In this issue, Monica Machado, English to Portuguese Translator, is interviewed about translation in general

In this issue, an oil and gas expert (O&G E) and author with over 30 years of experience in the industry, interviews me (MM) with some fundamental questions about translation in general.

O&G E – What do you consider are the most attractive aspects of being a freelance translator?

MM – Being able to work from anywhere in the World. As a freelancer I have worked in many different locations whilst travelling; from Calgary to Beijing and Macau, and many other places in between, like Portugal, UK and Morocco. Being able to manage the different projects and deadlines by myself. I work on large projects but remain available for different smaller projects that arrive in a daily basis. I am also able to determine the time required for each project taking into account my own strict quality requirements without accepting impossible deadlines that may compromise the quality of my work for the project.

O&G E – Do you think Project Managers give sufficient importance to having their Project documentation translated?

MM – Ah, this is a very good question. Translation companies’ PMs know how important translation is as they deal with this every day. However, for Engineering Project PMs who do not deal with translation issues all the time and who, occasionally, need a document translated for submission to a Government body, for instance, translation is often seen as “too easy and something someone who speaks two languages can deal with at the end”. I am lucky enough to work with long-standing clients who have progressively realised that the final translated document is often the face of their business to Government and legislative bodies. These clients plan time for translation into their projects from the outset and pre-book my services sometimes months in advance. They understand that a 100-page document may take a full month to be translated, and that dividing that document between 5 translators to have it ready in 5 to 6 days is frequently detrimental to the quality of the translated document in terms of style, terminology and consistency.

Interview published in Issue 1 of the Company’s Newsletter.

Picture: Christmas tree and wellhead valves

Mónica Machado is an English to Portuguese translator, specialising in technical and legal fields for areas such as mining, petroleum (oil and gas), HSE and power generation.