English - German :: German - English Translation Services
I get more and more enquiries asking for quotes for very specific level certification translation:
1. I need a certified translation of my birth certificate for a 4th tier immigration visa to Canada.
2. Can you quote for a translation of my degree to support a PhD application at a British university?
3. I want to open a bank account and have to provide translated past bank statements. What level of certified translation do I need and what will it cost?
1st step – book your English language test
As a foreigner wanting to obtain UK permanent residency or British citizenship, you have to prove that you can speak and understand English. Even if you hold a post-graduate translating diploma from the Chartered Institute of Linguists and have worked as a professional English-German translator for 27 years, you still have to prove it in an English language test.
And there you have it – I know what carding is. And I know what Robert Arkwright was famous for. And I know who brought shampooing to Britain. And, believe it or not, I know that people usually eat turkey for Christmas.
Yesterday there was an item on the news about a Dutch man who needed "translators" in hospital to communicate with the medical team.
Did you hear the collective sigh from the linguist community? Did your Twitter feed burn with exasperated comments?
So… Janet Street-Porter wants to bid farewell to 2016’s most annoying and overused word in the english language – the word ‘so’ at the beginning of a sentence.
It’s not the most exciting topic, but it is one that frequently causes clients and translators to be at loggerheads.
How long is the translation you’re placing? How do you best count it?
This should be easy, but it’s surprisingly difficult.
Translating qualifications
“Why did you not translate my Abitur as A ‘Levels”?
Because translating qualifications is fraught with difficulty.
Equivalence of school leaver’s qualifications
Qualifications are completely different in various countries, and although, colloquially, we tend to equate the top school qualification in one country with that of another.
It comes up time and time again – clients pay late or don’t pay at all. It usually happens with new clients but can also happen with long-standing good clients.
While good working relationships are paramount and small businesses should do what they can to retain clients, getting paid – and getting paid on time! – is important for small companies and freelancers alike.
So what to do when a client doesn’t pay?
There will most probably be many posts on the impact of Brexit on the translation industry from me in the coming years. Today, I just want to offer my own, completely personal and anecdotal comments based on my own experience.
1. Before the referendum.