{"id":46472,"date":"2018-10-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-09T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gengo.com\/uncategorized\/faces-gengo-dasa\/"},"modified":"2019-10-22T16:41:32","modified_gmt":"2019-10-22T07:41:32","slug":"faces-gengo-dasa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gengo.com\/community\/faces-gengo-dasa\/","title":{"rendered":"Faces of Gengo: Dasa"},"content":{"rendered":"An English to Slovak Language Specialist, Dasa has deep experience working in translation, book-editing and linguistic advisory. Read all about about her journey as a digital nomad, advice for new translators, and her top book recommendations in her interview below.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nNationality:<\/strong> Slovak\r\nLocation:<\/strong> Bonn, Germany\r\nOccupation:<\/strong>\u00a0Translator\/Editor\r\nGengo LS since:<\/strong> 2014\r\nLanguage pair:<\/strong> English – Slovak\r\n\r\nWhat languages do you speak? How do you maintain language proficiency<\/a>?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nMy native language is Slovak. I started with German very early at school and later graduated in German and Slovak Philology. English, of course, was a must. German and English are my working source languages. Beside this, I speak Czech quite well as I lived in the beautiful city of Prague for a long time. I could also survive with intermediate Polish and I have a rather passive knowledge of Brazilian Portuguese \u2013 in contact with my husband\u2019s family in Brazil I still prefer English.\r\n\r\n
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Dasa in Prague, where she spent 10 years of her life.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nHow did you become a translator?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nHaving studied Philology and Literary Studies, translation has always been a part of my professional life. Shortly after finishing my studies I started working as a coordinator of the Slovak Language Department in a big translation agency in Prague, specialised on translations for the bodies of the European Union. Compared to my previous experience with interpretation of artistic and philosophical texts, this was a \u201chard school\u201d of translator\u2019s work in practice, comprising strict deadlines, communication with the EU institutions, CAT tools, cooperation on tender preparation, and hundreds and hundreds pages of laws, judgements and various legislative documents. It was extremely demanding\u2026\r\n\r\nTo avoid burn out, I decided to switch to freelance work combining translation, book-editing and linguistic advisory. There were personal reasons, too: my partner and I lived in different countries, but we wanted to bring our relationship to a \u201chigher level\u201d. As a freelancer, I could make use of my flexibility and move to Germany to be with him.\r\n\r\nWhat have been your most enjoyable and challenging translation experiences?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nFor a while, I have been working on a project where the European Union member states notify their legislation on implementation of the European directive on technical standards. For example, calibration of x-ray devices or working methods of scuba divers helping with water constructions\u2026 I would never say how interesting it could be!\r\nRecently, I had also an enjoyable book-editing experience: Last year, a good friend of mine wrote a book about neuro-linguistic programming in life coaching, and she asked me to edit it. Beside the fact that having a friend on client\u2019s site was really pleasant, the book is a success and it looks like it could be translated in foreign languages soon.\r\n\r\nWhat\u2019s your favorite thing about being a translator? How about being a language specialist?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nIndependence and flexibility, for sure. Unfortunately, a big disadvantage of freelance jobs (at least in many European countries) is that there are some legislative loopholes concerning maternity leave, social insurance, etc. Often, you can\u2019t rely on an adequate counter-value comparing to what you have invested in the system. In these terms, the price for independence is quite high. In spite of this, I wouldn\u2019t return to a \u201cclassical\u201d job. I like that I can organise my projects according to my interests and vary between translating, editing and expert language services like I provide for Gengo. Being language specialist enabled me to build a strong relationship with the majority of my clients, and its fostering is one of my favourite activities in my small business.\r\n\r\nBased on your specific cultural expertise, what are the best books or movies you would recommend to others?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nExcellent Czech and Slovak authors available in good English translation are, for example, Bohumil Hrabal and Pavel Vilikovsk\u00fd. From contemporary German authors, I can mention Herta M\u00fcller, who fascinates me again and again. If you are incidentally interested in Czech Avant-Garde literature and arts, I had the honour to be one of the authors of a reputable publication A Glossary of Catchwords of the Czech Avant-Garde: Conceptions of Aesthetics and the Changing Faces of Art 1908-1958<\/em>. My favourite \u201ccatch\u201d from a second-hand bookstore is a novel by Rebecca Goldstein, Mazel<\/em>. As a present I would give you Maus<\/em> (the complete edition), a graphic novel by Art Spiegelman. Now I am reading Tyll<\/em> by Daniel Kehlmann.\u00a0Memoirs of a Polar Bear<\/em> by Yoko Tawada is waiting in my bookcase.\r\n\r\nLikewise, I love reading folk tales from any country. Among those I have at home, I would like to highlight the beautiful collection of African fairy-tales selected by Nelson Mandela.\r\n\r\nWhat are your preferred translation tools?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nAs I often work on complex managed projects, I use Trados Studio.\r\n\r\nWhat\u2019s your favorite productivity tool or service?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nMy kids. \ud83d\ude42 When you have children, you will never ever use your working time ineffectively.\r\n\r\nWhat are your top tips for those translators who are just starting out?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nDon\u2019t close yourself in your room alone with the computer. Stay in touch with more experienced colleagues, ask them for feedback regularly and \u2013 first and foremost \u2013 don\u2019t accept it passively, but discuss it. Read about linguistics \u2013 and not only in your native language. Be realistic about volumes and deadlines. Don\u2019t ignore your backache and respect the work-life balance. In the point where we should keep our body-control, my Pilates instructor helps us with the following visualisation: Connect two thirds of yourself with Earth and one third with Heaven. This may sound very simple, but for me it\u2019s a vivid metaphor of how to develop our skills productively without damaging our physical or mental health.\r\n\r\n

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Dasa’s beautiful workspace in Bonn, Germany.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nDo you have any specific translation advice to translators in your language pair?<\/strong>\r\n\r\nWhen you have your translation finished, read it one more time. FORGET THE ORIGINAL at this stage. Check whether you understand the target text only. Do everything you can to support readability. Don\u2019t be afraid of changing the sentence order or dividing long sentences. Would you like reading your text in a newspaper as it is? Would you know what to do if it appeared on the screen of your device? If so, send it to your client, and if possible, enjoy a break.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nWant to become a Gengo translator?<\/strong>\r\n\r\n