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J
Henry Phillips
BIDIRECTIONAL
PORTUGUESE TRANSLATOR
Oil
& Gas, Power Plants, Contracts, Environment and Foods
Frequently
Asked Questions posed by Corporate Clients
|
| Q:
What do you charge? |
A: Show me a sample and
let me know your expectations, your deadline, how promptly you intend
to pay me and I'll send you a bid. |
| Q: Do you work on
weekends? |
A: Yes. There are fewer
interruptions then. |
| Q: Do you translate
European or Angolan Portuguese? |
A: Yes. I translate
both ways, including into Brazilian, African and European regional
variants. I do charge extra for edits to Portuguese not for Brazil or
non-US English, which also take longer. |
| Q: Is
Brazilian Portuguese very different from European? |
A: 80%
of all Portuguese in use today is Brazilian. Of the remaining 20%, ALL
watch Brazilian soap operas on teevee. The most important difference is the
pronunciation. People who affect the European dialect sound like Mr.
Dooley to the ears of the vast majority.
Hungarian
linguist Paulo Rònai arrived in Brazil in the early 1940s after a
stopover in Portugal--where he didn't understand a word anyone
said--and was delighted to discover that Brazilian speech is free and
clear of European impedimenta held over from the Dark Ages. |
| Q: I need 100,000 words
translated in two days. Will you assemble a team? |
A: If I am paid in
advance I will assemble a team of linguists to take on a large project.
Given more time I might handle it by myself. |
| Q: Will you make me
glossy brochures in 7 languages? |
A: For that you need a
reputable agency, not a freelance translator. Would you like me to
refer you to someone? |
| Q:
Are you available to travel? |
A: I routinely travel
on interpreting assignments within the U.S., and have a valid passport
for international travel. |
| Q:
What is a tradução juramentada? |
A: That is an official
translation signed by a licensed Brazilian public translator Only
Brazilian citizens may apply for the license. Occasionally consular
officials will allow me to interpret (not translate) for the Brazilian
government in a pinch. I regularly do official translations for United
States government agencies. |
| Q:
Do you understand the legal, financial & engineering clauses
that go into international agreements? |
A:
Yes. I've translated many bid documents, annual reports &
financial statements, mainly for oil and power companies; I'm familiar
with physics and math, the laws and the agencies administering them. |
| Q: Do you interpret in
federal courts? |
A:
Yes. I've been interpreting federal court work almost every week since
1998. |
| Q: Do you interpret for
Texas state courts? |
A:
Not since enactment of the bribery requirement. |
| Q:
Have you any credentials? |
A:
Yes, three ATA accreditations, a Bachelor's in Portuguese and others
you may see by clicking credentials.
I also translate Spanish to Portuguese, for which there is no ATA
accreditation. |
| Q:
Do you have a language degree? |
A: Yes, a Bachelor's in
Portuguese/Spanish. To see the diploma click credentials
then click the thumbnail for a larger diploma image. Before that I
majored briefly in Engineering & Mathematics. |
| Q: How long have you
been in business? |
A:
Since 1987; formally, with a registered dba, since April of 1990. |
| Q: Do you accept credit
cards? |
A: Yes, most major
cards. |
| Q: ? |
A: . |
