at a glance
- Qualified to translate from Italian, French, German and Dutch
- Almost 3 million words translated since 2005
- Experience in Marketing and Advertising
- Familiarity with manufacturing industries
- London based
- Visiting lecturer at University of Westminster and City University in London
Caroline (right) as Alice in Henry V
Photo by Phil Gammon
Formative years. I fell in love with languages at school. With A-levels in German, French and Latin under my belt, I headed to the University of Leeds to study German and French.
Work experience. By now I was hooked – two modern languages weren’t quite enough. Having completed a post-graduate Diploma in Executive Assistant Studies (which included a module in Dutch), I jumped at the chance to improve my Italian and accepted a job with Olivetti. I spent fifteen fruitful years in northern Italy, working first in Marketing for the international printer division, then in Advertising for the multinational Office Products division. To my delight, my work with Olivetti subsidiaries and agents took me all over Europe and the US.
Word experience. When the time came to return home to England – with several suitcases, a husband and two young children – I decided to put my love and knowledge of languages to more targeted use by becoming a freelance translator. In 2004, I passed the European Commission’s competitive examinations to win a place on its reserve list of translators. Since 2003, I have taught translation part-time on M.A. courses at the University of Westminster and on preparatory courses for the CIoL’s Diploma in Translation exam at City University. As with translation, good teaching is all about effective communication. And it’s at the heart of what I do for fun too: I’m a proud member of my local theatre group.
Memberships and Qualifications:
- Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists
- Diploma in Translation, NL-EN
- Diploma in Translation, FR-EN
- Diploma in Translation, IT-EN
- Post-graduate Diploma in Executive Assistant Studies
- B.A. German & French, University of Leeds
Experience and Testimonials
I have over two decades of translation experience.
I established Caroline Durant Translations in 2005 and since then I have translated almost 3 million words.
My work has ranged from press releases and websites, to instruction manuals and cookbooks. One day I’m asked to produce engaging copy for a museum, the next I’m translating a precise manual for an x-ray machine. The variety is one of the reasons I love my job.
See the word cloud below for some of the document types and subject matters I have worked on to date.
It is always a pleasure to work with Caroline: she is meticulous in her research and extremely accurate, whether working from German, French or Italian. She is also happy to collaborate to ensure that together we produce results that are both professional and pleasant to read.
Marie Meynadier
Thanks so much for the OG translation, a really superb job. It’s such a joy to work with you.
Ros Schwartz