Languages and translation

General Language Skills

Czech and English

  • Native-like competence in both languages (Czech learned first).
  • Written and published both journalistic and academic works in both languages.
  • Edited and proof-read texts in both languages.
  • Interpreted and translated between the languages in both directions.
  • Presented at conferences and conducted content instruction in both languages.
  • Taught both languages and trained teachers in them.
  • Researched and written on the differences between the two languages.

Other Languages

I also have varying levels of competence in other languages to which I have been exposed in the course of my work and study.

  • Reading, listening and conversational fluency: Russian (have taught classes in Russian, lived with a Russian speaking family, translated from Russian)
  • Basic reading skills: French, German, Albanian (can read short texts with the help of a dictionary, can navigate websites)
  • Basic survival skills: Albanian, Romanian, Spanish, French, German (in order of recency of exposure; can quickly establish reasonable level of competence upon arrival in country)
  • Knowledge of grammatical system: Chinese, Swahili, Runyankore, Arabic, Hungarian, Ancient Egyptian (can identify salient grammatical features of these languages as a result of formal instruction and/or informal exposure; also received basic training in general language typology)

Translation and interpreting

  • Acted as in-house translator for the Transversal Corporation, translating official web pages and software interface.
  • Taught intermediate and advanced translation from and into Czech at University of Glasgow .
  • Translated into Czech George Lakoff’s Women, Fire and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind – published 2006.
  • Translated into Czech political and cultural commentary published in Lidové Noviny, a leading Czech mass-circulation daily.
  • Translated into Czech materials for Amnesty International Czech Republic.
  • Translated into Czech official documents for CORUS, an investment management company.
  • Translated both into Czech and English miscellaneous private and business correspondence, and other documents (including academic abstracts); reviewed and edited translations of same.
  • Translated both into Czech and English internal and official documents for Peace Corps Czech Republic.
  • Reviewed translations of computer games into Czech for Cinemax (www.cinemax.cz) and Babelfish.
  • Interpreted for a workshop held by the GLE in London for Czech officials applying for EU funding.
  • Interpreted at formal occasions most recently for a Glasgow Rangers football team formal dinner.
  • Interpreted and translated documents for Czech Roma families seeking political asylum in the UK .
  • Translated and interpreted speeches for Peace Corps Czech Republic Country Director and the US Ambassador to the Czech Republic.
  • Participated in an international terminology and lexicography project as part-time manager of computer center at Department of Translation Studies at Charles University.