I am a native British translator who mainly translates from Norwegian (bokmål and nynorsk) into English. I've studied Norwegian at both bachelor and master level, and spent a year abroad studying at the University of Oslo, where I received the "Trinn 4" (European level C2) qualification in Norwegian. My studies also gave me the opportunity to develop my skills in translating from Danish and Swedish into English, which I was able to put into practice at my first job working as an in-house translator, as I received texts in all three Scandinavian languages.

I like to approach translation in the same way that Indiana Jones likes to approach a long-forgotten ancient tomb in the jungle - no, not in a fedora with a trusty whip in hand, but as a puzzle that needs solving. While my puzzles come with lower risk than Indiana Jones' do, in the sense that there is no danger of me triggering an avalanche or a trapdoor into a crocodile pit, I take them just as seriously, and examine each one from a thorough and comprehensive perspective. For me, there are few things more satisfying than finding the perfect translation solution for a really tricky source text.

I received by MA in Translation and Culture from University College London (UCL), which gave me an in-depth understanding of different types of translation activity, both theoretical and practical. I wrote my dissertation on the translation of linguistic identity conveyed in non-standardised language forms, focusing on the Norwegian multiethnolect commonly referred to as "kebabnorsk" (kebab Norwegian). This work also involved translating sections of a book written in this multiethnolect called "Alle utlendinger har lukka gardiner" (All the foreigners have closed their curtains) by Maria Navarro Skaranger. 

As part of my MA, I also received training on a variety of translation memory programmes. This mainly focused on SDL Trados Studios, but also included Wordfast Anywhere and memoQ. During my time working in house, I became extremely familiar with Déjà Vu and Subtitle Edit. I currently use memoQ 9.0 (which is Trados compatible) for my freelance work. 

In addition to translation, I have worked with proofreading, QA and copy-editing English texts. This as well as my CELTA qualification and the two summers spent teaching English at an EF summer school mean that I have a lot of experience in correcting and editing written English texts, and I am able to discern what someone wants to say, no matter how clumsily they express themselves. I specialise in British English but have worked with American English texts too. I have also been able to develop my content writing skills by writing several blog posts on translation theory, marketing and translation services for my previous work place. The posts were received positively, and I am keen to gain more experience in this area. 

Having spent the last 10 months gaining valuable industry experience, I am now ready and excited to work as a freelancer.