Since passing the required state exams in the State of Hesse, my primary professional activity has been centred around translating legal documents. As a sworn-in translator at the Regional Court Frankfurt am Main (Landgericht Frankfurt am Main), I certify translations in German, English and Polish by signing and stamping them. Translations become legally valid in a foreign language by this act of certification. In addition to certified translation, I also serve my customers as a sworn-in interpreter in German and Polish. I am authorised to interpret at court trials, notary offices, police authorities, registry offices and any other public authorities where sworn interpreting is required. My daily work also involves specialist translation, which in most cases is done with the help of CAT tools by request of corporate clients and translation agencies (mainly in the field of law and marketing). In addition, I work as a business interpreter e.g. at business negotiations and trade fairs.
My qualifications and experience
I went to a German-Polish grammar school, resulting in keen interest in both languages. I chose advanced courses in German and English, so I was also intensively immersed in English. Even as early as my school years, I came into contact with a translation company that was interested in my bilingual background. After beginning my Master of Arts in Philosophy, British Cultural Studies & English Literature, and German Literature at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, I applied to further translation agencies. At the same time, I took translation courses offered as part of my university studies and also interpreted on various occasions. With a few years of experience under my belt, I applied for my first state exam 2007. I sat further state exams to become a state-certified translator and interpreter, requiring significant preparation in the field of legal terminology.
I completed my Master's studies in 2012, the subjects related to German and English languages, which are relevant for my translation work, were given the best grade possible ("very good"). In 2010 I spent one semester at Cardiff University in Wales, where I completed a German-English translation course.
During my Master's studies, I worked at the German Press Agency dpa and at the public relations agency Fleishman-Hillard, so I have got to know very well terminology frequently used in the media and marketing industry.
If required, I can use CAT tools while translating specialist texts: SDL Trados Studio, memoQ or Across. I learnt extensively how to use these tools during an internship in 2012 at the renowned translation company Sandberg Translations Partners Ltd in England.
As a member of the well-known Federal Association of Interpreters and Translators BDÜ, I am comitted to code of translator's ethics. As a qualified translator I can guarantee you the highest professionalism in processing your order. This provides me also with an intensive exchange of experiences with colleagues, which in turn benefits my clients.
Continuing Professional Development
Being a member of the BDÜ allows me amongst other things to take part in various seminars and workshops organised by the aforementioned professional association. Here you can view a list of the most important seminars I participated in. The majority of them were organised by the BDÜ. In the menu Letters of Reference you can see detailed certificates of attendance.
- May 2024 - BDÜ webinar "Interpreting from A to Z - How to build a career as a conference interpreter?"
- September 2022 - 2-day BDÜ specialist conference "Language & Law - Comparing foreign law in practice"
- September 2022 - BDÜ seminar "Legal terms searching tools for translators and interpreters"
- January 2022 - 3-day seminar "The world of banking and its language"
- October 2020 - BDÜ webinar "Medical, Traffic-Psychological and Other Expert Opinions in Court"
- May 2020 - TEPIS webinar on German and Polish labour and employment law
- April 2020 - SDL webinar "Terminology Management for Freelancers"
- November 2019 - Participating in the conference "TRANSLATING AND INTERPRETING 4.0. New Ways in the Digital Age" in Bonn
- June 2019 - Participating in the Anglophone Day in Würzburg
- March 2018 - Participating in the Translation and Localization Conference 2018 in Warsaw
- October 2017 - Participating in the BDÜ Symposium on Law and Language in Hannover
- September 2017 - Participating in the Anglophone Day in Chester
- March 2017 - Participating in the conference “The Many Facets of Legal Interpreting and Translation” by EULITA in Vienna
- February 2017 - Participating in a conference held by the European Language Industry Association (ELIA)
- July 2016 - Participating in the Anglophone Day in Düsseldorf
- June 2016 – Participating in a presentation for translators at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
- October 2015 - Participating in the "Translating Europe Forum" by the European Commission in Brussels
- September 2015 - Participating in the seminar "real estate purchase agreements and partnership agreements" by the Academy of Foreign Languages in Berlin
- May 2015 - Participating in the conference "Understanding and translating in a globalised world" in Bonn, organised by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation
- February 2015 - Participating in a CPD seminar in Hannover on note-taking techniques in interpretation
- May 2014 - Participating in the CPD seminar "Translating marketing texts - creativity techniques"
- February 2014 - Participating in the CPD seminar on the speech recognition software "Dragon NaturallySpeaking"
- November 2013 - BDÜ workshop in Frankfurt on interpreting at notarial offices
- October 2013 – BDÜ workshop on SDL Trados Studio 2011 in Cologne (seminar for advanced users)
- January 2013 - BDÜ workshop on SDL Trados Studio 2011 in Cologne (basic seminar)
- September 2012 – Participating in the 2nd International Conference, Trade Exhibition & Job Exchange of the Federal Association of Interpreters and Translators BDÜ in Berlin
- September 2012 – Participating in the annual conference of the British Association of Translation Companies in London
- August/September 2012 - Internship at the translation agency Sandberg Translation Partners Ltd (STP) based in Whiteley, England
- October 2011 – Participating in the BDÜ seminar "English Civil Law – learn, experience, understand" at City University in London
- March 2011 – Participating in the 5th Conference for Court Interpreters in Hannover, organised by the BDÜ
- December 2010 – Participating in a guided tour with a lecture for interpreters at the Police Headquarters in Frankfurt am Main (organised by the BDÜ)
- October 2010 – Participating in an Across conference for freelance translators in Cologne
- July 2010 - Visiting the European Central Bank (presentation of the translation unit)
- January-June 2010 – Translation course in English and German at Cardiff University, Wales
- August 2008 – Workshop on business etiquette at the careers office of Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main
Keeping up with languages
As well as daily language 'cultivation' consisting of reading newspapers and books, watching televised news, and talking to friends and colleagues in all my three working languages, regular trips abroad are an indispensable part of the quality assurance of my translation services. Trips abroad undertaken in recent years include:
- England (Cheshire, Hampshire, Somerset, London)
- Wales (Cardiff, Swansea, Newport, Pontypool)
- Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness)
- Ireland (Dublin)
- Northern Ireland
- Australia (Western Australia, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales)
- South Africa (Westkap)
Si tacuisses, philosophus mansisses
In most cases, people start studying philosophy out of passion. My case was no exception. Reading and talking about philosophy is after accomplishing my Master's studies my (almost) habitual daily activity. No bestseller has emerged from that as yet, as Richard David Precht has managed to achieve in Germany. Nonetheless, my publications do reach a humble readership. You can take a look at these publications as well as my literary translations at Amazon (here is the link) and if you are interested in my works, you can also purchase these there.
