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Congratulations Sabina!
20 years ago, you started working for Jonckers – what were your first impressions of the company?
Initially, I worked with Jonckers, rather than for them. In 2001 I was hired by CrossGap, an Italian localization company. I was a Translator back in those days. CrossGap trained me in localization and I didn’t have any idea what Trados, the computer-assisted translation software, was or how it worked. I worked with the Senior Translators to learn the tricks of the trade and in time I became a Revisor and Language Lead (for Italian, which is my native language).
Back then, we only worked from English to Italian and specialized in Microsoft (working on big projects like CRM and Office). It was challenging and very interesting. Microsoft back then had its own internal linguistic department, so we liaised directly with them daily, and this was excellent training as a linguist, terminologist, and Language Lead.
In 2009 Jonckers acquired CrossGap, that’s when my role changed to become a Language Analyst. Rather than working from just Italian, I then started to coordinate across different languages.
What is your current role?
I’m Language Analyst Manager, but I am both a Line Manager and Language Analyst. I like both aspects of my job: I like being a Manager, as I like training, mentoring, and sharing experiences, but I also like working as a Language Analyst because I like being a linguist and working on quality. I feel the two roles are complementary: if you work ‘hands on’ you get an insider’s view and experience of what’s going on. In turn, this makes you a better manager.
“I love my job. I love what I do. And I love the people I work with. In my team, we are friends.”
Sabina
Language Analyst Manager
What’s a day in the life of a Language Analyst?
We take care of everything which is connected to language in the project: we support the account teams, support the linguists, coordinate the language leads, analyze the source files, create instructions, reply to queries from the linguists, work with the Program Managers and Project Managers to investigate and solve quality issues, support with creating quality strategies/suggesting ideas on how to improve… essentially implementing support systems to optimize quality. We can’t understand every language, so – alongside the Language Leads – we work closely with the linguists.
Our work is sorted by accounts, not by languages. To be effective, we need to know the details of the account: what the clients want, quality requirements, tone of voice, terminology… We need to interpret the client’s requirements into instructions and guidance for the linguists. For this, we need to know the specifics of the account to ensure that all articulated and even non-articulated requirements are met. We have to be able to provide answers related to any aspect of quality and language.
How complex are these instructions and how difficult are they to use?
These can vary significantly. Some are simpler and just have one page. Huge accounts, with extensive brand guidelines and terminology, could easily have 50 pages’ worth of instructions. It depends on the complexity of the project. All linguists are trained on each client and must use the instructions, which could be challenging to implement if the instructions are ambiguous.
For every new project or new content type, the Language Analyst allocated to that project goes through the content (or a sample of it, in case of huge word counts) to determine: what challenges are there in terms of terminology? Do we need a style guide & terminology guidelines? Do we need a glossary? Are there missing references or pieces of info we’d better ask the client before the project starts? And any other possible challenge which needs preventative actions to pre-empt possible issues. We then work accordingly, creating instructions and setting up what is needed from the linguistic point of view for the project, right from the start. This way we try to minimize queries, issues, and inconsistencies when a project is ongoing.
As you’re deemed the expert, but also responsible for the ultimate selection of words, does it feel like your work is constantly scrutinized by the client?
I’d say it’s more of a balanced exchange, rather than being constantly judged. However, we are scrutinized when the clients perform Quality Audit checks on us. Even then it’s a debate as clients are not always right! So one of our tasks is also to arbitrate any evaluation on the translations that we get. But in general, sure, being scrutinized is part of any translator’s job!
With whom do you collaborate most?
I love getting to liaise with many different departments. I work with Program Managers and Project Managers, Recruiters for new suppliers, Resourcing Managers, Quality Manager… there are always lots of people to collaborate with. I also work closely with the Engineers, when there are very technical requests. I relish the opportunity to travel and spend time with the different teams.
What I’m sure of is that I’m very quiet and unflappable. I stay calm. That’s the reason they ask me for my advice when there are tensions; I tend to extend my serenity as a peace-keeper to others. I am proud that I can be calm. I’m happy that I’m given the time to reflect and decide what’s the best approach, and then I can be very structured. This allows me to perform at my best.
“Working with languages & linguistic challenges is great fun. There are moments of tension & pressure, but when you find the key to your client’s way of working, you can always find a way to collaborate.”
Sabina
Language Analyst Manager
How do you think your colleagues describe you and how would you describe yourself?
What I’m sure of is that I’m very quiet and unflappable. I stay calm. That’s the reason they ask me for my advice when there are tensions; I tend to extend my serenity as a peace-keeper to others. I am proud that I can be calm. I’m happy that I’m given the time to reflect and decide what’s the best approach, and then I can be very structured. This allows me to perform at my best.
What has kept you motivated and engaged all this time?
It’s simple. I love my job. I love what I do. And I love the people I work with.
In my team, we are friends: we collaborate, and we share everything both in the office and out. Across the company, there are also loads of professional, committed, and nice people that I have the pleasure of working with. We are aligned with the same objective: achieving the best quality to support customer satisfaction.
Working with languages & linguistic challenges is great fun. There are moments of tension & pressure, but when you find the key to your client’s way of working, you can always find a way to collaborate.
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