2 minute read
Member profile: Kristiina Varrone
MEMBER PROFILES
NAME: KRISTIINA VARRONE
Translator or interpreter (or both): both
Language(s) and direction(s): Estonian<>English, Finnish<>English
Location: South coast of WA
Practising as a T/I since: 2005
Member of AUSIT since: 2020
Main area(s) of practice: legal, finance, business, academic texts
Q&A
Q1: How did you come to be a translator and/or interpreter?
I’ve always been fascinated by languages and I actually love grammar! I started working as a translator while I was still doing my BA in English. An MA in conference interpreting was a very natural next step for me. Coincidentally, both my dad and my maternal grandmother worked as translators at some point in their lives. When I first came to Australia, it was a bit of an unpleasant surprise that my university diplomas were essentially worthless here. I dragged my feet about it for over a decade, but in the end, it simply wasn’t feasible to keep working only for European clients while dealing with the cost of living in Australia. So, I finally got my NAATI certification and have been enjoying getting to know the Australian market ever since!
Q2: Tell us about a project you have worked on that was especially interesting or challenging (within the bounds of confidentiality of course).
A lot of the work I do is never seen by the general public, so it’s especially exciting for me if a project involves work that will be seen by tens of thousands of people! My favourite ‘public’ projects have been exhibitions at the Estonian History Museum in Tallinn. I particularly enjoyed translating two exhibitions about Vikings: a travelling exhibition from Sweden which I translated into Estonian, and a local one which I translated into English. I learned a lot, having to translate various parts of weapons and ships that have been found in Estonia. My favourite ‘fact’ about Vikings in Estonia: according to legend, the prominent Norse god Odin is buried on an Estonian island!
