My story

My name is Birgit Elisabeth Lins, I was born in Feldkirch, Austria in 1979. 

Already at primary school I discovered my passion for reading, writing and languages. Whenever I got to choose which subject I should focus on, I chose a language. First I fell for English which besides German is the first language taught at Austrian schools. Then at the age of ten I was happy to add French classes to my schedule. In 1995 I got my first opportunity to learn Spanish which of course I was happy to take (all the while continuing with English and French.) 

Spanish became my favourite and that's why I chose Madrid for my three-year studying and working experience abroad. Which was one of the best decisions I ever made. 

Afterwards I dedicated some years to my second vocation: teaching. This I also enjoyed a lot but after some time decided to focus on translation as a main occupation and get myself a job in the industrial sector where I would be able to use and enhance my language skills. However I never fully gave up teaching - Spanish and German evening classes for adults and private tutoring have been a part of my life ever since.

In 2007, I got my C2 language diploma giving proof of my excellent knowledge of the Spanish language. 

From 2006 until now, I have been working in several companies as a translator and expanded both my language skills and technical knowledge, especially in CNC machinery, mechanical engineering, plastic injection moulding and tool making. 

Over the last 14 years and by translating a wide variety of texts such as technical instructions, drawings, advertising texts, press articles, newsletters, test reports and documents for customs, accounting, and quality management, I have thus continuously expanded my language skills and vocabulary.

My excellent use of language is not a secret to my acquaintances and colleagues, and over time I have also corrected several master and diploma theses written in German or English on a wide variety of topics - from steel-reinforced concrete to beer brands and team leadership.

I have also been dedicating my free time to learning more languages as for example Italian, in which I have reached an advanced level thanks to my continuous effort. Now I am able to read and understand all sorts of texts and books written in Italian.

But this is not the end of it - I am still striving for more: last year I started to learn Russian and no matter how hard it is to wrap my head around the challenging Russian grammar rules, I truly enjoy it! 

During the last eight years I have also considerably expanded my IT skills, especially in the field of translation software such as SDL Trados and Multiterm, and some basic Indesign knowledge. These I consider key skills for every professional translator.

What I love about translating is that with every single text you work with you learn something new - just like that, 'by the way'. 
This is why I am always open to new challenges.