Services – Amanuensis

At this very moment somebody is writing a text for a quotation, presentation, advertising brochure, blog post, manual, documentation, press release or advertisement for web and print or some other purpose.

How annoying when a typo or an overly complicated expression distracts from the actual message!

Fortunately, there are language professionals like me. As your reliable partner, I make sure that good texts become even better texts. I am also happy to take over the creative writing process for you directly and write manuals, press releases, or training materials based on your specifications.

Besides optimizing German texts, I also translate from English into German and, together with native-speaking colleagues, from German into English.

There is one thing you can always rely on: Your satisfaction is my top priority—because only your success is my success!

About me

My name is Guido Lenz. I am a translator and copywriter by heart and soul. I have fun fooling around with languages and words. And it pleases me to write comprehensible and concise texts.

I will gladly dig into new topics for you. During many stages of my professional career, I have gained the flexibility to work under pressure.

As a qualified surveyor, I have worked for German and British companies both in my learned profession and as an applications engineer for GPS technology, as an executive assistant, in technical support, in sales and procurement, in product development, as a speechwriter, in preparing training materials, as a trainer and in marketing.

Since 1993, customers in areas as diverse as GPS, surveying, construction, automotive, avionics, railroad engineering, IT, telecommunications, gaming, consumer electronics, office electronics, electrical/household appliances, hardware, software and large-scale industry have entrusted me with their projects and rely on my experience, speed and flexibility.

Your satisfaction is my top priority – because only your success is my success!

Why not a big agency?

If you need a translation, you either turn to an agency that places orders with freelance translators, a translation bureau that employs translators for specific languages and subject areas, or a freelance translation service provider like me.

Agencies and translation bureaus offer the advantage of being full-service providers covering all or most of the language combinations needed, having comprehensive processes for pre- and post-processing, and having access to a pool of often thousands of language professionals. So why should you choose a “lone wolf” instead?

There are compelling arguments for working with me as a freelancer:

I personally take care of your needs from start to finish: consulting, file conversion, translation and copywriting are all in my hand. Unlike with many large providers, the same person always works on your texts—me. This is how personal service works.

I am also available for you outside of normal business hours. For example, I read e-mails late in the evening, on weekends, or on holidays. Of course, I offer the same flexibility when processing your orders.

I know my customers and their wishes well. As a service provider for large agencies, I have often experienced that project managers were no longer responsible for a client from one day to the next. If the new project manager assigns different translators, problems often arise.

Thanks to a network of colleagues, I can also arrange other languages if necessary.

You save one or more intermediaries and get higher quality at a usually lower price, because the agency has to finance a much larger overhead for accounting, project management, review, acquisition, etc., which you pay with the price asked for the translation.

Machine Translation

Machine translation is the future.

You read headlines like this all the time. Often, cost savings on a significant scale are promised. Should you use this technology or demand that your language service provider use it? The answer is a resounding “yes, but …”

Experts agree that costs can be reduced or delivery times shortened. But they also caution that this is not the case for all text types. For example, the use of MT, as it is officially abbreviated, is rather counterproductive for literary and marketing texts. In the case of mass texts, such as similarly structured manuals, general information and other instructional texts, there may be advantages.

In any case, an extensive evaluation phase should be scheduled, in which texts are translated in parallel in the conventional way and by machine, and then compared with each other. This step must be scheduled separately for each text type and language direction.

In addition, MT does not override the laws of the market. Its use is—at least currently—still associated with quality losses or significantly lower savings than hoped for.

A practical example:

English source: Use a plate level to level the digital level in preparation for the levelling run. The level has an integrated compensator for self-levelling within 5 degrees.

German MT using Google Translate: Nivellieren Sie das Digitalnivellier in Vorbereitung auf den Nivellierungslauf mit einer Nivellierplatte. Die Libelle verfügt über einen integrierten Kompensator zur Selbstnivellierung innerhalb von 5 Grad.

German MT using DeepL: Verwenden Sie eine Plattenebene, um das Digitalnivellier zur Vorbereitung der Nivellierfahrt zu nivellieren. Die Wasserwaage hat einen integrierten Kompensator für die Selbstnivellierung innerhalb von 5 Grad.

Correct translation: Verwenden Sie die Röhrenlibelle, um das Digitalnivellier vor dem Nivellement zu horizontieren. Das Nivellier verfügt über einen integrierten Kompensator, der Stehachsfehler bis 5 Grad korrigiert.