Laurence Bisot
We will publicise a member profile every Monday here on our website, on our Facebook page, on Twitter @NWTN_UK and on LinkedIn. We are starting off with the committee members, but we hope you will all join us in this opportunity to share a little about yourself with your fellow NWTN members.
Where do you live/work?
I live in Warrington, next to the Manchester Ship Canal, and close also to the Bridgewater Canal that I chose for my business name: Bridgewater Translations. Although my office is at home, with a view of a small garden, I enjoy coworking in Manchester, 2 or 3 times a month.
Are you mainly a translator or interpreter or both? What languages?
I am a translator, from English to French.
What are your specialist fields?
Most of my projects are magazine articles about astrophysics and astronomy, history and wildlife, but I also do a bit of legal and marketing.
What’s the strangest/most interesting project you’ve ever worked on?
My most interesting projects are magazines about the Universe. I have always been interested in the subject, but this takes it to another level. I am developing a speciality in cosmology and enjoying all the research it involves… and it gets published with my name in the magazines!
Tell us about a particularly proud moment in your translation career:
When I received the news I had passed the MITI exam with an excellent mark, I really felt I had achieved a landmark in my career as a translator.
Tell us 2 reasons why you like being a translator/interpreter:
I have loved the English language all my life, having studied it for years, and now I can enjoy it even more, as well as exploring my own language, French, more. I also love the flexibility of working as a freelancer, as it gives me a better quality of life.
What is the most interesting place where you have lived/visited?
Before coming to live in England, I lived in Normandy for a few years, and I was teaching in the most amazing setting: the school was in former barracks on a headland in Granville, lit by the lighthouse on winter mornings with a sea view towards Jersey, which you could see on a clear day. It may be the only thing I regret about leaving my teaching career!
What are your plans for professional development or a new field you’d like to work in?
I would like to learn more about the science involved in cosmology and astrophysics articles. I may follow some MOOC courses to learn more about it. I am also learning Spanish, with the aim of having a second source language one day, but I am not there just yet…
Tell us something not many people know about you:
When I was 12 or so, I started the translation of a children’s version of Gulliver’s Travels. Little did I know then that I would make a career of it!
