Loreta, a Venezuela-based translator, joins the ranks of this year’s Gengo Wordsmiths. In her spare time, she practices her second and third languages—Italian and English, respectively—by reading and watching movies. She advises fellow translators to pay close attention to detail as well as the customers’ needs.

What languages do you speak and what are your experiences with learning them?

Besides my mother tongue, Spanish, I speak Italian and English. My father is Italian so my Italian education started at home. I learned English extensively at school, but it was a long journey before I could speak fluently. I enjoy improving my skills, and translating with Gengo has particularly broadened my vocabulary. Whenever I travel abroad, I practice speaking the languages I know.

What are your favorite translation tools?

I prefer translating verbatim and enjoy learning about different content topics. I sometimes use Google Translate first then review the whole text thoroughly. The longer the text, the better the machine translation. However, it’s important to be careful and pay attention to detail—there could be hidden errors here and there.

What are your tips to become a Wordsmith?

It takes discipline, dedication and customer focus. First of all, it’s important to carefully read the style guide and keep the clients’ preferences in mind. Second, take the time to research expressions or fields you’re not familiar with. Finally, check and proofread every single job three times to ensure zero mistakes.

Delivering good quality and accurate jobs, no matter how many words there are, increases the likelihood of becoming a preferred translator. This means having access to more translation jobs.

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