Testimonials

Zsuzsanna Ardó is an inspiring writer, whose abilities stem in equal measure from her sharp intellect as well as from her thorough humanistic training. Ardó's degrees bridge the two adjacent yet academically distinct disciplines of linguistics and literature. But Zsuzsanna Ardó is not a stereotypical mental coryphée. Having translated, edited and proofed over a hundred feature films and documentaries ranging from Shakespeare to James Bond, her experience is varied and closely rooted in the public taste of a contemporary readership. Technical skills include layout and book design sensitivity. As long-serving editor of the Hampstead Authors' Society (HASnotes, London), Ardó knows what it takes to satisfy a discerning audience. This versatile author also has years of experience as a teacher, lecturing at tertiary level in translation studies, languages (English and Hungarian) as well as linguistics.

In my own experience as her colleague in translation, Zsuzsanna Ardó had the admirable ability to combine devoted, meticulous work with an insatiable appetite for the new - while always remaining loyal to existing contracts and arrangements.

Bilingual in Hungarian and English, the author combines her linguistic awareness and civilisational knowledge with a sublime feeling for the languages of her literary workmanship. This is best verified by venturing into her many publications, be it academic articles or monographs, or intelligently written books for the wider market. The greatest feat is perhaps that she has published books with Hungarian and English parallel texts, which allow the reader to compare the translation with the original text.

Working with a linguist on software localisation validation can sometimes be very difficult - the linguist needs to have a good understanding of the language, of localisation itself and most importantly be able to communicate clearly with the person providing technical support for the project they are working on. Without experience this combination isn't always possible. However, Zsuzsanna demonstrated all of these qualities and more. She was easy to work with, any queries were raised in a good, clear manner where I was able to deal with them more efficiently. Her linguistic knowledge is excellent and she was able to provide clearer and more succinct translations where required. Through her support after the project had finished I was able to deal with customer queries as well (abbreviations etc.). It was a pleasure to work with Zsuzsanna and I hope to do so again in the future.

Zsuzsanna Ardó worked as an interpreter on behalf of a client I was representing in one of the biggest drug importation cases the UK has ever seen. On the face of things the defendant was an ordinary Budapest taxi driver, who according to the prosecuting authority became involved in the importation of 160 kilos of 100% pure heroin worth £17 million.

He spoke no English and had little experience of life outside Hungary, let alone the byzantine mores of the British legal system, yet the stakes for him could not be higher. Time and time again Zsuzsanna was able to perform miracles in explaining in a vernacular that he could digest the endless intricacies of his situation. This all had to be done from first principles and nothing could be assumed about his level of understanding. He came to trust Zsuzsanna as an honest broker and on occasions it was only her interventions which were able to calm him down.

I have no hesitation in recommending Zsuzsanna as an interpreter. She has quick and clear translation skills an unrivalled aura of calm which is particularly helpful in the most stressful of situations.

Zsuzsanna has created a wonderful slogan for Richter's Quamatel. It expresses the idea we had in mind very precisely and inventively, and fits Richter's successful aspirations to produce medicine that hit the nail on the head without the danger of hurting your thumb as well.

Radical changes in subtitling have brought about the need for a new kind of translator, with highly specialized translation skills. An interest in movies doesn't suffice. In my humble opinion, dialogue is the true artistic essence of movies over and above cinematography. It is invariably spoken, but more so is contemporary, register-dependent, highly stylized and can be classically literary, intellectually comedic and emotionally dramatic all at the same time. Modern subtitlers and translators have to not only be able to transfer such nuances on a wide variety of subjects atwarp speeds (such is the deadline-driven nature of the industry), but must also be technically proficient, excellent time managers and linguistically diplomatic, particularly when communicating feedback to linguists and clients alike.

Zsuzsanna Ardó is without doubt a leading exponent of this brave new world of multilingual multimedia, and a prolific linguist. Translation excellence, professional movie-production knowledge and real, genuine flair aside, Zsuzsanna is one of the most professional purveyors of her art in the world, contributing supplementary abilities to the role that far outweigh the basicrequirements of translation experience and qualifications. There is not only a dearth of such linguists in the modern marketplace, but a developing culture of "training-dependency" to accommodate the obvious shortages and difficulty in being able to commission linguists with the range of knowledge and expertise that always guarantees a "value-added" service - such as that on offer from Zsuzsanna Ardó. Training is an absolute necessity in every industry - but who's training the trainers? The training of tomorrow's linguistic subtitlers to ensure the maintenance of standards on display today can only be continued and achieved by consummate professionals with advanced linguistic and technical abilities, as well as acute arts and entertainment awareness, qualities all possessed by Zsuzsanna Ardó.

I worked with Zsuzsanna Ardó for over a year on a large drug importation case. Zsuzsanna was initially contacted by HM Customs and Excise to act as Hungarian interpreter during the initial interviews at Customs House in Central London. I was very impressed with her work and I therefore continued to use her as a translator of legal documents as well as the interpreter for all my meetings with my client. Zsuzsanna also acted as interpreter at the many court appearances including a Newton Hearing at the Crown Court.

I would whole heartedly recommend Zsuzsanna. She is an excellent interpreter. She always acted very professionally and clearly understood her role as an interpreter. She built up a good rapport with my client from the beginning which was very important given the very serious charges he faced.

Zsuzsanna is also easy to get on with and is very good company. This was important since we spent a lot of time waiting around courts in each others' company!