Helge Mayer

Contact Information

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Address: 104 Pringle Road Milnerton, 7441, Cape Town, Western Cape 7441, South Africa  (Show map )
Phone: +27-21-551 8471, Fax: +27-21-555 1860, Cell Phone: +27-83-738 9449

Joined: Thursday, August 11, 2005, last update Thursday, May 25, 2006
 Preferred E-mail of Helge Mayer: send a message

Working language pairs and rates:

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Services

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Editing, Proofreading, Translation

Specialization

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Law, Technical, Biology, History, Geography, Travel/Tourism

Subject Areas

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General

Background

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The degree as a Master of Translations (“Diplom-Übersetzer“) at the University of Heidelberg requires a vast knowledge in the field of linguistics, as well as the specialisation in one practical subject, such as Economics and Law. As I chose the specialisation in Law, it was compulsory to obtain 3 certificates in Civil Law, Administration Law and European Law. Besides the training for translations in the areas of Economics, Politics, Culture and technical translations, there was also a special emphasis on the various fields of Law, comprising the study and comparison of different law systems (i.e. Roman Law / Germanic Law) and the accurate and correct translations into their equivalents. Since 1997, when I moved to Cape Town, South Africa, I have made English my main working language as freelance translator and interpreter.

Professional Experience

From September 1998 until February 1999 Project Manager for translation of Internet travel guides of Leisureplanet.com into five different languages: German, French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch. This particular project involved translating more than 1,000,000 words per language within a very tight time frame. Due to my combined skills, I was appointed as project manager and had to take on and monitor about 40 different translators for each language.

After the successful completion of this project, employemnt as German in-house translator with Leisureplanet.com. In this position I was exclusively responsible for the development, maintenance and up-dating of the entire German version of their extensive international web site, including booking engines, standardised e-mail communications to clients, travel guides for destinations around the globe, and other extras. At Leisureplanet I was working in a large corporate environment in teamwork with programmers and web site planners. Until September 2000, when Leisureplanet was liquidated, the results of my work could be viewed under: www.leisureplanet.de

Since September 2000 I’m working independently as freelance translator. In the following an overview of some of my most significant assignments:

VPI (Visceral Physiology Institute), a renown Swiss-South African multinational medical institute, appointed me as main Portuguese translator for a clinical study on amputees in Maputo/Mozambique. From July 2000, I was involved in the planning and preparation of the study, including the negotiations with the relevant Mozambican authorities, the translation of the study material into Portuguese, and finally working with the patients on site for six weeks in the Hospital Geral de Machava outside Maputo.

In October 2000 I worked with People’s Dialogue, a Cape Town based grass root development NGO, who hired me for one week as a Portuguese interpreter for 5 Brazilian social workers. Together we visited various housing projects in townships around Cape Town and attended a conference organised by People’s Dialogue on the same subject.

For The Gerald & Marc Hoberman Collection I have translated two sophisticated books into German. First “Kapstadt” (“Cape Town”, ISBN 1-919734-02-3) in 1999 and in 2002 “Die Tierwelt” (“Wildlife”, ISBN 1-919734-46-5), requiring extensive zoological and historical research. Besides that, I am frequently consulted for updating and proof-reading.

In March 2003 I translated “By the Fireside” (ISBN 0 86486 487-6) from Roger Webster for the publishing house New Africa Books into German (“Am Lagerfeuer”), a 150-page book with stories about South Africa’s history.

In late 2003, the multinational NGO International Security Studies commissioned me to translate the Angolan Constitution from Portuguese into English.

Since 2004 I have specialised in certified translations for legal documents for immigration purposes, offering an expedient overnight service. Among my regular clients therefore are most of the leading immigration agencies in South Africa, which daily rely on my speedy, professional and reliable service.

In April 2005 I was hired by the Secretariat of the African Decade for People with Disabilities as simultaneous interpreter for Portuguese during a 5-day conference with 30 delegates from all over Africa.

References

Philip Morris South Africa Mrs. Tammy Ferreira, Tel: +27-21-527 4854, Fax: +27-21-527 4841, Email: tammy.ferreira@pmintl.com Leisureplanet Ltd. Mrs. Louise Dickinson, Bellville / Cape Town, Tel. +27-(0)21- 910 4000 VPI (Visceral Physiology Institute) Mrs. Lauren Hill, Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, Tel. +27-(0)21- 447 50 69, vpi@mweb.co.za People’s Dialogue Observatory, Cape Town, Tel. +27-(0)21 - 447 4740 The Gerald & Marc Hoberman Collection Mrs. Roelien Theron, Observatory, Tel. +27-(0)21 - 447 4495, roelien1@telkomsa.net New Africa Books Mrs. Cherie Wright, Claremont, Cape Town, Tel. +27-(0)21- 674 4136, cherie@newafricabooks.co.za International Security Studies Mr. Peter Gastrow, Cape Town, Tel. +27-(0)21- 461 7211, gastrow@iss.co.za International Business Network Mr. Andreas Krensel, Greenpoint, Cape Town, Tel. +27-(0)21- 421 8338, krensel@ibn.co.za SA Business & Migration Services Mrs. Natalie Morta, Cape Town, Tel. +27-(0)21- 465 0333 Cape Immigration Compass Mrs. Cheryl D. Pooth, Cape Town, Tel. +27-(0)21-461 8804, Cheryl@cape-town.info Immigration Alert Mrs. Beverley La Kay, Cape Town, Tel. +27-(0)21- 426 1400, info@immigration-alert.co.za Two Oceans Productions Mr. Hein Kershaff, Paarden Eiland, Cape Town, Tel. +27-(0)21- 506 3300, hein@topproductions.co.za The Secretariat of the African Decade for People with Disabilities Mrs. Ratula Beukman, Cape Town, Tel. +27-(0)21-426 5858, ratula@africandecade.co.za

Software

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Windows XP, MS Office 2003 + Spelling checkers, DTP Software

Platform & Hardware

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HP Desktop PC, HP fax/copier/printer/scanner, DSL connection

Accreditations

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Masters Degree in Translations from University of Heidelberg (Germany)

Membership

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South African Translator's Institute