In this issue: Richard Peters, Managing Director, Editor and Translator

 

• What are the most difficult words to translate?

I have a few bugbears – words that can mean so many different things depending on the context. One really tricky one is the German word “nachhaltig”, which often gets translated into English in a knee-jerk fashion as “sustainable” but can mean anything from “lasting” or “permanent” to “consistent” or even “effective”.

 

• What is your preferred workspace like?

The kind of work I do often requires real focus, so I need peace and quiet to home in on precisely the right turn of phrase for every sentence of every text. But I couldn’t bear to work alone all day long! It’s great to share an office with my colleagues: not only do we bounce ideas off one another, we can also just have a laugh and a joke to release the tension from all that concentrating on the words in front of us.

 

• What do you like most about your job?

I truly love the breadth of subject matter I am confronted with in corporate communications. On any given day I’ll be dealing with a letter to shareholders, a gripping story for a customer magazine, cutting-edge scientific research, and catchy slogans for a company’s latest products or services. All of which, of course, allows me to delight in wordsmithery!

 

• Dogs or cats?

I’m a fan of all animals (and plants!), but the closest thing we had to pets when I was growing up was a giant population of frogs in the pond in our back garden.

 

• Audiobook or paperback?

Although there is something captivating about certain voices, I prefer the feel of turning the pages myself

 

• Tea or coffee?

I’m half English and half Austrian, so it’s only fitting that I like both – but generally I prefer coffee in the morning and tea in the evening.