ABOUT ELIZA GRAHAM
I have been freelance translating and writing for over 17 years, and am certified by the American Translators Association as a professional translator.
What I bring to you are the skills of a writer who has the mind and experience of an international business consultant. Words are not just words, after all; they can make or break your business.
Eliza Graham, CT
Owner and Head Word Nerd
I worked in business development for an electricity company in Houston, Texas, which eventually took me to Brazil for six years, where I worked in the Finance area of the electricity distribution system in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Subsequently I worked in Investor Relations in Brazil, and later in the States, where I further deepened my knowledge of the financial markets.
After those years of gaining valuable experience, I put that knowledge to work for me and opened my own translation business. I now offer high-level business and legal translations that require knowledge about and the jargon of business, markets, banking, the financial markets, oil and gas, mining, environmental matters and legal.
There has been a growing trend in the translation field among some larger companies to "industrialize" translation, by building massive databases of strings of text that have been translated from one language into another. The goal of these companies is to mechanize language as much as possible, and to lower the cost of translating. I do not believe this is a good approach to building bridges between businesses, cultures and people, because machines will never be able to replace the infinite complexity with which we humans imbue our languages. Machines cannot understand context or meaning: they can only repeat words they have seen before.
Do you translate the word "responsabilidade" as "responsiblity" or "liability?" It can mean either, and it is important to get the right word down in a contract. What about the phrase "Não é minha praia?" Translated literally, that would mean "It isn't my beach," which means nothing to an English speaker. What that translates and is localized into in English is: "It's not my cup of tea." I have the words, but perhaps more importantly, I have lived and traveled extensively in the countries whose languages I speak.
Please contact me to let me know how I can help you with your writing and/or translating needs. I am passionate about language and getting JUST the right word.