This site uses cookies.
Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site,
while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.
For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Freelance translator and/or interpreter, Verified site user
Data security
This person has a SecurePRO™ card. Because this person is not a ProZ.com Plus subscriber, to view his or her SecurePRO™ card you must be a ProZ.com Business member or Plus subscriber.
Affiliations
This person is not affiliated with any business or Blue Board record at ProZ.com.
Italian to English: Brexit: no automatic renewal of the Erasmus programme - “we will renegotiate”
Source text - Italian Accessible at: https://www.corriere.it/scuola/universita/20_gennaio_09/erasmus-gran-bretagna-l-addio-programma-scambi-studenti-864c6fba-32d5-11ea-b5a6-c2421dcee75f.shtml
Translation - English Brexit: no automatic renewal of the Erasmus programme - “we will renegotiate”
The vote
On Wednesday evening, the United Kingdom’s House of Commons voted against the automatic continuation of Erasmus+, the programme that organises student exchanges as well as providing opportunities for teachers and professional training. With 344 votes against and 254 in favour, “New Clause 10” was rejected. The clause had been presented by the Liberal Democrats, who hoped to commit the government to negotiating a continuation of the UK’s participation in the programme despite Brexit. Downing Street is downplaying the concerns, maintaining that the situation is a “technical matter linked to the formulation of the withdrawal bill” and that “the Erasmus question will be dealt with at a later date in the appropriate forum”. The Minister for Education declared that the government is “committed to continuing the academic relationship between the UK and the EU, including through the next Erasmus+ programme” - adding “if it is in our interests to do so”.
Study trips at risk
Although the final word has not yet been spoken, for British university students that study abroad under the Erasmus programme (53% of those who study abroad), the financial help available for such study trips is at risk. Unless, that is, a “different” form of participation is negotiated for Great Britain within the context of a new programme for the period 2021-2027. As explained by Indire, the agency that coordinates the European programme for education, training, young people and sport within Italy, this will be discussed during the coming months “and will involve a consistent budget increase for all counties taking part in the programme”.
The others
The United Kingdom could, for example, pay to remain “a member of the programme”, as do Turkey, Iceland, Norway and Serbia. Indeed, not all participating countries are EU members. There are also several partner countries that participate only in certain aspects, such as Kosovo, Armenia and Lebanon. In withdrawing from “full participation”, Britain will need to negotiate exchange programmes with individual countries. Many social media users are protesting that “only students from rich families will be able to study abroad”. But there are also some who welcome the change: “now we won’t need to use British money to fund the gap years of young people all over Europe”, one Twitter user commented.
The “emergency plan”
Student exchanges have always been one of the concerns of the debates triggered by the UK’s departure from the EU. As the first Brexit deadline approached, at the end of March 2019, the European Parliament prepared a kind of “emergency plan” to reduce the negative impact of the withdrawal on those receiving EU funding and on the European Union’s budget in the case of a “no deal” scenario. The measure also included the Erasmus+ programme as well as Horizon 2020 and regional and agricultural policies. The plan, originally limited to 2019, was then extended to 2020, but only “upon the condition that the UK continued to make its own financial contributions and accept the necessary controls and audits”, as European parliamentarians stated.
“A sad move”
The leader of Italia Viva, Matteo Renzi, underlined that “in saying goodbye to the Erasmus programme, the United Kingdom is writing a sad page in its history, and not just for European students”. Commenting on Twitter, he added: “now more than ever, the European Union is duty-bound to invest in education, in knowledge, and in new generations”.
German to English: What the Brexit confusion means for Brits in Germany
Source text - German Accessible at: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/briten-deutschland-visa-wohnung-job-1.4748794
Translation - English Brian Cook has lived in Germany for 29 years. He is married to a German woman, and their children are now 20 and 22 years old respectively. When the family wanted to buy a house in Paderborn a year ago, the bank refused their finance application. The reason? Brian Cook is British. The estate agent called him and informed him that the bank was worried that he might be deported. The risk was simply too high for the financial institution.
Until two years ago, Brian worked for the British Army in Germany. As a former civil servant he receives a pension, but it isn’t sufficient. The 46-year old mechanic therefore decided to look for work; in his sector, skilled personnel are often desperately sought after. On two occasions, everything seemed about to go right – until someone noticed that he had a British passport. “They said that I might have to travel abroad occasionally, and nobody knew whether that would still be okay in the future or whether I would need a visa”, Cook explains. He didn’t get the jobs. Thanks to Brexit.
“We are hearing about discrimination more and more frequently“, explains Daniel Tetlow, founder of the group “British in Germany”, which has represented the interests and concerns of British citizens living in the European Union since 2016’s Brexit referendum as part of the “British in Europe” coalition group. These citizens are around 1.2 million in number, and approximately 120,000 of them live in Germany. British citizens are liable to encounter unpleasant surprises when looking for a job or flat, making bank transactions, taking out mobile phone contracts or dealing with insurance matters.
Emily Dreyfus, 31, was looking for a flat in Berlin and was lucky enough to find one. It was beautifully situated in the Schöneberg neighbourhood, and within the university PhD student’s budget. But then the difficulties started. Initially she was asked to provide a financial guarantor, but then even this turned out not to be enough. Dreyfus explains how the property management informed her that letting the flat to a Brit was simply too risky. “It was extremely unfair”, she complains.
Emily Dreyfus talks about a “worrying watershed moment” for the Brits living in Berlin. Previously, British citizens felt fully integrated in society, she explains, but since the Brexit referendum they have been subtly ostracised. Not by German citizens – who are relatively indifferent, she believes - “but at an official level”, when it comes to matters such as contracts and rights. She speaks of an “insidious process of discrimination”.
More
Less
Translation education
PhD - University of Birmingham
Experience
Years of experience: 8. Registered at ProZ.com: Jun 2011.
After completing my PhD in German and Italian Studies in 2016, and publishing my thesis as a monograph with Peter Lang Oxford in 2017, I decided to pursue a career as a full-time translator. Through my passion for these languages, as well as many years of study and experience living in both countries, I have developed my language skills to a very high level. In 2019 I was awarded a prize for my translation of a substantial extract from Stefano Benni's novel 'Il bar sotto il mare' ('The Bar Under the Sea'). I have extensive experience translating within the fields of marketing, retail, tourism, travel, e-commerce, journalism, leisure, and health. I have also completed many translations for academic clients. My translations are always professional, accurate, and delivered on time.
Keywords: Italian, German, English, figurative, idioms, technical, formal, literature, literary, history. See more.Italian, German, English, figurative, idioms, technical, formal, literature, literary, history, archaeological, political, current affairs. See less.
Portfolio