We recently added a Frequently Asked Questions section to our website as part of its ongoing development.
This section is aimed primarily at new purchasers of translation services, but existing clients may also benefit from some of the information provided.
Explanations are given on subjects such as Trados translation memory software and desktop publishing issues, among others.
This month we profile Birmingham-based Robert Bally, Roevin’s longest serving translation Account Manager. Robert, born and bred in Harborne, Birmingham, is based in our office close to the International Airport. Originally from a retail background, Robert began his career in translation project management back in 1988.
Robert Bally, Account Manager
Robert’s role as an Account Manager involves handling the complete project from initial enquiry through to billing, liaising between all parties involved in the successful completion of a multilanguage project. These parties would include our clients of course as well as the translators, but may also include Roevin’s in-house DTP team, our clients’ overseas agents, software engineers, web developers and design agencies for example.
When asked what he likes best about being an Account Manager, Robert commented, “No day is ever the same, there is plenty of variety in the job and I have never been bored.”
Robert is a much valued member of the team not least because of his exceptional organisational skills and attention to detail. He handles a large and varied portfolio of clients from a diverse range of industry sectors. Some of his key clients include Hozelock, ProQuest Alison, Stadco and Eminox. He has an exemplary attendance record having had only three days off sick, way back in 1995, in his entire career, and only then because he was sent home by his manager. Not many of us, if any, can claim such devotion to duty!
Pictured: Abigail Gregory, Director of Admissions and Agatino Cirvilleri, Account Manager
Agatino Cirvilleri, Account Manager at Roevin’s Manchester office was recently asked to make a presentation at The University of Salford’s Open Day for The School of Modern Languages which took place on Saturday 12th November 2005.
Dr. Abigail Gregory, Director of Admissions, presented information on courses such as Translation and Interpreting; Modern Languages and Linguistics.
Agatino, a graduate in Linguistics and French from Salford gave a talk to prospective students on his experiences on the course, life in Manchester and how he found his current position – within 2 weeks of graduating – at Roevin through the Graduate Vacancy Partnership of which the University of Salford is a member.
Rebecca Tipton, Lecturer in French at Salford, said “Agatino’s participation was much appreciated by everyone here.”
Roevin’s core business is the provision of high quality technical translation, but over 30% of Roevin Translation Services’ business comes from the creative sector and our translations are used on packaging and for press releases and promotional literature worldwide.
Bullnose is an established B2B design company focusing on design for print. Many of their clients are world leaders in their sectors, and their work is in use around the globe. Heathrow-based Bullnose, prides itself on consistency, reliability and a passion for the very best in design, and this desire to get things right every time is supported by translations supplied by Roevin. Bullnose first approached Roevin more than six years ago, and since then we have produced translations for them in almost every European language. We asked Emlyn Coldicott from Bullnose, why Roevin is their supplier of choice.
Emlyn Coldicott, from Bullnose commented: “Four years ago, we began working with a major new client with offices across Europe. The translations being supplied to the client at the time, by an agency in Belgium, had been the cause of complaint and frustration for the client, as they were often of poor quality, requiring extensive corrections. Clearly this was not a cost effective solution.
We asked Roevin to take on the role of supplying the translations in four key languages. Following a short period of learning, while Roevin became accustomed to our client’s products and technologies, there was a dramatic change in response from the European offices, as they had seen the standard of translation improve markedly.
Now, when we ask Roevin to translate text for this client, the work is allocated to the same team of translators, achieving a consistency of translation and avoiding misinterpretations through unfamiliarity. The Word documents we receive back are usually approved by the client, with very little or nothing to change.
What could be easier? The process is smooth and efficient and our client continues to be delighted with Roevin’s translation and Bullnose’s design.
Jasmin Schneider, Account Manager, Birmingham
German is a member of the Indo-European language family and is spoken primarily in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, in two-thirds of Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy) and in parts of France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark and Eastern European countries. Click here for a map showing where German is spoken in Europe.
It is the main language of about 100 million people and is the most commonly spoken language in Europe after Russian. French (66.5 million speakers) and English (64.2 million speakers) are the third and fourth most commonly spoken languages in Europe.
The European Union lists “German” as one of its official languages and does not class the Austrian, Swiss and other dialects as separate written languages and Standard German (“Hochdeutsch”) is regarded as the norm relating to vocabulary and pronunciation. However, in terms of how the language is spoken, there are significant differences between German-speaking countries mainly in vocabulary, but also in some instances of pronunciation and even grammar.
For historical reasons, Austrian German includes words from Eastern European languages such as Hungarian. In addition, Austria has its own administrative language derived from the language used during the monarchist period. The spoken language is related to the Bavarian dialect and is therefore best understood by Southern Germans, whereas Northern Germans can experience great difficulties in understanding it.
In Switzerland, the use of Standard German is almost entirely restricted to the written language. The spoken dialects contain many Swiss varieties and differ from Hochdeutsch to a degree that they cannot sometimes be understood by Germans. This poses a problem within Switzerland: French and Italian speakers who learn German at school are taught the standard language, and find they still cannot communicate with their compatriots!
Roevin Translation Services provides localisation to Swiss and Austrian German. If you require a translation into one of these German varieties, please contact us.
On Friday 28 October 2005, representatives of both Roevin’s Translation and Technical Recruitment divisions, including Sam Bennett, Glasgow’s Translation Office Manager, attended the Institute of Mechanical Engineers’ Annual Dinner at the Moat House Hotel in Glasgow.
Pictured: Alex Wright, Roevin’s Managing Director, with Sam Bennett, Glasgow Office Manager
Roevin was proud to sponsor a table at the event and invited clients from high-profile companies such as Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Veolia Water Systems and Foster Wheeler UK Ltd
Roevin’s Technical Recruitment division has a longstanding track record in the professional recruitment of temporary and permanent white collar, blue collar and support personnel, at all levels and in all disciplines for a diverse range of industry sectors.
The ImechE has been established for 150 years and is the United Kingdom’s qualifying body for Mechanical Engineers. Around 75,000 engineers world-wide are members.
