Marc
Job title
Freelance journalist, interpreter and translator
Company and location
Starr Language Solutions, Manchester
Industry sector
Journalism
Background
Played percussion in the band ‘Doves’
Honours degree in Ibero-American Studies, Leeds University
Diploma in Public Service Interpreting, Portuguese
Worked for Manchester United, as a personal interpreter and assistant to Ronaldo and Kleberson
Describe your work
In my work as a journalist, I have been able to get on assignments that other writers would have found more difficult to set up. Otherwise, I have written many articles in which I gained insight into certain overseas subject matter – such as Brazilian music – that other writers would find a lot more difficult, if not impossible. A good example would be a feature for Maxim magazine that I did which enabled me to go to Brazil and appear on a live television gameshow. I had to set the feature up, which took weeks of faxes, emails and telephone calls. Without being highly fluent in Portuguese, I would not even have managed to reach the stage where I even knew the right production office within the offices of the broadcaster in question, let alone to be able to make sure the actual execution of the feature went smoothly. Had I required an interpreter, the cost that would have been involved in setting up the feature would have rendered it far too expensive for even Maxim to bother going ahead with. Without my language skills, this feature would not have been planned, never mind completed.
How important are languages to you?
I speak Spanish, Portuguese and French, as well as of course English. My gift in life was for languages. If I had not opted to do a degree purely in languages, I would have done a degree in a vocational subject with a language module. Either way, my leaning was towards language-related activities. I would not have taken a path where languages weren’t used so I have taken my skills and made them work for me both in the media and in the more traditional areas of translation and interpreting.
What tips would you give to someone wanting to work with languages in the media?
Journalists have to have a story no-one else can get in order to have good bargaining power. Interpreters and translators, especially when they’re in the right place at the right time, have a skill that few people have. The combination can be extremely powerful. I feel more valued as a result. I have found that my experience as a writer and sub-editor has helped my ability to complete good written translations and my ‘people skills’ as a writer and reporter have been invaluable in picking up contacts and maintaining relationships.