Background Details

Words are my business

and I’ve been processing foreign ones ever since my family moved to Zürich, Switzerland when I was seven and I started to learn German and French at the international school I attended. Once back in the UK, I continued to study these languages, eventually graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in French and German in 1986.

Despite spending my first full year of employment back on the continent in Germany teaching English, followed by an 18-month stint in London teaching German and French to secondary-school pupils, I suddenly found myself in Spain for personal reasons. I immediately started teaching myself the language whilst working as an English language teacher and embracing Spanish culture.

To brush up on my Spanish language skills, I attended the Hispanic Studies Course at Granada University, tailoring my options to include the skills of translating from English into Spanish (first with distinction) and from German into Spanish (first).

After 13 years of teaching, which included translation as part of the preparation for Chamber of Commerce exams, as well as for GCSE and A level exams (British education system), I became a full-time freelance translator in September 1999. Since then, I’ve translated millions of words on various subjects.