Over the years, many of our GLD colleagues may have received requests for the translation of personal documents in either language direction. When Frieda Ruppaner-Lind received such a request earlier this year from someone who found her in the ATA online directory, she tried to come up with names of colleagues she could recommend and thought there would be a list in the file section of the GLD list. Unfortunately, her search came up short.
After starting the thread “Who translates personal documents?” on the GLD list, quite a few colleagues came forward on the list or contacted her privately. Another side effect of this inquiry was that the thread turned into a remarkably interesting discussion about the specifics of this type of service.
Loosely following the layout of the list for “Handwritten Document Translators” started by Ann Sherwin and now continued by Nathan Wiegand, Frieda collected all the names and created the list “Translation of Personal Documents.” It contains the following columns: Name, Contact Information, Comments, Language Combinations, and ATA Certification. The list contains the names of sixteen colleagues and also includes translators for Spanish and French.
You can find a link to the list of Personal Document Translators on this GLD webpage or by selecting Find a Translator/Interpreter, Personal Document Translators from the GLD homepage. It is also available in the Files section of the GLD listserv.
Frieda Ruppaner-Lind has been a full-time freelance translator for over three decades. She is a graduate of the Translators and Interpreters Institute at the University of Heidelberg with a degree in translation for English, Spanish, and economics and has been active in ATA on various levels over the years. While gradually easing into retirement, she is still working on select projects and follows the developments in our industry. She recently started the list “Who translates personal documents?” for the benefit of GLD members.