Specializations
Legal
Legal translation
Translation of legal texts such as statutes, regulations, contracts, pleadings, rulings, etc., requires absolute precision and a thorough understanding of the language of law. Legal texts do not merely provide information, they often perform specific actions with legal force – entering into commitments, creating entities, extending guarantees, prohibiting conduct, granting exemptions, imposing conditions and more. In any language, these actions are carried out using special terminology, phrases and constructions. A legal translator must analyze and reproduce this underlying legal force flawlessly for the target audience.
Plain language
Legal language has been historically fraught with deliberately dense and arcane writing. While many legal concepts require specialized terminology and complex sentence structures, it is also vital to communicate so the reader can understand the text perfectly with minimal effort. In line with the prevailing style, I provide translations that are clear, concise and as accessible as possible, without compromising the meaning, force, style or register of the original text.
Environmental translation
The environment touches every aspect of our lives, so naturally, environmental translation covers a broad range of documents – from environmental impact assessments, research reports and laws and regulations to CSR reports, internal guidelines and technical specifications. This requires knowledge of the technical, legal and scientific facets of environmental texts.
Aside from my experience translating national environment laws, tender documentation for major renewables projects and a variety of other assessments, reports and guidelines, you also benefit from my work experience running a local renewable energy cooperative, including giving talks on solar energy as well as on climate science and policy.
Environmental
Technical
Technical translation
Technical translation presents unique challenges. As a client, you want to be sure your specifications, manuals or product offers are perfectly correct, down to the tiniest nuts and bolts.
Given the wide variety of equipment, technologies and infrastructure in the world, not to mention that new ones are arising all the time, a technical translator must have the dedication and wherewithal to conduct meticulous research on every term and part. This may involve scouring the internet for manuals, blueprints and catalogues, or learning entirely new technologies for a specific document. Occasionally, it even requires coining new terms in the target language for novel devices or concepts developed in the source language.
The end result is a document that conveys your technology or message with absolute precision, down to the smallest detail.
Medical translation
Medicine is high stakes. A microgram versus a milligram, a slang term used by a patient, the correct name for a procedure – all can be matters of life and death.
Medical terminology itself is replete with nuance across different languages: where one language uses a Greek term, another may prefer the Latin term; where one language calls a body part by a scientist’s surname, another may prefer a descriptive term.
From physician to lab technician, from pharmacist to translator – with every link in the medical service chain, you want to know you are in good hands.
With a strong foundation in Greek and Latin – the traditional languages of medicine – and years of experience translating medical reports for major organizations, translation agencies and individuals, Patrick offers the skills, knowledge and attention to detail to ensure optimal accuracy, clarity and care.’
