Karine A. Constantin - MA in Translation Studies specializing in Legal, Business and Technical translations (Université de Lille III, France).  Member of the SFT (Société Française des Traducteurs). I have a passion for the English language, travelling, new technologies and cooking ... and I am the mother of two young boys to whom I endeavor to instill this enthusiasm!

By essence, languages can't exist but through constant practice. That is the reason why I keep up English, my second language, each and every day, not only through reading, TV, cinema, but also through communicating with English speaking friends, colleagues or clients on a daily basis. As often as possible, I try to travel and meet my clients, wherever they may be located in the world!

Education

 For 4 years, I attended the Université de Rennes II (France) and the University of Memphis (Tennessee, USA), to complete a Master's degree ("Maîtrise") majoring in English language, literature and civilization. I then attended the Université de Lille III (France) to obtain a post-graduate degree ("DESS de traduction") specializing in Legal, Business and Technical translations.

The enthusiasm I developed for new technologies soon added to my interest in languages.
In 1997, at the beginning of the digital era, I wrote a linguistic research paper called "French Cyberculture: English Loanwords in the Internet World", a paper which I was invited to present at the South Eastern Conference On Linguistics, in Lafayette, Louisiana (USA) the next year. I then carried out an internship at the Languages and Translations Department of the Corporate Headquarters of France Télécom in Paris, where I created a general lexicon on telecommunications (70 pages), as well as a bilingual glossary on mobile Internet (90 pages).

Work experience

 I started my career as a translator/technical writer (for over five years) for one of the major computer and consumer electronics manufacturers in Europe, Packard Bell (NEC Computers International).
My assignments included the design, follow-up and writing (in English) of user's guides, tutorials (software, laptops and desktops, MP3 players, GPS, DVD/media players, TVs, etc.), as well as the English to French translation of various types of documents (technical, legal, marketing, etc.). I also followed up with localization, proofreading and validation of various outsourced translations which had been translated into 15 different languages.

At the same time, I worked for 4 years as a temp freelance translator via the consulting agency Porte-Paroles, so as to diversify my activities and my areas of expertise in telecommunications, transportation, tourism, agri-business, gastronomy, appliances, business contracts, warranties, etc. (see my references).

Now a full-time freelance translator, I have also been teaching occasionally at the Université Catholique de l'Ouest (IPLV and ESEO) since September 2006. In particular, I taught a technical writing course for post-graduate students who are enrolled in a European Master's in Specialized Translation.

To download my resume, please click here.