About

Isabel Adey Translator Editor

Background

Growing up on a quiet hillside in West Yorkshire, I discovered a passion for books and the world beyond my doorstep. It wasn’t long before I discovered literature in translation and realised that I wanted to make words cross the frontiers of language too.

I decided to combine my love of books with my passion for languages, which led me to study an MA in Modern European Languages at the University of Edinburgh. The next logical step was to qualify and gain experience as an ESL teacher, allowing me to pass on my knowledge of idiomatic English and grammar to speakers of other languages. Itching to put my foreign language skills to use again, I completed an MSc in translation and set about building a portfolio as a freelance translator and editor.

Fast forward fifteen years: I now have several book translations and edits to my name, not to mention an extensive back catalogue of academic and commercial translations.

The city of Edinburgh has become my adoptive home, but I continue to travel abroad at every opportunity to keep the cultural and linguistic connection to my source languages alive and fresh. Having lived and studied in Salamanca in Spain and Freiburg-im-Breisgau in Germany, my combination of formal language learning and real-world experience gives me the deep understanding required to switch between languages and cultures in my work.

Qualifications, Credentials & Professional Affiliations

  • MSc Translation & Translation Technology, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh (2010-2011)

    Modules on subtitling, liaison interpreting, international organisations

    Dissertation on the cultural and stylistic challenges of translating Juan José Millás’ genre-defying Articuentos

  • CertTESOL (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Trinity College (2010)

  • MA (Hons) Modern European Languages (German & Spanish), University of Edinburgh (2005-2009): first class with distinction in spoken Spanish

    Modules: Intensive Portuguese for beginners (1-year course); Goethe’s Faust; German-Jewish writing; Latin American women’s writing; the Spanish newspaper column and hybrid writing; social anthropology; classical literature

  • German Studies, Albert-Ludwigs Universität Freiburg (2008)

  • Hispanic Studies, Universidad de Salamanca (2009)