LailaTranslator

Laila As Translator

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I guess my fascination with translation began when my Mother found herself stuck between languages: she is German, my father was Egyptian. It became my main job to negotiate between my father's Egyptian family members and friends and my mother. The second big step was when my father bought my Mum a fish-tank for her birthday. Meticulous as ever, she looked for books on maintaining acquariums, fish-types, fish food, ... etc. However, the only books she could find were in Arabic: That was my first grand "literary" translation project. I translated a couple of these books for her into German.
The third major influence was my Translation Professor at college, Dr. Helmy Heliel. He saw in me a potential future translator, and I guess he was right.
Today I've been a free-lance translator and interpreter (English<>Arabic) for ten years. I've translated in as various fields as legal documents, philosophy, history, commerce, literature, psychology, GIS, MIS, computer, ... etc. I even have a number of publications, and I was the interpreter for a number of conferences at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

Translation for me is not merely a job. It is an endless world of negotiating meaning, of knowing exactly what something means or says, and being desperate to reproduce it in another tongue. It is an adventure of the mind and a challenge to the intellect...

Here are some of my recent achievements in this field:

1. Principles of Leadership - Simultaneous interpretation of a satellite-broadcast seminar

2. Academic Freedom - Rapporteur of a UNESCO event

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