Katherine Roberts
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Are you mainly a translator or interpreter or both? What languages?
I am a translator from German and Russian into English.
What are your specialist fields?
I mainly translate legal and marketing texts. I actually enjoy doing terms and conditions and data privacy statements! I also specialise in history. I studied Soviet history for my finals at university and have an active interest in the history of the countries where both my languages are spoken.
What’s the strangest/most interesting project you’ve ever worked on?
The most interesting project was translating someone’s memoirs a few years ago.
Tell us about a particularly proud moment in your translation career:
It’s always nice to get positive feedback from clients. One client even waited two weeks for me to get back from holiday rather than finding another translator! I also feel particularly proud whenever I see my work in its published form, e.g. when I’ve translated a website.
Tell us two reasons why you like being a translator/interpreter:
I love the flexibility of being freelance – being able to start work at 6 am (or earlier – the earliest I’ve started work since going freelance is about 5:15!) if I want or to take a three hour lunch break. I also love the variety of my work. I’m always learning something new.
What is the most interesting place where you have lived/visited?
In my year abroad, I lived in Novosibirsk in Russia for 8 months (from September to May, so yes it was cold!) I would be happy if I never saw snow again in my life. I really enjoyed the time I spent there.
What are your plans for professional development or a new field you’d like to work in?
I would like to start doing more work from Russian. I have a new client based in Russia (that is prepared to pay in euros at a reasonable rate), so hopefully I should start getting more Russian – English work.
Tell us something not many people know about you:
I collect Harry Potter books like other people collect stamps (24 at the last count, only 2 of which are in English!). I’ve read them in English, German, Russian, French and Spanish.
