Satyam Varma
Janchetna,
D-68, Nirala Nagar, Lucknow, INDIA,
226 020
Phone: +91
9910 462 009, +91 8853 093 555, Email: satyamvarma@gmail.com, satyamvarma@hotmail.com
Freelance Professional Linguist, Writer and Editor
Source Language: English, Native language: Hindi
I am working
as a professional translator, editor and writer since 1991. I have translated
more than 15 million words in areas as diverse as Literature, IT, Medical,
Legal, Business and Journalism.
Now, I
concentrate on translations in Medicine, IT, Economy and Legal fields. I also
love working on sports related texts.
I have been
working as a Senior Hindi Reviewer for one of the largest technology companies (since
2009) and as the Hindi Language Lead for one of the largest rideshare companies
(since 2016).
Learning and mastering the style, nuances and
vocabulary of new fields is my passion. Experience of translating literary and
academic books has honed my writing skills in Hindi and translating news copy
of agencies like Reuters, AP, DPA, Xinhua, Tanjug-pool and IPA while working
for 12 years in the premier Hindi news agency has enriched my knowledge of
culture, society, politics, economy, religion, law and ethics of a large number
of countries which helps me to grasp the true meaning of a wide variety of
source texts.
Specialization
Medicine: ICFs,
Clinical Trial Documents, Product Manuals, Linguistic Validation of Patient
Related Outcomes and QoL Questionnaires.
Business and Finance,
HR, IT, Software Localization, Websites, Legal, Sports.
Film/TV
Scripts, Sub-titles. Literary: Novels, Short stories, Drama, Non-fiction.
Work experience: Resigned in 2003 as Chief Sub-editor in the
premier Hindi news agency United News of India-Varta, New Delhi after 12 years
of service. Working as a full-time freelance linguist since 2003.
Translation:
Journalism: Translation from English to
Hindi. Over 5,500,000 words of news reports, features and articles. Translation
from Hindi into English for various organizations.
Literary: Translation of 2 novels, 8
non-fiction books, numerous short stories and poems, 2 plays. More than 1,750,000
words translated from English to Hindi.
More than 10,000,000 words of IT, medical,
scientific, business, legal and general documents for various Indian and
overseas agencies and direct clients. Additionally, reviewed/edited almost the
same amount of translations done by others.
Working with major national and international
agencies and direct clients including Health Research Associates, USA; The
World Bank; UNICEF; WHO; Oxford Outcomes, UK; Mapi Research Institute, France;
Indian Institute of Technology; Lionbridge; Thebigword; Transperfect; Crimson
Life Sciences; Welocalize; Rubric Language Services; Corporate Translations; Compass
Languages; LocalEYES; Logos Group; Global Lingo; Acclaro; Accent Translations;
Aset International Services; CCJK; JBI Studio; Language Fusion; Language
Intelligence; LinguaPros; Media-Consulta Group; Nova Languages; HKGLS; Lyric
Labs; Tallurs' Info Validation; NDTV; India Today Group; All India Radio; YCM Open
University and several others.
Co-Editor of Translation Project of World
Classics brought out by premier Hindi publisher Rajkamal Prakashan
Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.
CAT Tools:
Owned:
Wordfast Pro, SDL Trados Studio 2014
Working
experience: Logoport, Idiom Desktop Workbench, POEdit, MemoQ, Smartling
Experience in Linguistics
1. Edited Hindi
translation of a classic book on linguistics 'Marxism and the Philosophy of
Language' by V.N. Voloshinov; wrote a 12,000 words introduction of the book
which discussed issues like semantics, phonetics, morphology and theories of
prominent linguists such as Ferdinand de Saussure.
2. Worked for a year with
Center for Indian Language Technology, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay on
their machine translation and dictionary project. I mainly translated content
and helped with style guides and rules.
3. Worked on several
smaller lexicon or dictionary related projects for various clients.
4. Working as Hindi
reviewer for Google projects since 2009. Besides reviewing translations by
other translators, my work includes developing style guides, bug reporting and
analysing review data.
5. Working as co-editor of
a large book translating project for a leading Hindi publisher in India. 30
classics of fiction and non-fiction writing have so far been translated with
thorough editing and detailed introductions written by me. I work with a number
of talented translators for this project and have held several workshops on
linguistics and translation with them.
6. I have worked as a journalist
for 15 years and took special interest in writing on the variations in Hindi spoken in different regions and how
new words and phrases are adapted from other languages, new words are coined
and how technology has influenced the development of language.
Some Major Completed Projects
Medical
1. Creating word lists for the CDR System for a study on cognition. 30 word
lists using specific rules for syllable length, frequency of use in native
language, and imagery.
2. Rating scales, instructions and worksheets for Department of Psychiatry
& Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington. (6,700 words.)
3. Patient guides about abdominal aortic aneurysm and new treatments for
it. (13,500 words.)
4. Patient interviews, consent documents, vignettes for trial of a
schizophrenia drug. (145,000 words.)
5. Linguistic validation (2 forward translations + 1 back-translation +
cognitive debriefing) of Structured Clinical Interview for the Positive and
Negative Syndrome Scale (SCI-PANSS) and Assessment of Negative Syndrome
(NSA-16) for Mapi Research Institute, France.
6. Linguistic validation (Translation and Pilot Testing) of
Multidimensional Diabetes Questionnaire and Weight-Related Symptom Measure for
Oxford Outcomes, UK.
7. Linguistic validation (Translation and CogDeb Interviews) of MOS
6-Item Cognitive Functioning Scale for Health Research Associates, US.
8. Linguistic validation (Translation and Pilot Testing) of TRIM-AGHD
questionnaire for Tallur's Info Validation.
9. Linguistic validation (Cognitive debriefing with audio recording of 10
patients) of patient symptom assessment questionnaire for UTI for Transperfect Translations,
US.
10. Translatability Assessment for Anaemia Symptoms Diary, for Health
Research Associates, US.
IT
1.
Part of Google Advertising Translation Review Team, May 2009 - November 2009;
Presently since May 2012
2.
Google Adwords localization. (20,000 words)
3.
CBS (Core Banking Software) e-learning program (32,000 words.)
4.
Working on regular Tencent projects - Since April, 2014.
5.
Linux localization. (180,000 words.)
Business and Finance
1. Annual Report of the World Bank, 2005-2006 (26,000
words), 2006-07 (26,500 words).
2. Financial Reports of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation,
India, 2004-08 (75,000 words).
3. Marketing manual for sales agents of an insurance
company (17,500 words).
4. Publicity materials of a direct sales company (18,000
words).
5. Textbook on political economy (2,10,000 words).
Legal
1. Notice of a Canadian Class Action Lawsuit (10,000 words).
2. License terms for MICROSOFT iCAFE E-LEARNING PROGRAM (3500 words).
3. Statements of witnesses in a UK legal case involving fake licences and
other malpractices (27,000 words).
4. Terms and conditions document for Corum eCommerce Pty Ltd (2000 words).
5. 'Dalits and the Law,' a book published by Human Rights Law Network (415
pages).
Websites
1. http://www.eLanguages.org. (52,000 words.)
2. Website for Hungarian tourism department. (32000 words.)
3. Online business training website. (105,000 words.)
4. Parts of a Canadian Film and TV training institute.
(5,000 words.)
5. Website of anti-smoking campaign. (42,000 words.)
Scripts & Sub-titles
1. Scripts of 5 episodes of a series for NDTV news channel, Delhi
(11,000 words).
2. Sub titles of a short film about the making of movie "Peeping
Tom". (6,000 words).
3. Sub titles of 2 episodes of "True Stories: Life in the USA"
(9,500 words).
4. Script of a documentary film about landless workers in India
(12,500 words).
5. Radio adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's
classic novel "Resurrection" in 13 one-hour episodes broadcasted on
national radio channel All India Radio.
Sports
1. Live coverage of English Premier League football matches in Hindi on
Twitter and Facebook,
November 2014–April 2015.
2. Script of a TV series on Cricket, for NDTV, India
3. Series of articles on specially-abled athletes.
4. Publicity materials and daily press releases for a promotional
international basketball tournament, New Delhi.
Literature
1. The Peasant (Novel), by Honore de Balzac. (118,000 words)
2. The Jungle (Novel), by Upton Sinclair. (168,000 words)
3. Love of Life and Other Stories (Short Stories), by Jack London. (54,000
words)
4. The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories, by Mark Twain. (34,000 words)
5. D’Alembert’s Dream (Dialogue), by Denis Diderot. (33,500 words)
Translated books (Published by leading Hindi Publishers):
1. The Peasant (Novel), by Honore de Balzac
2. D’Alembert’s Dream (Philosophy), by Denis Diderot
3. The Jungle (Novel), by Upton Sinclair
4. Love of Life and Other Stories (Short Stories), by Jack London
5. The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories, by Mark Twain
6. Communication, by Raymond Williams
7. Television, by Raymond Williams
8. Somnath: Many Voices of a History, by Romila Thapar
9. Fundamentals of Political Economy, Self-Education Series, China
10. 'Dalits and the Law,' by Girish Agarwal & Colin Gonsalves
11. To Make the Deaf Hear (History of the Naujawan Bharat Sabha) by S. Irfan
Habib
12. Pablo Neruda: Selected Poems (to be published)
13. Coriolanus (Play), by Shakespeare (to be published)
14. Nazim Hikmet: Selected Poems (to be published)
Edited
books and journals: (Published by leading Hindi Publishers)
1. Anna Karenina (Novel) by Leo Tolstoy
2. And
Quiet Flows the Don (Novel) by Mikhail Sholokhov
3. Arrowsmith (Novel) by Sinclair Lewis
4. Rameau's Nephew (Novella) by Denis Diderot
5. The Scarlet and the Black (Novel) by Stendhal
6. Selected Stories of Maupassant (Three Volumes)
7. The Subjugation of Women (Essay) by John Stuart Mill
8. Vindication of the Rights of Women by Mary Wolstonecraft
9. Jail Notebook of Martyr Bhagat Singh (A rare document of Indian history)
10. Political Economy: Marxist Study Courses, Britain
11. Dayitvabodh - A quarterly magazine committed to social change in India.
12. Ahwan Campus Times (Youth Magazine - 1987-91)
13. Disha Sandhan - A biannual research journal focused on socio-political
themes.
14. Naandipath - A biannual journal focused on media, culture and society.
Interpretation:
List of some recent interpretation assignments:
Consecutive
interpretation:
1. Meeting of representatives of 6 NGOs working
in Western Uttar Pradesh with officials of a donor agency. English
<>Hindi. (New Delhi, July, 2012.)
2. Conference on public health. English
<>Hindi. (New Delhi, 18 May, 2012.)
3. Assisted a group of journalists from
European Union on a tour of factory areas of New Delhi.
English <>Hindi. (February, 2012.)
4. Interpreted for trade union officials from
Australia-Asia Workers Links, Melbourne on a tour of industrial areas in Delhi
and Gurgaon, Haryana. English <>Hindi. (New Delhi and Gurgaon, 20 - 23
November 2011.)
5. At a three day seminar on democratic rights
and civil liberties in India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Translated for legal
experts, eminent jurists, advocates and civil rights activists from the three
countries. English <>Hindi, Urdu > English. (Lucknow, 24-26 July, 2011.)
6. On-site interpretation for a multinational
pharmaceutical company employees interviews. English <>Hindi.
(Delhi-Gurgaon, 17-21 December 2012.)
7. On-site interpretation for a multinational
pharmaceutical company employees interviews. English <>Hindi. (Mumbai, 15-17
April 2013.)
8. At a five day international seminar on problems
of socialism. English <>Hindi, Urdu > English. (Allahabad, India, 10-14
March 2014.)
Simultaneous
interpretation:
9. At an international medical conference in
Lucknow, July, 2013
10. At a workshop of doctors on cerebral palsy
in New Delhi, 11-12 October 2013
Consecutive
interpretation (telephone):
11. 5 short employee interviews for a company,
16 June, 2014.
Education
Degree | Subjects | Year | Institution |
B.A.
(Honours) (Bachelor
of Arts) | Political
Science, History, Fine Arts, English | 1982-85 | Gorakhpur
University, India |
M.A. (Master
of Arts) | Political
Science | 1985-87 | Benaras
Hindu University, India |
Diploma
in Journalism | Journalism | 1991-92 | Lucknow
University, India |
Ph.
D. (Incomplete) | "Theory
and Practice of People's Power in Soviet Union (1917-1956) and China
(1949-1976)" | 1993-
(Could not be completed due to professional obligations.) | University
of Delhi, Delhi |
I do not have any formal degree in
translation but I have worked for 12 years in India's premier Hindi news agency
as an editor/translator and reporter. It was one of the best training in
translation one can get in India as I worked with extremely experienced
translators and editors and learned to handle reports, features and
articles on all sorts of subjects ranging from politics, business, law,
international affairs, sports, science, religion, arts, education and so on. I
am also working as a editor and publisher of books for more than two decades,
collaborating with some of the best linguistics talents in Hindi.
Computer:
Hardware: PC
& Laptop with Windows 10. Printer, Scanner, Speakers, Headset,
Microphone. High Speed Internet.
Software: Windows
10, MS Office 2010, Open Office, SDL Trados Studio 2014, Wordfast, InDesign,
Quark Xpress 8, Adobe Photoshop 7, Illustrator 9, CorelDraw X5, Adobe
Acrobat Professional 9, English and Hindi TTF and Unicode fonts.
References can be provided on request.
(Satyam Varma)
http://Sat_v.Translatorscafe.com; http://www.proz.com/profile/93690