Arabic - French - Spanish - English

Jennifer Blundell

Born and raised in rainy Lancashire in the north-west of England, I grew up on fertile soil and with a love of languages. I chose to study modern languages at the University of Durham, where I continued with French and Spanish and, on a whim, took up beginner's Arabic – which turned out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made! My year abroad was the start of several years of adventure and travel: I worked as a receptionist for a business centre in Barcelona, fielding questions from clients and lost tourists alike; I studied Arabic in Damascus over the winter, leaving just before the first waves of civil war rippled across the country; and I interned in the valuation department of an international commercial property company in Paris, where I spent my lunch breaks strolling along the Champs-Elysées and marvelling at how lucky I was.

After graduating in 2012 (BA Modern Languages, First Class Honours), I couldn’t resist the lure of living abroad again and promptly moved to Changsha, China, for a year, where I worked as an English-language teacher and learned how to ask for all sorts of delicious dishes in Mandarin. I returned to the UK in 2013 to study for an MA in Applied Translation Studies at the University of Leeds, during which I received training in specialised translation (in fields such as medical/scientific, journalistic and administrative texts) and in the use of a number of CAT tools, including SDL Trados Studio 2011 and memoQ 2015 (which I now use in my work).

During my time at Leeds University, I travelled to Geneva to translate for the city’s annual model United Nations conference and to Vienna to work as a translation trainee in an actual United Nations office for a month. After graduating, I started a three-month traineeship in the English and Irish Translation Unit of the European Parliament in Luxembourg, which was subsequently extended to six months and which included two three-week placements in the English Editing Unit. After half a year’s intense revision as part of one of the world’s most prestigious translation teams, I was more prepared than ever to tackle translation projects of every size and style.

I now translate on a freelance basis for agencies and direct clients. I also supply précis- and record-writing services on a contractual basis to international organisations.

My preferred working area is medical and health, in particular allied therapies/therapeutic medicine. I have a network of medical professional contacts whom I can consult concerning problem terminology and concepts, and I have access to a growing, self-made glossary of medical terminology and a list of resources for finding unknown terminology. I am also working to continously update my skills and knowledge through relevant courses, webinars and reading.

I also have a working interest in culinary fields and cooking and in Oriental/Middle Eastern dance.

Yalla... let's translate!