My Language and Translation Background
From 2013-2018, I worked at the Waterloo Centre for German Studies, where I managed the Centre’s communications and coordinated most of its oral history project, which involved over 100 participants. I have my Hons. BA in German from Wilfrid Laurier University and my MA in German Studies from the University of Waterloo. (Both universities are in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.) I began my PhD (part-time) in German Studies, also at the University of Waterloo, in January 2018. My dissertation will focus on translation of historical documents.
Aside from my studies, I lived in Germany for three years, including two as a language assistant with the German Academic Exchange Service. Moreover, because I know how important knowledge of foreign languages is, I’m raising my two children in German.
Donauschwaben/Danube Swabian Transcripts
In order to preserve knowledge of these dialects, interviews have been conducted over the decades with members of the Donauschwaben (Danube Swabian) cultural groups from Eastern Europe. Although most of what I read and translate is in High German, I grew up understanding variations of several Donauschwaben dialects. For example, I didn’t know sehr existed as a word until I began learning High German formally: I only knew arig. So if your research involves transcripts of old recorded interviews of this nature, I can likely help.
German Scripts
I can read Fraktur and modern-day handwriting, but I’m unfamiliar with older styles of German handwriting, e.g., Sütterlin and Roman. If you’re looking to translate documents in those latter styles, contact the Moravian Archives in Pennsylvania. They offer such a course and also a list of translators who can help you with your documents.
What to Expect When Working With Me
When you contact me, we’ll discuss your research and exactly what your expectations are for me and what role my translations will play in your overall project. If you have several documents that you believe to be almost the same, I’ll certainly offer you a discount once I’ve looked at the entire project. I use translation memory software, and this speeds up translating repetitive documents. In addition, if you’re unsure of what you want translated, I also offer a review service, whereby I’ll read the documents and write up a summary for each one. (We’ll define the length of the summaries in our discussion.)
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