You would have noticed that everything you read on this website is clear, concise and down to earth. That is because I am a plain language advocate.

In South Africa and across the world, governments and organisations are moving to plain language to make sure that everyone can access the content they need. That’s right. Legalese and jargon are out on their ear.

Why should you consider having your documents (re)written in plain language?

Plain language has several benefits, such as:

• reaching out – many more people are able to understand your message
• saving money – less confusion prevents lengthy and expensive lawsuits
• saving time – plain language gets your message across quickly

As a plain language specialist and advocate, I make sure your message gets through to more people. This gives you a wider reach and makes sure your clients understand what they are reading. And happier clients mean a healthier profit.

Academic editing entails the editing of academic articles, theses and dissertations. Academic editing differs from general editing because of strict ethical constraints.

Because work of an academic nature will often be submitted for assessment, it limits the degree intervention by the editor.

For academic editing, you have to be familiar with academic conventions. The following are only some of the issues an academic editor must master:

• Referencing
• Coherence
• Cohesion
• Register

With five years’ experience as an academic editor, you can be sure not only of quality work, but you can also rely on me to guide you through every step of the process.

Copy-editing is the idea of editing that most people have. This is where you make changes to a document for issues such as grammar, spelling and style.

Copy-editing does not usually involve issues related to the structure of the overall document. Instead, it looks at your copy sentence by sentence, word for word. This helps the editor spot all those grammar goblins.

I like to think of this stage of the editing process as the place where there is no hiding. You cannot reword a sentence to hide the fact that you don’t know the rule.

What makes a great proofreader is not only an eagle’s eye for detail, but also a thorough command of the languages you work in.

What’s more, proofreading is the final stage of the editing process. By this time, there should only be small grammar goblins left. Proofreading catches these small hiccups. By this time, you can no longer make big changes like rewording a sentence.

This is also why you probably don’t need a proofread. It doesn’t matter that your niece who is really good at English ‘edited’ your manuscript: there is no shortcut for a professional eye. There is a good reason why editors train for several years to learn the ropes.

Literary translation is tricky: suddenly, the form of your message (the way in which it is written) carries as much weight as the content of that message. So how do you carry both the content and the form across languages?

The truth is that there is no easy answer here. I have to analyse the artistic language use for each poem or piece of prose individually. This allows me to get a sense of the spirit of the words as well as the direct message. In turn, this allows me to come up with creative solutions.

Below is an extract of Antjie Krog’s poetry that I have translated from Afrikaans to English for stilet.digital:

ek illustreer ’n kombuis

met hare vaalgeklits teen die stroewe novilon van vel

die taai melkkoepons van rug buig belangeloos

onder ’n vadoekvaal kamerjas

die bene soos blouseep fyn beaar

pantoffels soos potskuurders om voete

ek is dikbek soos ’n meelsak

afgechip soos ’n melkbeker

my hande ouer en droër as gisteroggend se toast

/

I paint a kitchen

with dabs of drab hair against the dour novilon

of skin sticky milk coupons of back-bending blasé

under the wan washrag of a dressing gown

the legs finely veined like mottled soap

slippers like scourers around feet

I’m pouting like a bag of flour

chipped like a milk jug

my hands older and drier than yesterday morning’s toast

The take-away here is that translation requires creative problem solving. Nowhere is this more evident than literary translation. I have a native command of both Afrikaans and English and the skills to turn a professional craft into an art form.

Medical translation is a true professional craft with very high stakes. Not only must a translator keep track of medical terminology, there must be nothing that interferes with the clarity of the message. If this message is not absolutely correct, someone using a medical text may end up hurt.

Users of medical translations have very specific needs. A medical translator must understand these needs and cater for them in the translation.