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.

Picture: Christmas tree and wellhead valves

This interview was first published in Monica Machado Translation Services Quarterly Newsletter. This and other interviews with Mónica can be read here.

Mónica Machado offers English to Portuguese Translation Services, for Portuguese-speaking African countries such as Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Portugal and Sao Tome and Principe in the areas of Oil and Gas, Agriculture and Farming, Environment, Shipping, Mining, Hydro Power, HSE and Social Sciences and International Humanitarian Aid. Fully certified translation services based in the UK. We can also translate and certify translations of educational qualifications, passports, company certificates of incorporation, birth and marriage certificates and similar documents.