Our Passion, Our Voices

The greatest value we bring to our clients is our PASSION for this industry. We are fortunate to be part of a global community of people who share our passion for language, culture and communication. Our global vision is one of connectivity and growth. Our mission is to connect clients with second language end-users effectively and efficiently, ultimately affecting community awareness and the world at large.

We are invested in the relationships we build with our clients. By educating them about our industry and helping them to connect with our amazing global community, we encourage their own personal journeys. If we can change your perspective, help you find your way across the bridge into another culture, or give you the knowledge and support you need to be an active member of the global community, we are succeeding!

Our clients, translators, partners and colleagues have come together to share their stories with you. We hope they inspire you, as they do us!

D, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian Translator

Joan, English Translator

Nathalie, Canadian French Translator

Olga, Russian/Ukrainian Translator

Michèle, French Translator

Uta, German Translator

Zandra, Spanish Translator

Thomas, German Translator

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Localization of a strategic communication effort brings people together, so that we can walk the same path and work toward common goals. But true localization allows each culture and linguistic group to express its unique perspective and vocabulary. As with fine wine, the joy is in the discovery of the subtle flavor differences imparted by the local geology and climate.

It was a formative experience on a recent global branding initiative to end up with no less than three different versions of our slogan—all in French—and we haven’t even come to France yet!”

- George, Client

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“Most truths are very simple. I think I became an interpreter and a translator because I am in love with words, and because I am deeply interested in what other people think and why they do things that they do. And this, as in many cases, has to do a lot with my family background (at a very early age, I learned how to read and write using two alphabets; my mother was an English teacher, my father is an architect and a writer; my parents taught me more by example and less by pushing me to do things; I lived in a region where people have strong feelings about language, where speaking the “wrong” one can be a matter of life and death, literally; I changed schools, and I lived in different cities and countries; my parents traveled the world, sometimes taking me with them, entertained a lot, and had friends and colleagues from abroad who often visited our home). I also had some amazing teachers and mentors. Later, I taught ESL and English; I worked with refugees; my friends still come from all races and nationalities. Words convey messages. Words have the power to heal. Because of words, you can get into trouble. One wrong word can sometimes kill. Reading words can take you places. These are some of my life lessons. And, again, this is why I am doing this job.”

- D, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian Translator

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“For long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by other languages and cultures, even though the environment I grew up in seemed unlikely to inspire it: small Iowa towns of the 1960s, as homogenous as could be, where I didn't even know anyone who spoke another language. What little bit of exposure I had, though, was enough to spark an interest that would last and influence the course of my life.

Neither of my parents spoke another language, yet, somehow my mother's handful of mangled words from a bad French class, a few German words she'd learned from a housekeeper, may have been my first inspiration. A coloring book with children around the world in colorful costumes and captions, "Bonjour," "Sayonara"; international paper dolls that I would make "speak" other languages; correspondence with a little girl my family "sponsored" in Taiwan, and very rare real life contacts. By about nine I was trying to learn Spanish on my own with a Berlitz "See-It-and-Say-It" paperback, and a couple of friends and I had made a Spanish club where we'd try to learn a couple of words. I remember showing up for the first day of school that year and being terribly excited that one of the classes was "Language"..... and terribly disappointed that the language was only English! As soon as I actually had a chance to take a language class, I took whatever was available.

Since then, many international experiences and contacts have enriched my life. I have been fortunate to travel, to experience other ways of living, and to have close ties in other countries. I feel very fortunate to be able to spend my days immersed in language, which has never lost its fascination for me, and using it to help people communicate.”

- Joan, English Translator

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“ A never-ending journey. It all started one summer, many moons ago, somewhere in New England. I was five years old and, for the first time, me, the little girl from Quebec, crossed the language barrier and managed to make friends with children from a different culture.

I started my explorations into the English language then, and I’ve never looked back, discovering as I went along a treasure of different and rich cultures. The journey of language is intricately linked to culture for me and many people, and to the incredible human universe, which never ceases to amaze me.

So I made language my professional pursuit, adding English early on to my native French, with notions of German, Spanish, Italian and Hebrew to widen my perspective and give me more insights into the rich diversity of our world. Variety is, indeed, the spice of life.

I now have been working as a translator for over 23 years, and what I love about translation is that I constantly discover and learn and wonder about the world. And I don’t intend to stop!”

- Nathalie, Canadian French Translator

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"As early as I can remember, my mom (a university lecturer in German) tried to instill in me a love for the language of Goethe. Instead, the language of Shakespeare became my true love, whose pursuit led me to the University of Cambridge (MPhil in Educational Research). There I met my soon-to-be husband. A few years later, following both true loves (my husband and English language, in this order) I found myself living in a one stoplight town in rural North Carolina.

The town looked like towns I had imagined while reading novels by O. Henry – he’s been my favorite writer since childhood. Now, that was inspiring! Less inspiring was the fact that the professional demand for a PhD in Linguistics in this area was as desirable as water in one’s shoe… That’s how my translation/interpreting services started to take shape and created an opportunity for me to work with the languages of my life (Russian, Ukrainian and English).

I’ve been fortunate enough to live in a few foreign countries and experience first-hand the need for precise communication between people who don’t speak the same language. I always consider myself humbled whenever I can help people address this need.”

- Olga, Russian/Ukrainian Translator

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“Like most of the things we like in life, it is thanks to our parents who taught us to like it. My parents taught me to talk and write properly. When I received a gift, my father always made sure I wrote a letter to the person who gave it to me to thank them, saying how pleased I was, and why that gift was so special (and, of course, without spelling mistakes). That could have made me hate any form of writing, and I did hate those kind of letters at that time (and, frankly, still do) but I learnt how to express myself properly when I was a kid. It is so rewarding to communicate precisely what you mean and get your point across, the way you mean it, with all the feelings you want to convey – humor, sadness, joy, etc. I love writing. For me, it is like reading a book, I discover and develop my thoughts while writing. I don’t know what the next sentence is going to be until I write it. On another hand, it is so frustrating when you want to communicate in a foreign language, whether it is with friends, for business or as a tourist, and you can’t.

My passion for the French language made me decide to become a translator. In my own little way, I can contribute to helping people say what they mean, the way they would like to say it if they could speak French themselves. When we say something, we want to be precisely understood, if not, not only is it a waste of time, but miscommunication can be very damaging. It is so important to me to be clearly understood that… I speak too much.”

- Michèle, French Translator

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“At age 9, I received my first English class in our public school, and I just loved it right from the beginning. I became very passionate about learning languages - I wanted to learn as many as I could. So I studied English, Latin, Spanish, Swedish, French, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Guaraní, and two Mayan languages. After graduating as a PhD (in Linguistics, of course), I worked as a researcher and university teacher for six years, but I felt my work was too theoretical. So I quit my "safe" job and set up my translation business. I realized that dealing with clients and managing my business was another thing I really loved. Therefore I studied to obtain a Master of Science in Financial Management. Now I am a translator with a specialization in Business and Finance and I am very happy with it!”

- Uta, German Translator

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“English has always been in my life, since my hometown in Mexico is very close to the United States. I started translating when I was in college to help other students who didn’t know English. That, and also working several years at the American Consulate, gave me the opportunity to penetrate into another career and culture that I never thought I would enjoy so much. I like the challenge of finding the correct terminology to make the Spanish text more fluent and appealing to the reader, as well as helping with communication between two people, who otherwise wouldn’t be able to understand each other.

- Zandra, Spanish Translator

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“It was 1994 when I moved to Canada, a country I ended up living in for almost nine years before returning home to Germany in 2003. I was fresh out of university, business degree in hand, but had already gained valuable experience in marketing and PR. I had also always been interested in languages (Russian being one of them, actually). At the same time, the Internet over night had greatly simplified the way information and files could be exchanged – regardless of one's location. I had planned to "go freelance" for some time and could not think of a better, more fulfilling business concept than setting up my own translation shop. I started out mailing info letters to agencies all over North America, presenting myself as a subject matter specialist with a fable for languages, linguistic accuracy and style, focusing on business and marketing texts from English into German. Some 1,700 invoices later, having translated and edited full-time since 1996, I have gotten to know and worked with companies of all sizes and style. Having said that, Language Solutions clearly rates as one of my favorite agencies. With their friendly ownership and project management, thorough work approach, understanding of the field, and on-time payments, they are everything a freelancer could ask for. I look forward to continuing to work with them.”

- Thomas, German Translator