Wolfestone Translation Blog

I am currently in a first year of Master in Foreign Languages applied to Business. However, I would like to do a Master in Translation next year, so I thought doing my internship in the translation area would be a perfect transition between both. Moreover, to work in an English-speaking firm would help me to have more professional experience, to meet different cultures and, of course, to improve my English language.

I applied for an internship as translator in this company in part because their website was really attractive and complete, and thanks to the positive testimonies of other interns. I made an unsolicited application and I received an answer very quickly; they gave me all the information I needed in a very short time. I didn’t have many translation classes during my studies but, during the 4 months of internship, I have hoped to learn a lot about translation techniques and, more simply, how things take place in such a company.

During my first week, I began with some documents such as certificates and technical documents to practice. It was really interesting to discover new fields of translation as I was used to translate extracts of novels, magazine’s and newspaper’s articles, etc. Then, I was giving more and more responsabilities with translations for clients, proofreadings and a few tasks in the marketing area. I have felt more involved in the company. The staff is very friendly and helpul in case of any problem or question and there is a really cultural diversity. The atmosphere is relaxed and nice which is a really important thing in a company. Maybe it can explain its dynamism and its success.

I think that it is an experience really rewarding on a personal and professional point of view. Being in contact with other cultures helps you to be more open-minded, even at work. What’s better than working in a firm in a foreign country to know what is working life? They are serious about their work and they pay attention to the client’s expectations. According to me, Wolfestone Translation plays his part very well as teaching us how to work.

Marion Laisné – France

Do you want to do an internship at Wolfestone? Visit our website www.wolfestone.co.uk!

In the age where English comes to dominate the planet, the fate of smaller languages spoken by lesser numbers is often forgotten.  At exactly the same time as we debate the pros and cons of English taking over the world, other languages which have been spoken for tens of thousands of years are rapidly dying.  One such example occurred last week, when Boa Sr, the last remaining speaker of the Bo language, died.

With her death, a language amongst the very very oldest spoken by mankind – some 65,000 years old – passed into history.  An expert on the languages of the area said that her loss was tragic as it robbed us of the chance of discovering how languages evolve.  Indeed, there are only a few dozen Great Andamanese tribespeople left.  When they leave us, another 10 languages will be consigned to history.

At a human level, there is the fact that for the last 30 years of her life, there was no-one left with whom she could converse in her mother tongue.  She adapted by speaking Hindi and a colloquial mixture of other Great Andamanese, but not everyone can master another language.  Even those who can will never quite be at their ease using a second language.

That said, not every minority language is doomed to die out altogether.  If the decline can be checked in time, a minority language can be preserved, and, given time, brought back to the rudest of health.  One such example is the Welsh language.  At one point, it was considered simply a matter of time before Welsh would die out.  However, certain steps were undertaken – the key one being its reintroduction as a language used in schools – and it is now estimated that one in four Welshmen can speak the language to conversational level.

Indeed, many of these pupils achieve near-native fluency in the tongue despite having monoglot English parents and family.  Quite frequently they become indistinguishable from those whose mother tongue is Welsh.  This is proof that no language need ever die out if the will to preserve it is there.  It is simply a matter of having this desire to save a living language.

Do you want to know more about languages? Or do you need a translation in an unusal language? Contact Wolfestone Translation.

I am currently studying PR and media at Swansea University and decided that it would be useful to assess my strengths and weaknesses, as well as to get hands on experience in the chosen field of study through a work taster.

At the end of my placement here I consider that the chance of working within the Marketing and Sales Department of Wolfestone Translations has been really useful. Firstly, I am starting to understand how important it is to know the background of the company you are working for, as it helps you deliver better customer services. This was relevant both to creating customer newsletters, but also performing marketing research in the US market. Secondly, I got acquainted with softwares such as ACT!, Dreamweaver 8 or business oriented internet services such as Link Market and Swiftpage 5, which are really important in managing customer databases or designing various materials. Last but not least, the work taster gave me the opportunity to improve my writing and screen-based designing skills.

On the whole, the atmosphere in the office is relaxed and the environment can indeed be called international and culturally diverse. Also, my colleagues have been really helpful in answering the questions I had about various tasks, as it helped me improve my skills.

Georgiana Avram, Romania

Do you want to do an internship at Wolfestone? Visit our website www.wolfestone.co.uk!