Working languages:
German to English
French to English
Spanish to English

philgoddard
Six languages into flawless English

United States

Native in: English 
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Bio

Translation is very often imperfect. It retains the syntax of the original, reproduces the flaws, and simply doesn't sound quite right.

A lot of the time, that doesn't matter. If you just want to convey a message and aren't worried by stylistic niceties, a less-than-excellent translation will do fine. It can even convey an endearing sense of foreignness, like Ikea's refusal to translate the names of its products.

But sometimes second best won't do, and that's where I can help. I write flawless, publication-quality English that doesn't look translated.

I can turn my hand to any subject area that's not highly technical. If your text is about patents or pharmacology or particle physics, I'm not the person for you.

These are some of the things I do:

Creative advertising and marketing texts. I've produced copy for brands like BMW, Cartier, Google, Swarovski and Volkswagen, and I can translate anything that uses finely crafted words to sell things to people. I also do crisp, persuasive English copywriting to a brief.

Arts and media. I've done books, exhibition catalogues, academic papers, and large numbers of museum and art gallery audioguides.

Finance. Before I decided that I preferred words to numbers and became a translator, I trained as an accountant and worked as a financial analyst for Citibank. So I know my way around a company annual report.

Legal documents. Translating a contract or court judgment isn't something you'd normally associate with creativity. But reproducing the exact meaning of the original, and making it read elegantly using plain English, is a skill in itself.

You'll find some samples of my translations, English copywriting, and newspaper journalism on my website. If you like them, please contact me for a quotation.



This user has earned KudoZ points by helping other translators with PRO-level terms. Click point total(s) to see term translations provided.

Total pts earned: 20703
PRO-level pts: 18691


Top languages (PRO)
Spanish to English6033
French to English4143
Italian to English4048
German to English2967
English686
Pts in 8 more pairs >
Top general fields (PRO)
Bus/Financial4124
Other3709
Law/Patents3600
Tech/Engineering2515
Medical1224
Pts in 4 more flds >
Top specific fields (PRO)
Law (general)1811
Law: Contract(s)1370
Finance (general)1212
Business/Commerce (general)1095
Medical (general)700
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters691
Education / Pedagogy486
Pts in 100 more flds >

See all points earned >
Keywords: French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, français, Deutsch, italiano, español, nederlands. See more.French, German, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, français, Deutsch, italiano, español, nederlands, French to English, German to English, Italian to English, Dutch to English, Spanish to English, into English, arts, media, advertising, slogans, taglines, art, marketing, market research, tourism, hotels, creative, translation, editing, transcreation, copywriting, copywriter, architecture, art history, photography, books, websites, brochures, audioguides, audio guides, exhibition, catalogs, catalogues, traducteur, Übersetzer, traductor, vertaler, traduttore, contracts, insurance, finance, law. See less.




Profile last updated
Jan 31, 2023