Get to know us – Helena and Natalia talk languages, interpreting and travels…
In our second blog article, we would like to tell you a bit more about ourselves and what led us to decide to immerse ourselves into the world of languages. You have probably gathered by now that languages and interpreting are what gets us up in the morning but how did we get to this point? Has it always been a clear career choice, the story you start with the ‘Ever since I was born I knew I wanted to work with languages’ phrase? Or more of a sudden twist to an already established career path that takes you by surprise? Read on and get to know us better! 😊
Q: When did you discover that languages are your passion?
Natalia: Languages have always been the thing I enjoyed most whilst at school. I always excelled at English, I also enjoyed learning German. Most of my classmates would complain about having to study Latin in college and I absolutely loved it – it was another language, albeit ancient, and realising that I could figure out what a Latin sentence meant thanks to my knowledge of English gave me thrills every single time! So I guess the answer is I knew I was in love with languages at a very early age actually! 😊
Q: What were some of your memorable experiences with foreign languages?
Q: English has been the first foreign language for both of you – how long have you been learning it for?
Q. Did you always want to study English?
Q: Besides English, you also speak other languages. Can you tell us more about what languages these are?
Helena: As a child I had a good friend of mine who was American. I remember one time when she was flying back home to Philadelphia I got her a small parrot as a forget-me-not gift (which, unfortunately, got gobbled up by a cat shortly after…). Then I got into chess, which is where I came in contact with American chess players on a daily basis. American English became rather personal to me during this time, talking to the wonderful people in the club. Fast forward a few years, my father moved to the UK and I used to visit him every summer well into my twenties, in a beautiful little Welsh town, several kilometers away from the English border. It frequently occurred to me, though, to get a flummoxed stare for saying typically British words (eg. 'knackered') in an American accent.
Q: English has been the first foreign language for both of you – how long have you been learning it for?
Natalia: I started learning English at the age of 6 thanks to my parents who decided to sign me up for private English lessons with an English teacher who lived close by. I carried on with these lessons until the age of 18 and I really owe a lot to that teacher. I also studied English at school from the age of 6 through to the age of 18 and had some excellent and very inspiring teachers there too. I then went on to study for my BA and MA degree in the UK and that has boosted my English level immensely.
Q. Did you always want to study English?
Helena: I wasn’t really aware that I was learning English but then, one day, when I was already a fluent speaker of English, it dawned on me that it would be great to have a formal background in languages and get to the bottom of exactly how the language was working and where the expressions came from. After obtaining the Master's degree in Economics, I decided to pursue the M.A. in English language studies as well.
Q: Besides English, you also speak other languages. Can you tell us more about what languages these are?
Natalia: I am an Italian speaker too. My official Italian education started when I went to university in the UK and started a degree in Italian with International Studies. However, prior to that I’d tried to teach myself some Italian too, I still have the ‘Learn Italian in 4 weeks’ handbook at home 😊
I also did a Spanish course a couple of years ago - I completed a B1 level and I’ll definitely aim to work on it more in the future. I also had German at school but I never fully mastered it so I don’t use it for any of my translation or interpreting work. Who knows, maybe in the future I’ll try to dust it off too 😊
Helena: German is my third language and I currently use it in the corporation I work for as the primary language. To me it has its unique, slightly “unconventional” beauty and a lovely flow to it.
Q: With English being a lingua franca and taught at the majority of schools in Poland, it was understandably the language that you didn’t have any choice but to learn. Natalia, you delved deep into Italian. Why?
Natalia: It’s going to sound a little funny…But I do think I was Italian in my past life 😊 My first ‘serious’ trip abroad was to Italy and I always tried to strike up a conversation in the very basic Italian I taught myself with the Italian students coming to my school for an exchange program. When I was picking courses to study at university, I was certain I wanted to study languages and knew that Italian just had to be one of them. That’s how I ended up studying for a combined degree in Italian and International Studies.
Q: Helena, why did you choose to go into teaching English?
Helena: I had a flair for teaching since I was 18. In my first job, I carved a niche for myself working as a chess instructor. Chess and English have always been intertwined for me. So when I was teaching chess and some of my students didn’t speak Polish, I communicated with them in English. This is when I had that light-bulb-flaring-over-head moment, and I wanted to became a teacher.
Q: Now onto interpreting and translation. Has this always been on the cards?
Natalia: I realised I wanted to become an interpreter and translator during my study abroad year at the School of Modern Languages for Interpreters and Translators in Forlì, Italy. I loved the courses they had on offer and the practical modules where I could practice interpreting between English and Italian (sadly Polish wasn’t on offer in Forlì). I returned to the UK from my year abroad and I knew I’d be applying to study translation and interpreting at an MA level. Three years later I did go on to study for an MA in Translation and Interpreting at Swansea University in South Wales. Nearly 10 years later, I obtained a postgraduate qualification in conference interpreting from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland.
Helena: For me it all started when I lived in the UK. My father was going to have a minor operation. To my terror, he asked me to be his interpreter before he was put under. After that first experience, I had other assignments such as International Librarian Congress at the Czartoryski Library and also interpreted the inauguration of the international chess festival “Cracovia”. Five years later, I met Natalia at the postgraduate program for simultaneous interpreters and it set the ball rolling... It's been great cooperating with Natalia and our latest interpreting event was a conference organised by the United Nations in Milan on Social Inclusion of Vulnerable Migrants.
Helena: For me it all started when I lived in the UK. My father was going to have a minor operation. To my terror, he asked me to be his interpreter before he was put under. After that first experience, I had other assignments such as International Librarian Congress at the Czartoryski Library and also interpreted the inauguration of the international chess festival “Cracovia”. Five years later, I met Natalia at the postgraduate program for simultaneous interpreters and it set the ball rolling... It's been great cooperating with Natalia and our latest interpreting event was a conference organised by the United Nations in Milan on Social Inclusion of Vulnerable Migrants.
Q: Why conference interpreting then? What’s so exciting about being an interpreter?
Natalia: I love that sense of meaningfulness that comes with this job. You know that you make communication possible and without your support your client would struggle to express themselves and get things done.
Besides that, interpreting to me is a bit like acting. You’re in the booth with your fellow interpreter, your mic is on mute, but then your partner gives you a nod and you know you’re about to go in, the stage is yours and now it’s all up to you - whether you manage to take these people on a journey with you.
Interpreting is a profession for extremely curious people – you never stop learning. And I’m not talking just about interpreting techniques, what I mean is that you have to constantly learn new things in all disciplines. You never know what your next assignment might be about, so the more you read on all sorts of subjects, the better your chances of pulling it off next time you’re in the booth.
Helena: You nailed it, Natalia, I couldn’t agree more.
Besides that, interpreting to me is a bit like acting. You’re in the booth with your fellow interpreter, your mic is on mute, but then your partner gives you a nod and you know you’re about to go in, the stage is yours and now it’s all up to you - whether you manage to take these people on a journey with you.
Interpreting is a profession for extremely curious people – you never stop learning. And I’m not talking just about interpreting techniques, what I mean is that you have to constantly learn new things in all disciplines. You never know what your next assignment might be about, so the more you read on all sorts of subjects, the better your chances of pulling it off next time you’re in the booth.
Helena: You nailed it, Natalia, I couldn’t agree more.
Q: Natalia, you mentioned travelling is one of your passions. What would be the destination you’d most like to go on an interpreting assignment to?
Natalia: I wouldn’t mind going back to Italy which is where we did our most recent assignment. Possibly South of Italy this time, though. That or anywhere in the South of Europe would make me happy 😊 But I’m generally not very fussy and happy to travel anywhere really.
Helena: I’m not sure if this turns out to be a business trip, but I’ve already decided: it’s going to be Miami and all of Florida! As soon as we get past this COVID! Vienna is also on target for a longer stay. I also hope we can visit the European Parliament and the European Commission in Brussels one more time!
Q: What about you Helena?
Helena: I’m not sure if this turns out to be a business trip, but I’ve already decided: it’s going to be Miami and all of Florida! As soon as we get past this COVID! Vienna is also on target for a longer stay. I also hope we can visit the European Parliament and the European Commission in Brussels one more time!
Q: Final question today, what do you enjoy doing besides interpreting? What are your other passions and interests?
Natalia: I love dancing, I did salsa in my university days and currently I’m more of a Zumba-goer. My other passions are definitely traveling and reading (in all 3 languages) 😊
Helena: If you’d asked me a few years before I wouldn’t think twice and say “chess”! But aside from this, there’s also dancing (discofox and ballet). When nobody’s there, I also like to strum a few chords on my guitar 😊
Helena: If you’d asked me a few years before I wouldn’t think twice and say “chess”! But aside from this, there’s also dancing (discofox and ballet). When nobody’s there, I also like to strum a few chords on my guitar 😊
GLOSSARY:
immerse oneself in(to) something - zagłębiać się w coś
sudden twist - nagły zwrot akcji
take someone by surprise - zaskoczyć kogoś
albeit - aczkolwiek, chociaż
give thrills - ekscytować, cieszyć
gobble up - połykać, pożerać
fast forward a few years - parę lat później, szybki przeskok o parę lat
flummoxed - zbity z tropu
knackered - wykończony, bardzo zmęczony
sign someone/oneself up - zapisać kogoś/ zapisać się
sign someone/oneself up - zapisać kogoś/ zapisać się
immensely - ogromnie, niezwykle
dawn on somebody - zaświtać komuś w głowie
get to the bottom of something - dotrzeć do sedna czegoś
master something - opanować coś (wiedzę, umiejętność)
dust something off - odkurzyć coś (tu w znaczeniu: odświeżyć umiejętności)
strike up a conversation - nawiązać rozmowę
have a flair/knack for - mieć wrodzony talent/smykałkę
carve a niche - znaleźć niszę
intertwined- powiązane, ściśle połączone
to be in the cards (AmEng)/on the cards (BritEng) - bardzo prawdopodobne (że się zdarzy), jak dwa razy dwa jest cztery
put under - uśpić (do operacji)
set the ball rolling - rozpocząć czynność, rozpocząć rozmowę
give somebody a nod - dać znać skinieniem głowy
pull something off - osiągnąć coś, dokonać czegoś
nail something - zrobić coś wyjątkowo dobrze
on target - na celowniku
think twice - dobrze się zastanowić
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