Translator • Editor • Writer • Thinker

Werner Patels

• LinkedIn
• Linktree
• Email

In the spirit of full disclosure and transparency, I have set up this little and modest website to introduce myself. Not because I love blowing my own horn, but because language services are quite “personal”, and clients want, and need, to know who that translator, editor or copywriter is they are about to hire for a crucial project or venture.Who Is Werner Patels?Well, that’d be me—and you have landed on this page, because I expressed my interest in partnering and collaborating with you, and directed you to this site by way of a “cover letter”.I was the kind of kid who was thirsting for knowledge, and with two languages in my basic tool kit, I soon realized that each language represented a key that opened a specific door of knowledge and experience. So, I began collecting keys, that is, languages.After English and German, I discovered and absorbed additional languages, at school or on my own, such as Latin, Greek, Spanish, Japanese, French, etc.While other kids my age were out playing ball, I’d play “translation games”: taking passages from books, comics or anything else memorialized in words and translating them from this language into that language. Just for fun. Looking back now, I must say that I am quite impressed by my much younger self: Young Werner instinctively knew that you didn’t simply replace one word in one language with one in another (“word-for-word transliteration”), but that the thing to be translated was the message or story behind all those words, and that each language had its own and very specific way of putting that message or story into words (“translation, localization, transcreation”).I also enjoyed writing stories in different languages, again instinctively aware of the particular ways of storytelling in each language.At the incredibly young age of 19, I began freelancing as a translator. Here’s something only few people know: one of my first actual jobs was a translation from Japanese to English for an electronics company.My University ExperienceUniversity! A smorgasbord of knowledge! Perfect for Werner’s appetite!After studying language and literature (English, German, Japanese, Latin, Greek), as well as a bit of business, marketing, accounting and law, I enrolled in translation and conference interpreting (English, German, Spanish)—and because that wasn’t quite enough yet, I petitioned the academic powers-that-be to grant my request to add a second major to my translation program: political science, with special emphasis on comparative politics, international politics and international organizations. I got my wish, and eventually my Master’s.While pursuing my academic goals, I kept on freelancing as a translator and interpreter. Never missing an opportunity to do even more, I also worked as a tutor for high-school students (languages and even math), and eventually launched workshops for fellow translation students to help them improve their skills and gain practical experience. Never too busy to handle even more, I worked on the student council of my translation school, and even served on the executive board of a translators’ association.My various jobs (translating, interpreting, teaching) were so lucrative that in my final year of university, I purchased a condo in Toronto (without a mortgage).My “Crazy” YearsFrom around 1997 (the year I graduated from university) to 2012, I did a lot of different things; my “crazy years”:

Relocating to Calgary, I eventually started writing some opinion columns, and even became a political pundit on a national TV news network. I briefly returned to Toronto in 2012, before moving on to “greener pastures”, that is, Québec in 2014. This is where I have been ever since.What Can I Do For You?You now know what inspired and drove me, and made me the person I am today. So, let’s find out what I can do for you.I provide professional language solutions for translation, localization, transcreation, copywriting and editing.What Are My Specializations?When you browse translator profiles online, you will often see statements or descriptions like “Specializing in law and business” or “Medical translator”. Some translators prefer to work only in a small number of fields—mostly because those are the only things they know and understand, both in terms of the subject matter and in terms of the language that goes with each area of specialization.But I am different that way. Instead of choosing areas of specializations, or specialisms, I focus on the types of text that I feel comfortable translating. As such, I specialize in text that requires a human touch, the kind of text that cannot simply be put through automated translation or AI.Through my training at university, as well as my almost forty years in the business, I am well-versed in all major areas of specialization (law, business, humanities and the arts, science, technology, medicine) as well as the jargon and style that is unique to each specialism. Other translators, like the ones I mentioned before, do not have as many years of experience as I do, nor have they undergone the high-calibre and thorough university training I was privileged enough to experience.(On a personal note I shall add that this type of comprehensive and specialist training for translators, regrettably, does not exist anymore. My generation was the last to be trained and educated in this way. It was eliminated in the late 1990s and replaced by translation programs that are more focused on theory and linguistics than actual practice.)Each text tells a story in the widest sense of the word. I have the necessary tools, skills and experience to tell that story authentically in another language, regardless of whether the format you require is an essay, abstract, contract, policy, research paper, press release, marketing copy, or a novel—and to me, it doesn’t matter whether the main subject of your text is economics, philosophy or technology; I simply get the job done!Let’s take a closer look:

Now Over To You!Get in touch with me and tell me how I can best assist in the continued success of your company, organization, publication, project, venture, etc. I am easy to reach, and in the same time zone as New York or Toronto (I live and work in Quebec City).I look forward to partnering and collaborating with you.