An English to Spanish translator based in the U.K., Noemi studied Translation and Interpreting before becoming a part of our global community. A travel lover with a penchant for languages, she shares her favorite translation tools and things she enjoys most as a freelance Gengo translator in this interview.

Nationality: Spanish
Location: Birmingham, U.K.
Occupation: Hotel receptionist
Gengo translator since: March 2016
Language pair: English to Spanish

What languages do you speak?

Spanish, English, German, French and I’m studying Italian.

If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be and why?

Swedish, because last summer I traveled to Stockholm for a project with refugees and it completely changed my life. They all came from many different parts of the world and their native languages were very diverse, but all of them were learning Swedish. Seeing how happy they were talking to each other and making new friends in Swedish was magical and made me totally fall in love with the language.

Do you have experience living in other countries? If so, where?

Yes, I was born in Madrid and I lived there most of my life. Last year I decided to be an au pair for a French-German family who lived in London and I spent six wonderful months in there. Then they moved to Paris and invited me to come along, so we moved to the French city together and stayed there for five more months. I had wonderful experiences in both places and it was probably one of the best years of my life. This past July I sadly had to say goodbye to my host family and moved back to Madrid for the summer. After summer I moved to Birmingham, where I’m currently based.

The lovely view from her home

On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy being a translator and why?

9, because I love the feeling of knowing that my job allows people to understand cultures. It is a very satisfying and rewarding profession.

How has translating for Gengo impacted your life?

I studied Translation and Interpreting in Madrid and I have always loved my degree. Translating for Gengo has made me learn a lot of new things because of the wide variety of content topics. Now I know more than ever that I’m meant to be a translator for I will probably never get bored with this job.

Noemi’s cozy workspace

When you were growing up, what did you aspire to become?

Apart from becoming an astronaut and a singer, I have always dreamt of working in a field related to languages.

What quote do you live by?

“Live your life in such a way that you always have an interesting story to tell.”

Name three of your favorite translation/language learning tools.

OmegaT and ProZ are my go-to translation tools. The former is a computer-assisted translation tool that I think is quite good, especially for beginners, as it is free and very intuitive. The latter is a directory of professional translators that allows users to participate in forums. It is one of my favorites because people are always willing to help and you can learn a lot just by browsing it. I also like Busuu, a language learning platform which I find very useful for learning and practicing vocabulary.

Recommend three of your favorite language-related books/films.

The Language by George Yule, How to Be an Alien by George Mikes, and The Interpreter.

What advice would you give to new or aspiring translators?

Never stop learning.

“One of my favorite hobbies is traveling. I love exploring different places.”

What advice would you give to your 18-year-old self?

Don’t be lazy and make the most out of your time as every little effort pays off.

What would you say are the three things you enjoy most about Gengo?

I decide how and when I work and what I want to work on. It’s great to have a profession tailored to my needs.

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