Work With Me

I am glad I sparked your interest! This page serves as an overview of the services I offer, my professional values, and examples of the rates I usually charge.

Services I Offer

I offer a variety of language-related services. These include (but are not limited to):

Translation

The main star of the show! I will provide an accurate and natural translation of your source text into the target language: that is, from English to German or from German to English.

I have got experience working with many industry-standard techniques and technologies: for instance, CAT software such as memoQ, term databases, translation style guides, wikis and knowledge bases.

Support work such as writing and documenting translation style guidelines, creating and curating a term database while translating and coordinating client queries are naturally a part of my workflow as well.

Localisation/Transcreation

Although the lines are often blurred, the industry considers localisation (also occasionally called transcreation) a step beyond a simple translation.

While a translation simply transforms a source text into another language, localisation entails much more. Often, it is not a priority that a translation is an exact word-for-word equivalent to the source, but rather that it has a comparable effect on a local audience.

Localisation is a creative process that transforms cultural references, puns and emotions so that the target audience experiences the translation in their own relatable terms.

MTPE

When performing MTPE (Machine Translation Post-Editing), I take the pre-existing machine translation output you provide and give it a thorough quality examination.

Despite the advances in MT technology, it inherently bears limitations: consistency in named entities, in- and out-of-universe cultural context, and single-word string precision to name just a few.

Proofreading

You have got an existing project that you would like a second opinion on? I can assist.

This may mean planning high-level changes to the translation or writing style just as much as fixing punctuation, spelling and formatting mistakes.

Depending on your needs, I can either modify the material according to my notes directly, or provide a separate stand-off review document without making any changes to the source.

Alignment

Large projects with a plethora of people and software involved at some point inevitably lead to disorganised data.

I will make sure your translation matches the source string in each row of your translation database or spreadsheet.

Sensitivity, Culture or Language Consulting

How do you ideally refer to a non-binary character in a language as gendered as German? How do you handle non-basic German letters (Ää, Öö, Üü, ẞß) in your pixel-art game that lacks a compatible font? How could you name, write and characterise an authentic German character in your video game? How can you respectfully handle writing a transgender character in your fantasy world without coming across as either insensitive or heavy-handed?

These questions are examples of difficult challenges in writing and localisation in the current age, and more often than not, unfortunately remain unspoken before a product is finished and shipped.

I offer various miscellaneous consulting services related to such topics of cultural sensitivity, queer identities, and the intricacies of the many German languages and cultures. I will – through my lived and professional experience – give expert advice on how you could handle concepts, narratives, naming conventions, characters and issues around queerness, German culture, dialects, regionalisms and subcultures, youth slang and more.

Values

Localisation was a career path I chose not because of convenience but out of passion for the craft. I pride myself on my professional values and delivering the best possible experience to clients at all times.

Authenticity, diversity, genuineness

Did you know that a majority of non-native English-speaking video game enthusiasts nevertheless play games in English? The sentiment that German translations of non-German video games are stilted, inauthentic, unnatural – and therefore ultimately inferior – is quite wide-spread among young target audiences.

Witnessing this state of the traditional German localisation industry was one of my main motivators to join the field myself.

Even though the German-speaking world is ripe with significant regional, subcultural and individual diversity, this only seldom reflects in localised versions of foreign media. For historical and political reasons, the traditional German localisation industry focuses heavily on producing educational, grammatically sound standard High German translations of foreign media over transposing the source's authentic cultural expressiveness into a natural-feeling German equivalent.

This directly leads to the audience's previously mentioned negative sentiments: more often than not, a character that features a non-standard dialect or sociolect in the source text will speak unmarked, unnaturally precise High German in the translation. There is so much potential for alternate localisation solutions: finding an equivalent dialect or sociolect in the German linguistic continuum, managing an authoritative style and slang style guide, or even working with voice direction if applicable.

I strive to stand out by always communicating with clients about the localisation style they would prefer for their project: whether it's providing a natural, experimental transcreational localisation or a traditional, standard German translation, I have got you covered.

Confidentiality

Working primarily in the entertainment industry means that I am very aware of the high stakes and secrecy involved with massive media projects that fans across the globe are incredibly excited for. My workflow guarantees client and product confidentiality at all times.

It is as simple as it is elementary: your project data never leaves my computer. Your data is at no point sent to providers of third-party cloud storage, AI/LLM providers, online spell checkers and the like; all software I use is either yours or runs locally on my machine.

I am used to working on high-profile projects and under strict NDAs.

Rates

The following numbers are sample rates I have charged for similar tasks in the past. Naturally, each client and each project is an individual endeavour; prices may therefore vary depending on variables such as scope, timeframe and the content itself.

When in doubt, please get in touch and we can surely work something out!

Translation, Localisation: ~0,06€ / word
MTPE, Proofreading: ~0,05€ / word
Miscellaneous tasks (e. g. alignment, consulting): ~20,00€/hr