Who knows language-industry professionals better than other language-industry professionals? We here at MultiLingual certainly don’t know of anyone more qualified to pick their peers’ brains, so in this guest post, reader Nicolás Maximiliano Martín Fontana of Xing decided to interview colleague Tina Julsgaard of Comunica Translations. Check out the interview below!
Why do you like reading Multilingual Magazine?
It provides me with all the insights I need on the translation industry. I think it’s very important to follow all the latest trends and developments in the world of translation, and to keep up to date with how things are changing and evolving. I also really enjoy reading about the experiences of my peers and learning about their thoughts on the industry and the challenges they are facing. I never know what stimulating and thought-provoking ideas I might find between the pages of the magazine and there is something very exciting and appealing about that. It’s a springboard for new ideas and developments.
Why a Nordic LSP in Fuengirola, Spain, and not in Denmark?
The reason is because I moved to Spain with my Spanish husband right after I finished my university degree in Hispanic Languages. My initial plan was to become a high school teacher but as a foreigner in Spain, it turned out that wasn’t an option. Instead, I got a job as a journalist for a Danish magazine, and after several years writing articles and doing a bit of translation work on the side, I decided to start my own company. At first, it was both a language school and a translation agency, but it didn’t take long before I realized that translation was my real passion. So, I closed down the language-school side of the business and began focusing exclusively on translation services. Around the same time, I added the other three Nordic languages to our range of services and cemented Comunica as an LSP specialized in the Nordics. It was from that point onwards that the business really began to take off.
Since you started Comunica in 2007, how has the company evolved?
A lot has changed over the years, even if the core tenets of the business have remained the same — to provide good-quality, accurate translations and to deliver attentive customer service to our clients. One thing that has changed a lot for us at Comunica is our use of technology. Initially we used our own proprietary project management program which was great in that it was tailored specifically to our needs, but over time it became cumbersome and overloaded with new additions. We noticed that XTRF was becoming the gold standard within the industry and so after a period of extensive research, we decided to make the change ourselves. Things have become a lot more streamlined and automated since then, which is good and this helps us to better collaborate with our network of linguists.
And how has the Nordic market developed over the years?
I would say that the market has grown considerably. The online world is continuing to expand, and more and more global companies are seeking to reach the significant spending power of consumers in northern Europe and to do business in the Nordic market. At the same time, the Nordics are seeing opportunities to sell their products and do business abroad and the Nordic lifestyle has become a trend in many countries. In both directions, there is an understanding of the crucial role that good-quality and reliable translations play in allowing these exchanges to take place.
Who was your first client?
My first client was a Danish furniture design company. I started translating for them as a freelancer even before I had established Comunica. I am very pleased to say that they are still a client of ours today, and we currently translate into four different languages for them. Their texts are sometimes like poetry, very evocative and beautifully described. This can make them a bit of a challenge to translate at times, but highly rewarding and our translators love working on them.
Is it a good time to be a Nordic translator?
Absolutely! As I mentioned, the market is growing, and advances in technology mean that it is easier than ever before to get on with the work. Even though the Nordic people speak English at a very high level, foreign companies with an ambition to conquer the Nordic markets still need to speak the local language if they truly want their message to land.
What is your goal for Comunica’s future?
My goal is for Comunica to continue to grow and to become well known as a boutique Nordic translation agency. I would like for our name to become virtually synonymous with translation into and out of the Nordic languages and for us to work with more and bigger clients within these language pairs. I would also like to see the company branch out into more service offerings. For example, we have recently started working on more subtitling projects, and I think this represents an interesting avenue for growth. We have come a long way since our early days almost 15 years ago, but I see plenty of room for further growth and development in the future, and I am looking forward to the journey ahead.
谁比其他语言行业的专业人士更了解语言行业?我们在MultiLingual当然不知道有谁更有资格挑选同行的大脑,所以在这篇客座文章中,Xing的读者Nicolás Maximiliano Martín Fontana决定采访Comunica Translations的同事Tina Julsgaard。请看下面的采访!
你为什么喜欢看多语种杂志?
它为我提供了我需要的关于翻译行业的所有建议。我认为,关注翻译界的所有最新趋势和发展,并跟上事情的变化和发展是非常重要的。我也非常喜欢吸取同行的经验,了解他们对这个行业的想法和他们面临的挑战。我永远不知道我可能会在杂志的页面中发现什么刺激和发人深省的想法,这有一些非常令人兴奋和吸引人的地方。它是新想法和发展的跳板。
为什么在西班牙的Fuengirola有一个北欧的LSP,而不是在丹麦?
原因是在我完成大学的西班牙语言专业后,我就和我的西班牙丈夫搬到了西班牙。我最初的计划是成为一名高中教师,但作为一个在西班牙的外国人,结果发现这不是一个选择。相反,我在一家丹麦杂志社找到了一份记者的工作,在写了几年的文章和做了一点翻译工作之后,我决定开始自己的公司。起初,它既是一所语言学校,也是一家翻译机构,但没过多久,我就意识到,翻译才是我真正的激情。因此,我关闭了语言学校方面的业务,开始专门关注翻译服务。大约在同一时间,我在我们的服务范围中增加了其他三种北欧语言,并巩固了Comunica作为一个专门从事北欧的LSP。正是从那时起,业务才真正开始起飞。
自从你在2007年创办Comunica以来,公司是如何发展的?
多年来发生了很多变化,即使业务的核心宗旨保持不变--提供优质、准确的翻译,为客户提供周到的客户服务。对我们Comunica公司来说,变化很大的一件事是我们对技术的使用。最初,我们使用我们自己的专有项目管理程序,这很好,因为它是专门为我们的需求而定制的,但随着时间的推移,它变得繁琐,并因新增加的内容而超负荷。我们注意到XTRF正在成为行业内的黄金标准,因此经过一段时间的广泛研究,我们决定自己做出改变。从那时起,事情变得更加精简和自动化,这很好,这有助于我们与我们的语言学家网络进行更好的合作。
这些年来,北欧市场是如何发展的呢?
我想说的是,这个市场已经有了很大的发展。网络世界正在继续扩大,越来越多的全球公司正在寻求接触北欧消费者的巨大消费能力,并在北欧市场开展业务。同时,北欧人也看到了在国外销售产品和做生意的机会,北欧的生活方式在许多国家已经成为一种趋势。在这两个方向上,人们都理解高质量和可靠的翻译在使这些交流得以进行中所发挥的关键作用。
你的第一个客户是谁?
我的第一个客户是一家丹麦家具设计公司。甚至在我成立Comunica之前,我就开始以自由职业者的身份为他们翻译。我很高兴地说,他们今天仍然是我们的客户,目前我们为他们翻译成四种不同的语言。他们的文本有时就像诗歌一样,非常令人回味,描述得很好。这可能使它们有时成为翻译的一个挑战,但也是非常有意义的,我们的译员很喜欢从事这些工作。
现在是做北欧语翻译的好时机吗?
绝对是这样! 正如我所提到的,市场正在增长,技术的进步意味着比以前更容易开展工作。尽管北欧人的英语水平很高,但有志于征服北欧市场的外国公司如果真正想让他们的信息落地,仍然需要讲当地语言。
您对Comunica公司的未来目标是什么?
我的目标是让Comunica继续发展,成为知名的北欧精品翻译公司。我希望我们的名字几乎成为北欧语言翻译的代名词,并希望我们在这些语言对中与更多、更大的客户合作。我还希望看到公司能扩展到更多的服务项目。例如,我们最近开始从事更多的字幕翻译项目,我认为这代表了一个有趣的增长途径。自15年前成立以来,我们已经走过了漫长的道路,但我看到未来还有很多进一步增长和发展的空间,我期待着未来的旅程。
以上中文文本为机器翻译,存在不同程度偏差和错误,请理解并参考英文原文阅读。
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