A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe
No matter what you do or make, if you want to be truly universal you will have to do or make it in English. You want people to really understand what you are saying and why you are saying it – that’s why it’s time to engage a professional.
I was trained as a journalist and devoted the first ten years of my working life to that craft, before I turned to translating. Now, with over two decades as a professional translator, the magic of transforming Dutch into readable and understandable English has become second nature to me.
Over a quarter of a century as a professional translator and writer
Legal
I have translated countless legal documents over the years, and have an excellent working knowledge of both Dutch and Belgian legalese.
Corporate, contractual & HR
There is nothing worse than ambiguous contracts or codes of conduct. After all, these are the documents that change a person’s life forever. So it is absolutely crucial that everybody knows what they are signing.
Tourism
Whether you’re advertising your holiday accommodation or telling the universe that your restaurant sells the freshest mussels and herrings, your guests must feel as welcome as they would in their own country… in their own language!
PR & advertising
You need to convince the world how great your product or service is, so make sure you don’t stumble at the final – and essential – hurdle of communicating your message.
Politics, EU & policy
I have translated major EU and policy-related projects and am well-versed in the (sometimes labyrinthine) language that the political fraternity speaks.
Non-fiction, literary & journalism
Writing is and always be my first love. So if you have a non-fiction book that the world simply must read, if you have written the next Great Dutch or Belgian Novel or if that magazine article is guaranteed to boost your company sales, I will give it the translation treatment it requires.
Editing and proofreading
Parlez-vous anglais? Vraiment?
Everybody knows that every Dutch person is bilingual, and probably even trilingual or quadrilingual. And everybody knows the Dutch speak English almost as well as native speakers. But do they? Really?
The decades I have spent working with Dutch-speakers and proofreading their texts have taught me one thing – no matter how good your English, there will always be the subtle idioms, the odd sentence structures and the differences in regional English (particularly UK and US English) that even a native-speaker might miss.
I’m here to help you avoid the countless pitfalls that might betray your text as having been written by a second language-speaker. So, if you choose to produce your work in English, let me give it the professional polish that will make it stand out!
Other languages
Over the years, I have built up excellent relationships with other translators and translation agencies. If you have any other translation requirements, I will be glad to recommend the very best in the business.
Excellent rates
English may be the universal language, but money still makes the world go round. I do my very best to keep my professional rates as competitive as possible – get in touch for a quote, and I hope you’ll be pleasantly surprised!