Meet the Community: Andrea B.

Welcome to the Meet the Community series, where we interview our partners and get to know more about them. Our Community is part of our lifeblood here at Lionbridge; without our dedicated, hard-working partners, we wouldn’t be able to continue breaking barriers and building bridges.

This time we’ll be meeting Dutch linguist Andrea B. from Zaandijk, Noord-Holland, the Netherlands.

What do you like most about being a part of the Lionbridge Community?

Generally speaking, translators, reviewers, and transcreators tend to work alone at our desks. It's very nice to be part of a team that is engaged and determined to deliver the best product to the client. I've been working for Lionbridge since 2005, and I'm still learning every day from my colleagues to this day.

How did you get into this field/industry?

Originally, I studied Slavic literature (Russian and Czech) at the University of Amsterdam. I first worked at a translation and DTP agency as a proof-reader for Russian, Czech and Dutch technical manuals. After a few years, I became a freelancer and was asked to work as an English to Dutch translator for IBM. It was quite exciting because I hadn’t studied English! I was very lucky to get a lot of feedback on my translations — though that was already more than 20 years ago, I am still learning today.

What advice would you give your younger self if they were just starting out in this field/industry?

I would say working with a team of linguists is important, and that it’s vital to ask for feedback on your translations. People are willing to help you with other things, too — you can learn just as much about tools and workflows as you can about translating. I would advise you to make good use of that support, and to try to learn from your colleagues. In the end it will allow you to deliver better translations.

Tell us about some of your hobbies and interests.

I love everything related to nature. One of my biggest hobbies is gardening — I find it very relaxing to work in my own garden. In fact, apart from the translation work that I do for Lionbridge and other clients, I also work as a gardener. Working outside is a nice change from working at a desk all the time! I also enjoy going for long walks and taking photographs, mostly of wildflowers and landscapes.

How many languages do you speak, and do you want to learn a new one?

I speak six languages: Dutch, English, German, French, Russian, and Czech. When I have more time, I would like to learn Japanese. I find the Japanese culture to be very interesting.

What is your favorite word or phrase in your native language and why?

My favorite phrase is "Heanig an," which means "take it easy, don't worry." It reminds me to relax and stop myself from worrying too much. This phrase can be used both as a goodbye and as a sort of advice. The phrase comes from a local Dutch dialect, Twents, which is spoken in the eastern Netherlands, where I grew up. 

What country would you like to travel to and why?

I would like to travel to many countries, but Iceland and Japan are at the top of the list. I would like to travel to Iceland for the beautiful scenery and to Japan for its ancient culture.

What is the coolest language task you’ve participated in?

About 20 years ago, I translated a Bird encyclopedia from English into Dutch. It was a real challenge to research all those birds. To this day, this encyclopedia is still available on the market!