think about right now. I like winter too though, I prefer the cold to the heat. In winter we often go to the beach as well, just with coffee.

How do you unwind at the end of a long day?
I like to watch TV shows just to chill. I recently started watching Stranger Things. 滨迟鈥檚 good, really interesting. Before that I watched Game of Thrones. I was really disappointed by the last series! I recommend trying the books, I loved the books.

Where is your favourite place to be?
Where my close people are, my best friends and my husband. People are important to me.

Your dream travel destination?
I鈥檓 going to Rome in October 鈥� I鈥檓 really looking forward to that. I鈥檝e never been to Italy!

Describe Sandberg in three words.
Welcoming, challenging, fun.

The post Q&A with Alex Stolyar, Project Coordinator appeared first on sa国际传媒.

Which languages do you speak, Danielle?
English and Swedish, but I understand Norwegian and Danish as well, and a bit of French, too. I also did Latin at school and at university, but I鈥檝e forgotten most of that! I did study Polish for a couple of years, but haven鈥檛 really kept it up.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I didn鈥檛 have a career in mind when I was little, but I wanted to do something with languages. No one in my family had gone to university, so there wasn鈥檛 a huge variety of careers in my background. I just knew I didn鈥檛 really want to be a builder, a plasterer or a farm labourer!

How did you end up working in the translation industry?
For reasons I can鈥檛 remember, I decided to study Swedish at university. I wanted to use my degree in a relevant field. I did try teaching, but I came to realise that translation was the perfect career for me.

What does a normal day look like for a lead translator at Sandberg?
In general, roughly the same as for the other translators. Since I鈥檓 a lead translator, it is more likely that project managers send queries from freelancers and clients for me to look at. I鈥檓 responsible for updating our English language style guide听and our internal client-specific style guides. I also stay in touch with the other lead translators and our line manager.

I鈥檓 the terminologist for the Nordic-English team, so I spend time checking existing term bases and adding new terms to them.

What differences are there between working at the office and working from home?
滨迟鈥檚 quieter 鈥� and as tidy as I like it! If there鈥檚 any washing up in the sink, I know it鈥檚 mine! I can鈥檛 just walk over to someone and ask them a question any more, but I can easily contact anyone I need to online. You get used to that.

I do miss the lunch time chats about films and books. Now we have the Leeds office, though, which has offset that a bit. I can meet up with them to do that outside work!

What鈥檚 the most important quality for a good translator?
Conscientiousness. You have to be prepared to check and double check things. Especially now in the age of machine translation post-editing. You need to be conscious of all the different reference materials for a job and make sure the machine translation engine hasn鈥檛 missed anything. On top of that, you need to take into account the fact that the source text might have some mistakes in it as well!

How do you look after your target language skills?
I read a lot, older and newer books. Language does change! I try to be mindful of the fact that other people use language in a different way than I do. I live in my native country, so it鈥檚 less of an issue for me.

How about your source language skills?
I guess it鈥檚 similar to how I look after my English skills. I listen to Swedish radio programmes, for example , which is a programme all about language. It airs on but you can download it online as well. And I watch a lot of Swedish and Danish programmes in particular and chat to Swedish friends in Swedish.

滨迟鈥檚 actually quite hard to find a way to subscribe to magazines or to order books from the Nordic countries to be shipped to the UK. I swap books with a Swedish colleague and I鈥檒l pick up some new ones when I go to Copenhagen later in the year. I do get the magazine published by the . That helps with bokm氓l and nynorsk as well, though mostly we translate from bokm氓l.

Now would be such a good time to learn a foreign language, since you have all of these resources available to you online! When I was studying Swedish at university, you were reliant on what you had access to through your department.

What is your favourite part of your role?
Probably the terminology work I do. I鈥檓 just a bit obsessed with it! I find that quite satisfying.

Machine translation 鈥� friend or foe?
Somewhere in between! When it鈥檚 bad, it鈥檚 very bad. When it鈥檚 good, it can be a little bit confusing. It can speed up your work, but you have to be careful.

What do you specialise in?
I do like doing medical work and building up the glossaries for that to make sure I get the benefit from them. I enjoy working on texts on environmental subjects, renewable energy and so on. As a lead translator, you need to be able to go through everyone鈥檚 work in every domain, of course!

What motivates you in your work?
If possible, trying to make the translation read better than the source text. I can鈥檛 always do that, but that鈥檚 the ideal.

If you could do any other job for a week, what would it be?
滨迟鈥檚 not really a job that exists, but I鈥檇 like to go around correcting mistakes in English! I鈥檇 just like to wave a magic wand and make all the spelling mistakes and errors right. That鈥檚 more a vocation than a job!

If you could wake up and be fluent in a new language, what would it be?
Probably Finnish 鈥� just because it is so difficult. I took some courses in Finnish linguistics and literature and the fundamentals of Finnish language while I was an exchange student in Sweden, but I never learned to speak it.

Do you have any language-related pet peeves?
So many! They鈥檙e usually grammar-based. I confess I am a bit of a grammar snob. I think maybe people saying things being Scandinavian when they really should say Nordic! The Scandinavian peninsula doesn鈥檛 cover Finland or Iceland.

Apart from that, apostrophes are the most obvious one in English. I think the rules are rather easy, so it annoys me that people still get it wrong. I can only hope that the English language skills taught in school are better now than they were when I was at school. Latin classes helped me with grammar more than the English classes 鈥� shout-out to Miss Mills!

What鈥檚 your favourite word?
I generally like place names; my current favourite is in Leeds because it comes from Old Norse. It basically means 鈥榮ite of a church鈥�, which means that is a bit tautological as a name!

What鈥檚 the one thing about you that surprises people?
I don鈥檛 drink tea. Just because I鈥檓 English and that鈥檚 the one thing everyone assumes about English people!

Otherwise, I鈥檓 pretty much what you see is what you get, to be honest. People might be surprised to learn that apart from sci-fi and gardening, I also enjoy motor racing 鈥� Formula One.

I also walk around picking up litter and bringing it home, kind of like without the jogging part. I want to set up a new group for litter picking in my neighbourhood.

How do you unwind at the end of a long day?
Reading and when it鈥檚 a bit warmer I might go out for a walk or go to the pictures. I like my sci-fi!

Describe Sandberg in three words.
Expanding, inclusive, committed.

The post Q&A with Danielle Davis, Nordic-English Lead Translator appeared first on sa国际传媒.

This time, I sat down to chat with Junie Haller, who is part of the Danish translator team at STP. Junie started as a junior translator in our Whiteley office three years ago and received . After 2.5 years, she and her boyfriend (an STP colleague) relocated to southern Sweden to be closer to his family and to Junie鈥檚 native Denmark.

Which languages do you speak, Junie?

I speak Danish, obviously, and English and German. I haven鈥檛 used German actively for a while, but I have lived in Germany on a few occasions and I translate from German as well.

Now that I鈥檓 living in Sk氓ne, where the local dialect is a bit closer to Danish than standard Swedish, I try to make communication with Swedish-speakers easier by replacing Danish words with Swedish ones. I would like to learn Swedish, it would make everything easier. Especially when I call people on the phone, because as things stand I need to switch to English, which does feel silly.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I wanted to be a ton of things! I remember wanting to be a marine biologist, then I found out how scientifically minded you needed to be. Then I wanted to be a movie director, then an architect, and, later, an Egyptologist. I鈥檇 always been good at languages, they came naturally to me. When I was about 15, I became really interested in German.

What was your first job?

For a few months, I was a waitress and a kitchen worker at a caf茅 in my home town. It was, at the time, the only caf茅 in town. We served simple food: sandwiches and nachos. We had all sorts of people coming in: regulars, families with kids, teenagers. It was the only place to go in town.

It was quite a small town?

Yeah, definitely.

Quite a few people at STP are from smaller places.

Yes, I鈥檝e noticed that, too! I had a theory about that: if you grew up feeling like you had to go somewhere to study or to work, you鈥檙e more prone to travelling more later on as well.

How did you end up working in the translation industry?

My degree was in German language, literature and culture. So it wasn鈥檛 strictly translation, though that was always part of it. After I had I finished my degree, I was looking for work and came across an ad from STP. I thought that was something I could see myself doing, I鈥檇 been interested in translation as a career before. I was happy to discover I really enjoyed the work!

What differences are there between working at the office and working from home?

The main difference is of course that when you work from home you don鈥檛 have direct contact with your colleagues. But I do like peace and quiet, and I certainly don鈥檛 miss the commute! I can sleep for an hour longer now, since I commuted to Whiteley from Portsmouth.

I鈥檓 still in just as much contact with my team even now as we have our team chat. And of course my boyfriend also works for STP, so I have at least one colleague here 鈥� and cats, too!

What鈥檚 the most important quality for a good translator?

I think one of the most important things is something that one of my university professors told me: to be able to translate well, you need to have a good grasp of your own language, the language you translate into. Someone asked him how you do that 鈥� he just shrugged.

I think you have to be immersed in your source and target languages. I suppose that鈥檚 the difference between a machine and a good human translator. The text should read as if it hasn鈥檛 been translated. You get that from really engaging with the language you鈥檙e translating into and keeping up with how it changes.

Any advice for new people starting out in the industry?

Don鈥檛 despair! At the beginning it鈥檚 tough when there鈥檚 so much to learn: tools, workflows and so on. But just persevere and be open to learning new things. Don鈥檛 give up!

Machine translation 鈥� friend or foe?

Definitely a friend. I鈥檝e never actually worked without it! 滨迟鈥檚 been a natural part of the way I work from the very beginning. The engines are getting better now and I feel like I鈥檓 getting better at post-editing machine-translated output as well.

The more you鈥檙e able to embrace machine translation as a tool and make it work for you, the better. You shouldn鈥檛 get too relaxed, though! You have to avoid falling in the trap of under-editing the output.

If you could do any other job for a week, what would it be?

I think I would be a gardener, actually. Now that it鈥檚 spring and things are becoming greener, I think I鈥檇 enjoy a week of getting my hands dirty. It鈥檇 be nice to have a non-sedentary job in the fresh air for a week!

If you could wake up and be fluent in a new language, which one would it be?

That鈥檚 a tough one because I immediately think of Swedish! But I think I should go for something harder to learn.

In school, I did Russian for a bit but I wasn鈥檛 able to continue as there weren鈥檛 enough people to go on with the classes. I鈥檇 love to be able to revisit that! But if I could speak Swedish fluently, that would be very helpful in my day-to-day life.

What鈥檚 your favourite word?

One of my favourite Danish words is 鈥渒rasb酶rstig鈥�. 滨迟鈥檚 an older word that means something along the lines of 鈥渇ierce鈥�, 鈥渧icious鈥� or 鈥渃rusty鈥�. I think people use it far too little!

Do you have any hidden talents?

When I was a kid, I used to do gymnastics. I was quite good at it, too! I wasn鈥檛 as physically active as a teenager, but I could still do a cartwheel, much to the surprise to my PE teacher at the time.

滨迟鈥檚 time. Tea or coffee?

I鈥檓 definitely a tea drinker. I mostly drink green tea without milk, but I鈥檇 put milk or a milk substitute into strong black tea. But I鈥檓 really sensitive to caffeine, so I don鈥檛 drink much coffee or black tea, and only in the morning.

Who do you most admire, and why?

My mum. She鈥檚 just mentally and emotionally incredibly strong. She is the mother hen taking care of all of us. She has this incredible inner strength!

How do you unwind at the end of a long day?

I really like to go for walks. I often go for a walk after dinner. It sort of switches my brain off. 滨迟鈥檚 exercise, but not high intensity. You just put one foot in front of the other, and you get away from screens. And gin and tonic on Fridays!

Where is your favourite place to be?

Probably my parents鈥� summer house by the beach in Denmark. I鈥檝e always loved going there: you get away from everything: there鈥檚 no stress, no screens. I have a lot of good memories from that area from when I was a kid. I always look forward to going there and I never really want to leave.

Describe STP in three words

Welcoming, competent, chill.

The post Q&A with Junie Haller, Danish Translator appeared first on sa国际传媒.

Which languages do you speak, Amila?

The first language I learned to speak was , which is a Slavic language. I was born in Bosnia, which was part of Yugoslavia at the time. After the war broke out, we had to leave Bosnia. The UN placed us in Denmark as refugees. It didn鈥檛 occur to us that we were going to stay beyond the summer, so we just had summer clothes with us.

When we first arrived in Denmark, we were placed at a refugee centre, so I started going to school there. After two years, we got asylum and I changed to regular school with the other kids. I consider Danish my first language in addition to Bosnian; almost all of my schooling was in Danish, and so were my studies at university.

Apart from my two first languages, I speak English, German and French. I have a degree in French, but I haven鈥檛 used it actively for a while. At STP, I translate from English and German.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I wanted to be a veterinarian to save all the puppies! That was literally my thinking. This was before school. After that I thought I鈥檇 also like to be an astronaut. Maybe I could go to space for a while and come back and then be a vet!

Later on, when we had already settled in Denmark, I decided I would become a translator and an interpreter.

What was your first job?

I worked in a toy shop. I had a few hours of work each week: shelving, tidying up and stockroom work. Many years later I actually got a job as a translator at their headquarters!

How did you end up working in the translation industry?

At the refugee centre, kids were much faster at picking up languages than the adults, especially when the adults were severely traumatised. We were all acting as translators and interpreters from a young age.

My career in translation evolved from that; I was interpreting for refugees and others as a teenager. Apart from that, I had really good language classes and language teachers at school. Because French and German are important in international organisations, I took those languages. We had English classes as well, of course. I continued with French and German at university.

I think of translation as a craft: the languages you know are the tools you have. Your craft, your skills are transferable between the different language pairs you translate in. I suppose I鈥檝e been training and developing my craft since I was at school!

In the end, you decided to focus on translation rather than interpretation?

Yes. When you do community interpreting, you go with the clients to hospitals, to court, to schools. You are constantly faced with unpleasant situations; it can be scary. I did even do a course on simultaneous interpreting at university; I鈥檓 very impressed by people who do that every day. Consecutive interpreting was my forte 鈥� I had done so much of it already. But I don鈥檛 regret shifting away from that.

What differences are there between working at the office and working from home?

I did enjoy working at the office in Whiteley and later in London. Now I work from home, so I can listen to music while I work and look out the window 鈥� when the trees have leaves I have a nice view. Working from home suits me well 鈥� there鈥檚 no commute. That鈥檚 a big plus! There鈥檚 also another benefit: I bake sourdough bread, so I can check on the dough during my breaks. That鈥檚 quite handy, too!

What does a normal day look like for a translator at STP?

Usually when I log on in the morning, I already have a good idea of what鈥檚 in my workload for the day ahead. I鈥檒l often have some quick questions and updates in my inbox that I need to respond to. Then I just crack on with the first thing on the menu. Sometimes things go very smoothly, sometimes there are more emails to answer 鈥� but the main focus is the translation work.

What鈥檚 the most important quality for a good translator?

To not be afraid of using your expertise: you don鈥檛 need to 鈥� you shouldn鈥檛 鈥� follow your source text word for word. You are the authority, you know what you鈥檙e doing 鈥� you need to have that confidence in your skills.

How do you look after your target language skills?

To stay current, I listen to podcasts and read books in Danish. I try to surround myself with Danish as it鈥檚 used right now. I try to keep it diverse 鈥� I鈥檓 quite systematic about it, there鈥檚 something almost clinical about how I try to make sure I get a good variety. I also like to watch Danish stuff on Netflix 鈥� I love and !

What is your favourite part of your role?

I get to focus on my craft and on the language. I want to play with words 鈥� build castles with them!

Machine translation 鈥� friend or foe?

I鈥檝e seen it be useful in specific categories. I find machine translation post-editing a productive way of working in certain domains, especially with technical texts. You have to strike the right balance between under-editing and over-editing machine-translated output.

If you could do any other job for a week, what would it be?

I鈥檇 like to be a travel writer or a photographer. That鈥檇 be cool. I鈥檇 go somewhere warm! It鈥檇 be interesting to visit somewhere new, like Greece or Japan.

If you could wake up and be fluent in a new language, what would it be?

A coding language maybe! Or Japanese, just because it鈥檚 so far removed from the other languages that I speak. I would gain a different way to view the world 鈥� and I like the way Japanese sounds.

Do you have any language-related pet peeves?

Yes! 滨迟鈥檚 something that happens in Danish, which has a lot of compound nouns. People don鈥檛 always write them together or forget to write the hyphen. You see it in the news and online and it鈥檚 so annoying! Writing compound nouns together is logical, it impacts meaning!

An example would be a shop sign that says 鈥淏edstemor cykler, DKK 500鈥�. If you write the first two words separately, 鈥済ranny cycles鈥� becomes a statement and no longer refers to the old-timey bicycles the shop is probably selling for 500 Danish kroner 鈥� instead it suggests some kind of senior citizen cycling spectacle.

What鈥檚 your favourite word?

滨迟鈥檚 (鈥淪aturday鈥� in Danish). I like the way it sounds. I remember learning it when I was little at the refugee centre. This one girl taught me the days of the week, I remember her saying 鈥湵裘赴宀共碘��: the /艙/ sound was new for me, I think 鈥� it鈥檚 not a phoneme in Bosnian.

What鈥檚 the one thing about you that surprises people?

In Manchester, people are perhaps sometimes surprised to learn that I鈥檓 both Danish and Bosnian. In Denmark, people don鈥檛 seem thrown by it.

Describe yourself in three words.

Traveller, foodie, adaptable.

滨迟鈥檚 time. Tea or coffee?

I鈥檇 go for tea. I wasn鈥檛 a big tea drinker before I came to the UK, but tea is different here 鈥� I like it. Coffee has too much caffeine, I can鈥檛 handle it! I take my black tea with plant milk, like people do here.

Who do you most admire, and why?

I admire people who get up after they fall and people who are not afraid to fall 鈥� people who have the courage to take risks. I think I worry too much about failing at something. I鈥檓 just cautious, I suppose. I find people who manage to bounce back after adversity really impressive.

How do you unwind at the end of a long day?

Often I watch something on Netflix 鈥� fantasy or science fiction. I like to read novels as well; that鈥檚 my form of escapism! I also find cooking quite relaxing.

What are you reading right now?

I鈥檓 reading a Danish book I picked up from the bring-and-share book shelf at our head office in Whiteley: Rouletten by Niels Lillelund. 滨迟鈥檚 a crime novel: a police officer is investigating a case where some casino workers have been murdered. I haven鈥檛 guessed who the killer is! It takes place in Copenhagen, which is interesting and a bit nostalgic for me, as I used to live there.

Where is your favourite place to be?

In water, swimming. Or, hiking somewhere far away from towns and cities. The Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales are great for hiking and walking 鈥� they鈥檙e so close and there鈥檚 always something new to see.

Describe STP in three words

Diverse, welcoming, sociable.

The post Q&A with Amila Jasarevic, Danish Translator appeared first on sa国际传媒.

Which languages do you speak, Megan?

I speak 鈥� to some degree 鈥� Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Spanish, Japanese and Bulgarian.

Yes, you have been learning Bulgarian! How is it going?

Well, I鈥檓 pretty good at ordering lunch and that鈥檚 about it! The guys from the office will tell you that there is a lunch place near the office that we go to: I can kind of handle ordering there. Sometimes, I find that I understand questions people ask in Bulgarian in the office well enough that I can reply in English.

I only started studying it informally when I arrived. I鈥檓 picking it up as a I go along, really.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

The first thing I remember wanting to be when I was four or five years old was a dentist. In secondary school, I wanted to be a nurse. I think I dropped that when I was at sixth form college.

When I was choosing what to study at university, I picked Scandinavian Studies when I realised that I was passionate about languages and literature rather than science subjects.

How did you end up working in the translation industry?

Si芒n Mackie, who is a Senior English Translator at STP, was in the year above me at the University of Edinburgh. She had completed an internship at STP the previous year and came to talk to our translation studies class about her experience. After the talk, my tutor put me through to Anu Carnegie-Brown.

I was accepted for an internship: I started out doing translation, but I was asked if I wanted to try out project management as well. I really enjoyed it!

What does it mean to be Project Management Training Specialist?

It kind of means all things to all project managers! First of all, I take care of the formal project managers鈥� induction. Outside of that, my main responsibility is to provide ongoing training and support to the whole project management team working in our Varna office.

I do run formal training sessions, but aside from that, I come to the office in morning, see what people need help with and go and help them. I do scheduled shadowing: I observe project managers when they are working and help them. I support them with new tools and situations.

Basically, if a team member shouts out my name, I appear at their desk and help them out. I鈥檓 also in charge of the project management training documentation and wiki.

What鈥檚 the most important quality for a good Project Management Training Specialist?

Patience. The project manager role is complicated, and there鈥檚 a lot to learn. You need to recognise that everyone goes at their own pace and support them with that. Sometimes lots of people need you at the same time and you need to stay calm and help them all as well as you can.

How did you become a Project Management Training Specialist?

For about a year, I was a Team Leader for one of our Varna-based teams. The Team Leader was responsible for training, project management and leadership.

The team kept growing and there became a need to have someone else do the training. We decided that we鈥檇 have a new Team Leader and one full-time dedicated training specialist.

Training is something that I am good at and that interests me. I enjoy it a lot and I think the role is really well suited to my skills!

What is your favourite part of your role?

I would say it is just someone coming to me with a problem that I can troubleshoot and that we can solve together. It might be a technical issue, a client situation or they might be struggling to find a suitable linguist for a job. I enjoy finding a solution together.

Are there any differences between working in London and working in Varna?

Well, my life outside of work is less stressful here. I don鈥檛 have a big commute: I can just walk to the office. The Varna office is made up of project managers for the most part, so it鈥檚 a very chatty, interactive and collaborative space.

At the office here, there鈥檚 a big culture of celebrating occasions, like name days and birthdays. People will bring in cakes and biscuits to celebrate all sorts of things, which is lovely.

If you could have a professional superpower, what would it be?

I guess it would be to open a piece of software and to know exactly how it all works instantly. You鈥檇 save so much time looking for buttons!

Machine translation 鈥� friend or foe?

I think it鈥檚 a friend. At least in my experience, I鈥檝e found it quite impressive 鈥� it鈥檚 not the same for all languages of course!

If you could do any other job for a week, what would it be?

I would work on making the costumes for a big period drama. I do sew a bit now, though I鈥檓 not very advanced. I would love to try that out for a little while!

If you could wake up and be fluent in a new language, what would it be?

Well, it鈥檚 not completely new to me, but maybe Bulgarian. But if it was a language I didn鈥檛 know at all, it would be Finnish.

When I was working as a Project Manager at STP, I was able to understand Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. I felt that if I had known Finnish as well, I would have been unstoppable!

Do you have any language-related pet peeves?

I would say that my pet peeve is when people are too prescriptive, especially about things like slang and the way younger people use language. Language is always evolving, and you鈥檝e got to go with how people use it!

What鈥檚 your favourite word?

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Which three words describe your personality the most?

Determined, curious, resourceful.

Do you have any hidden talents?

I鈥檓 quite good at knitting socks. I knit all kinds of socks, mostly for myself, and I like to experiment with different patterns. Usually the socks end up being quite colourful!

滨迟鈥檚 time. Tea or coffee?

Coffee if it鈥檚 in the morning, tea if it鈥檚 in the afternoon. If I鈥檓 having tea, the milk goes in after!

Who do you most admire, and why?

My grandma. She鈥檚 just a really strong woman who has done a lot of things in her life. She was a nurse in the army and has eight kids and she鈥檚 so good at so many things. She鈥檚 really strong-willed and fearless.

How do you unwind at the end of a long day?

Usually I either watch TV or listen to a podcast and knit. Right now, I鈥檓 watching the TV series Vikings. A few people in the Varna office got me into it!

Where is your favourite place to be?

I think it鈥檚 Edinburgh. I went to university there, so I feel attached to it and I鈥檝e still got friends there. 滨迟鈥檚 a really nice place to go back to on holiday!

Your dream travel destination?

Maybe New Orleans, now that I鈥檝e crossed New York and Japan off my list.

Describe STP in three words

Flexible, innovative, intelligent.

The post Q&A with Megan Hancock, Project Management Training Specialist appeared first on sa国际传媒.

This time, the spotlight is on Anna-Leena Hilli, one of our Language Technology Specialists. A true STP stalwart, Anna-Leena started at the company as a Project Coordinator five years ago.

Which languages do you speak, Anna-Leena?

I can confidently say that I speak Finnish, English, Swedish and Dutch. I also speak basic French and understand some Norwegian, Danish and German. I did actually study German, but anything I understand now is because of similarities to Dutch!

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

The very first thing I can remember wanting to be is a cashier at a supermarket. At 17, I realised it was possible to work as a translator, so after that, I wanted to be a translator.

How did you end up working in the translation industry?

Well, I studied translation once I realised such a thing existed! I applied for an internship at STP towards the end of my studies at university. I got the internship and stayed on as a project coordinator after that. Luckily I was able to finish my dissertation, and therefore my degree, while working full time.

How did you first hear about STP?

I think it was during my fourth year at university that Raisa and Anu came to the University of Helsinki and did a workshop with us. They talked about the translation industry in general and mentioned STP, of course. That鈥檚 when I first heard about the company. I know they鈥檝e been back to do courses at the university many times since then.

What does it mean to be Language Technology Specialist?

I really do need to figure out a good way to summarise it! I would say that a big part of the work is regular technology support. Basically, if something 鈥� a CAT tool for instance 鈥� doesn鈥檛 work, we need to make it work again.

We also help the project management team with project preparation. I would say those two things take up most of my time.

Apart from that, we provide training, write instructions, look into new tools 鈥� in short, anything to do with translation tools. But the work鈥檚 not just about the technology; a lot of it is about working with people and helping them do their job.

What鈥檚 the most important quality for a good Language Technology Specialist?

The ability to get stuck into new things without fear. An 鈥淚 have no idea what this is, but I鈥檒l figure it out鈥� attitude. You need to teach yourself new things, and then you can help others.

Perhaps the obvious answer would be that you need to be a quick learner 鈥� I think a willingness to learn and to make an effort is the most important thing.

What is your favourite part of your role?

滨迟鈥檚 a little bit difficult to explain! My favourite part is essentially figuring out how to make my own role unnecessary in the long run. I prefer getting to the bottom of an issue rather than putting out fires that could have been prevented, so to speak.

For example, if something has a complicated workflow and people struggle with it, I really like figuring out how to simplify the workflow, how to streamline it so that people find it easier from the word go. Making complicated things simple, in short.

What do you wish you鈥檇 known at the start of your career?

I knew there would be a lot to learn, but it took me a while to really understand that there are always going to be new things, that you鈥檒l never know everything, that you鈥檙e never 鈥渄one鈥�.

When I was starting out, I didn鈥檛 know how technical the day-to-day work was and how many different CAT tools were out there. Learning a new one is always easier once you鈥檝e mastered others. So if you鈥檙e interested in technology, there are a lot of interesting things to learn.

If you could have a professional superpower, what would it be?

It would be knowing exactly what any indecipherable error message in any tool means. Imagine knowing instantly what every 鈥渙bject reference not set to an instance of an object鈥� error was referring to. That would save so much time!

Machine translation 鈥� friend or foe?

Friend, absolutely. But it鈥檚 one of those friends that if you set too much store by what other people say, you might end up being prejudiced. If you鈥檙e willing to give it shot and learn new things, it鈥檚 definitely worth it.

Any advice for people starting out in the industry?

I鈥檇 say it鈥檚 OK to not know exactly what you want to end up doing in the industry. For example, the role that I鈥檓 in and the team I鈥檓 in didn鈥檛 really exist at STP when I first started. 滨迟鈥檚 something that came later on.

For me, the transition from the project management team to the technology team was a natural progression. I had to learn to use the technology as a project manager and I found that side of things really interesting. When the technology team was created and started growing, it was very clear to me that I wanted to make that leap.

If you could do any other job for a week, what would it be?

I would want to be a neuropsychologist. I find anything related to the brain and how it works really fascinating. I鈥檓 not academic enough to pursue a career in any of those fields. It would be cool to try for a week, though!

If you could wake up and be fluent in a new language, what would it be?

It would either be Korean or one of the Slavic languages, most likely Russian. They would be something completely different to the ones I know now, both in terms of culture and language.

Do you have any language-related pet peeves?

Not really! I definitely think that some situations require nit-picking and attention to detail, but in general I鈥檓 not a fan of hard and fast rules in language. Languages change, that鈥檚 just a fact. I suppose you could call me a fan of descriptive grammar.

What鈥檚 your favourite word?

This might be really random, but I like the word 鈥減lausible鈥�. 滨迟鈥檚 fun to say and the meaning somehow appeals to me as well!

Which three words best describe your personality?

I guess I would say 鈥済ets thing done鈥�.

Do you have any hidden talents?

I used to play the guitar, and I even have a certificate from a music school. But to be honest, I actually enjoyed the theory lessons much more than the playing. I got pretty good, but I wasn鈥檛 very motivated to practise. Being the person I am, I didn鈥檛 want to give up. Once I got the certificate after five years, I basically stopped.

滨迟鈥檚 time. Tea or coffee?

Coffee! Hopefully with a cinnamon bun, if someone will bake some for me!

Who do you most admire, and why?

People who can remain really calm and level-headed even in busy and in stressful situations. Especially if they manage to remain friendly as well!

How do you unwind at the end of a long day?

You鈥檒l usually find me on the sofa reading a book or listening to music. I read a lot of non-fiction books, especially about history. To unwind I prefer a good fiction book, but they鈥檙e hard to come by!

Where is your favourite place?

Home, however boring that might seem!

Your dream travel destination?

I don鈥檛 really have a bucket list of countries or places to visit. But it would be really cool to travel to the area near the border between Russia and Mongolia. I鈥檇 be a bit apprehensive about going without knowing any of the local languages, but it would be fascinating to visit!

Describe STP in three words.

Resourceful, trail-blazing, adaptable.

The post Q&A with Anna-Leena Hilli, Language Technology Specialist appeared first on sa国际传媒.

In this month鈥檚 Staff Spotlight, we meet one of our account linguists, Ida Berntzen.

1: Which languages can you speak?

Norwegian, English and a little Swedish.

2: What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I remember wanting to be a photographer, a game designer, a writer and a language interpreter during my teens. During the 90s, however, I wanted to be a Spice Girl.

3: How did you end up working in the translation industry?

After my degree, I worked as a teacher before deciding to further my academic studies in the UK. I had been thinking about working as a translator for some time, so I applied for some part and full-time jobs, and now I鈥檓 here. I could have gone to Malta, as I was offered a position there too, but I really wanted to work for STP. Although Malta sounds nice and sunny, I really don鈥檛 mind the English summer rain.

4: What is your favourite part of your role?

The fact that my focus for translation and revision is Norwegian nynorsk (New Norwegian or New Norse, is one of the two written standards of the Norwegian language, the other being Bokm氓l). It is such a beautiful and underappreciated language. I feel that by translating into Norwegian nynorsk, I do something important because I kind of participate in protecting and promoting it.

5: If you could have another job for just one day, what would it be?

Book editor. It would be fun to be the first to read and publish some new up-and-coming author.

6: How are you finding life in the UK and what, if anything, do you miss from home?

I knew I would enjoy living in the UK, because during my studies I spent a semester in Scotland. I miss the common Norwegian style of winged clothes airers. They just make more sense to me. And they鈥檙e sturdy.

7: If you could wake up and be fluent in a new language, what would it be?

That is a hard question. It should be something cool and special, like Icelandic, but I would really like to be fluent in Spanish.

8: Machine translation. Friend or foe?

Its intention is to help people, and a foe wouldn鈥檛 do that, so I鈥檓 going to say friend.

9: Which three words describe your personality the most?

Curious, practical and proactive.

10: How do you unwind at the end of a long day?

I eat strawberry skyr with blueberries while watching NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation).

The post Ida Berntzen 鈥� Norwegian account linguist appeared first on sa国际传媒.

Amy, which languages can you speak?

My native language is English but I also speak French and Spanish. I studied French at school from the age of 11 and took up Spanish when I was 17, before continuing with both at university and spending a semester each at universities in Nice and Barcelona. French is definitely my stronger language, as I spent two years in Reims after my degree.

How did you first get into the translation business?

My background in foreign languages is the obvious answer, but there鈥檚 a little more to it. When I was living in Reims and working as an English teacher, I realised how much I love my language. I鈥檇 also always enjoyed reading and writing, and I may or may not have been described as 鈥榯he grammar police鈥� once or twice. All of this made me realise that translation could be a good fit.

Once I鈥檇 finished my MA, I started applying for jobs in the industry. I didn鈥檛 feel confident enough to go freelance right away, though, and in-house translation jobs for French and Spanish are few and far between. So I decided to look for project management roles, to get a foot on the ladder and an insight into the industry, before branching out on my own.

What drew you to the management side of things?

After working as a PM for 18 months at another agency, I joined STP as an account linguist, doing a mix of both translation and project management. The plan was to eventually become a fully fledged translator. However, six months later, I decided to drop the translation side and return to full-time project management.

I felt, and still feel, that PMing offers more variety in terms of daily tasks and responsibilities. And I enjoyed how it gave me contact with a broader range of people: clients, linguists and my fellow PMs. It doesn鈥檛 suit everyone, of course, but personally I respond well to having a constant influx of requests and tasks, as opposed to long translation or revision deadlines.

The same is true now that I鈥檓 a production manager, managing client accounts and a team of PMs rather than projects. Though I work less with linguists these days, there鈥檚 still so much variety in my job 鈥� and so many different personalities 鈥� that I could never be bored.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

Working with so many smart, talented people from all over Europe.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

Since spending a few summers working in a vintage-themed tea shop in my home town, and in a sandwich shop at uni, I鈥檝e dreamed of owning my own caf茅 or deli. I鈥檝e always loved providing a service and making people feel looked after.

Your colleagues know you as a brilliant baker. Where does your culinary flair and love of good food come from?

I鈥檝e always had a sweet tooth, but my travels around Europe opened my eyes to so many wonderful food cultures and traditions.

When I was studying abroad, I started experimenting with different ingredients, getting inspiration from what was local to each place. Cooking with local, seasonal produce is something I鈥檓 passionate about. There鈥檚 so much great food produced in the UK and Europe that we don鈥檛 need to air-freight stringy mangetout from Kenya or woody asparagus from Peru. What would you bake for your favourite client or freelancer?

Right now my fruit bowl is full of Italian blood oranges, so I鈥檇 make an almond and polenta upside-down cake with caramelised blood oranges.

If you could have another job for just one day, what would it be?

I鈥檇 love to work in a fancy restaurant kitchen for a day. I鈥檇 probably be terrible, but it鈥檇 be so interesting to see all the different processes and hi-tech equipment, and get involved in creating some new dishes.

How do you unwind after a busy day?

In the evenings I tend to just chill out 鈥� cook some nice food and watch a film. I swim a lot to destress, but I go early in the morning, before work, and it sets me up for the day.

Where is your favourite听place to be?

By the sea. There鈥檚 something restorative and calming about watching the waves and breathing in the sea air. I grew up on the coast and I try to go back at least a couple of times a year to reconnect and take it all in.

Do you have any language-related pet peeves?

Misuse of apostrophes. Did I mention that I鈥檓 a fully subscribed member of the grammar police?

What do you wish you鈥檇 known at the start of your career?

How useful it would鈥檝e been to study German.

Describe STP in one word

Smart.

The post Q&A with Amy Henderson, Production Manager appeared first on sa国际传媒.

As a senior PM, Igor has seen it all 鈥� and when it comes to productivity and great customer service, there鈥檚 little he doesn鈥檛 know. We asked him 20 quick-fire questions to find out some of his PMing secrets, and to see what makes him tick away from work.

Igor, which languages can you speak?

Serbian, Croatian, Russian, English, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. The dead ones don鈥檛 count, do they? If they do, I also studied Latin and Old Slavonic.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

A pilot.

What first drew you to project management?

It was more of an arranged marriage than love at first sight. After almost ten years of freelancing as a translator/interpreter, where I was always conveying other people鈥檚 thoughts, and a few years of teaching, where I was helping others express themselves, I fancied a change. PMing was the logical choice, and that鈥檚 how I ended up at STP.

What do you enjoy most about PMing?

The fact that I can immerse myself in projects and be with my own thoughts. I think every translator-turned-PM enjoys that.

Which is your most productive day of the week?

Any day I have plans after work and absolutely must finish on time. That鈥檚 actually not a bad tip for junior PMs: if you want to be productive and keep a healthy work-life balance, make sure you have a busy social life. That said, the temptation to stay and work 鈥渏ust to finish this one little thing鈥� is one I鈥檝e yielded to many times.

What鈥檚 the most important quality for a good PM?

Communication skills. If you can鈥檛 handle people as well as you handle projects, you鈥檙e not a PM 鈥� you鈥檙e a robot.

What do you wish you鈥檇 known before you started PMing?

That it would make me even more of a control freak than I was to begin with.

If you could have a PM superpower, what would it be?

An ability to worry less about other people鈥檚 dramas. 滨迟鈥檚 something I could do with in my private life, too. I鈥檓 a people person, though, so I will always care more than I ought to.

What鈥檚 your idea of great customer service?

When the client is happy to come to you, knowing that they will get the best service. And when they leave delighted with the service you gave them. 滨迟鈥檚 not easy to reach that point, but it can be done 鈥� even with the toughest of them.

What鈥檚 your productivity secret?

Master the little things that most people can鈥檛 be bothered to learn properly. Touch typing, for instance, is a skill听anyone can develop. But not many people make the effort, even though they use computers every day. The same goes for keyboard shortcuts.

There鈥檚 also a huge number of books on project management, productivity and efficiency that can really help. Applying what you learn isn鈥檛 always easy, and it takes persistence. After a while, though, it becomes second nature, and the gains quickly stack up.

If you could have another job for just one day, what would it be?

PM 鈥� as in prime minister.

How do you unwind after a busy day?

Read, listen to music, take long walks with my better half and socialise with friends.

Music while PMing 鈥� motivating or distracting?

Motivating, but you have to choose it carefully.

It鈥檚 time. Tea or coffee?

Coffee, always.

Do you have any hidden talents?

I used to be a chorister. Nowadays I mostly sing in the shower.

What鈥檚 your favourite word?

Ljubav. It means 鈥渓ove鈥� in Serbian and I just love saying it.

Name one thing you couldn鈥檛 live without

Books. And I mean real ones. I do have a Kindle, but I just love the scent of paper.

Who do you most admire, and why?

A late family friend who taught me that we should only be ashamed of trying to be someone else, and not for being who we really are. Although she was disabled most of her life, she lived, loved, laughed and beamed with joy. I want to be that person, too.

Any words of wisdom for new PMs starting out in the job?

Don鈥檛 be afraid to be wrong. Listen carefully and learn from others. That way you鈥檒l save yourself a lot of time, and you鈥檒l bond with your colleagues much faster.

Describe STP in three words

Family. Friends. Fun.

The post 20 questions with Igor Solunac, Senior Project Manager appeared first on sa国际传媒.

Our employee Q&A this quarter is with Johanna Lindroth, a senior Swedish translator and language lead at STP, and is taken with permission from the April edition of .

Johanna works remotely from Gothenburg, Sweden, where she translates and revises everything from commercial brochures and product manuals to computer software and patient information leaflets.

In the interview, Johanna talks about her first forays into translation in the early 90s, comments on the rise of translation technology, and gives a frank and pragmatic view of how machine translation is changing the industry landscape.

TR: Johanna, how did you first get into the translation industry?

JL: I鈥檝e always been interested in languages and linguistics, and I have a Master of Arts in Computational Linguistics from the University of Gothenburg. But I did not set out to be a translator from the start.

During my last year at university, in the early 1990s, a translation company offered me extra work translating the Windows operating system. I said yes, and I continued to work for the same company after I graduated.

At the beginning of my career I did mostly technical, IT and software-related jobs, because those were my main areas of expertise.

Do you use translation technology?

I use various translation tools in my daily work, including memoQ, Trados Studio and Across. This makes my job easier, as it means I can draw on previous translations and have instant access to glossaries and term lists. Many clients also have their own tools that they ask us to learn and use.

How has your role changed over the years?

The widespread use of translation tools is the main change I鈥檝e seen over the course of my career. There were few, if any, commercially available tools when I was first starting out. The company I worked for back then did have some proprietary tools, but I think that was unusual at the time. It was a great advantage for us, though.

Another big change, of course, has been the rise of the internet, which has transformed the way translators research, communicate and handle files, among many other things. Our technical environment has also evolved over the years, with a shift from local to global.

I used to have everything installed locally on my own computer. Now I use online tools and server applications that someone else in the company installs and updates. This has enabled me to focus more on the act of translating, and has reduced the time I need to spend on the technical side.

There is always a risk in becoming too dependent on technology, however. If I lose my internet connection, for instance, I cannot work. I also use the internet a lot for researching terms and concepts in a way that was simply not possible before. These days it is hard to fathom how we ever managed without it.

In recent years, STP has received a growing number of requests involving machine translation, and we鈥檝e seen raw MT output from various sources and of varying quality. This type of work is a rising trend, so we have invested a great deal of time and money in training our staff to handle it.

MT is here to stay, whether we like it or not, and I try to keep an open mind. I once heard a translator say that MT was as threatening to him as the scissors are to a hairdresser. We all know how to use scissors, yet we continue to go to hair salons. I try to see MT as just another tool of the trade, creating a base to start from.

What do you value most in your role 鈥� for you and for your clients?

I take pride in my work and always strive to deliver quality translations. Caring about every little detail makes my job more interesting and challenging, and it鈥檚 an approach that certainly benefits our clients.

Who or what do you think are the game-changers in the industry?

The use of self-service automatic translation tools will probably grow in the future and they are indeed changing the industry landscape. However, professional translators will always be able to offer quality as a competitive edge.

A good translation can be very valuable to a company or a brand. Hopefully clients will continue to recognise this and set aside the time and money to do things properly.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the industry?

Working as a translator has its pros and cons. The pay is not always great, and there is no obvious career path. It can also be a lonely trade, but nowadays you can work from anywhere in the world, as many translators do.

If I were starting out today, I think I would try to specialise in a particular area, like medical or scientific texts, because I鈥檇 be able to charge more for my expertise. I鈥檇 also recommend developing skills such as creative translation and copywriting, because these services are in growing demand.

Above all, enjoy your work 鈥� because in the end, translation should be fun.

The post Interview with Johanna Lindroth, Senior Swedish Translator appeared first on sa国际传媒.