Translation

By me, an actual human

I translate from French into English across a range of sectors, including:

Art
Communications and UX writing
Content (blogs and newsletters)
Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
Fashion
Fintech
Fitness
Health and wellbeing
Marketing and e-commerce
Press releases
SaaS
Shipping and logistics
Sustainability

Good translation is about much more than swapping words from one language to another. It’s about understanding what the original is trying to achieve and recreating that effect in English.

For me, there are three ingredients to a great translation.

1. Understanding

It’s not enough to know what each word means. You need to understand the thought, feeling and cultural nuance behind it, so the translation communicates what the author intended, not just what they wrote.

2. Research

No translator knows everything. The best translators know how to ask the right questions, dig into the subject matter and recognise when a project falls outside their expertise. While I have specialist areas, I’m the first to admit when something isn’t the right fit. I’d rather eat dry sand than translate a legal contract – and I’m not insured to anyway.

3. Writing

Being fluent isn’t enough. A good translator also needs to be an excellent writer in their target language. By this, I don’t mean fancy pants language, but the ability to match the source language author’s tone of voice, degree of formality, and intention.

My freelance translation career began in 2021, following eight years as a translation project manager. I hold a BA (Hons) in French with Proficiency in Spanish from the University of Exeter and an MA in French Translation from the University of Bristol, giving me both the practical experience and academic foundation to deliver accurate, thoughtful translations.

If you’re looking for English translations that are clear, natural and faithful to the original, I’d love to hear about your project.