Hello, and nice to meet you! I’m Sarah Knapp –  owner of KnapVertaald. I combine my part-time job as an anaesthesia nurse with a reliable, honest and professional freelance translation service. 

It is a privilege to be able to combine my knowledge and enjoyment of the Flemish and Dutch languages with a similar love and appreciation of my native tongue. I work daily with staff and patients from every region of the Flemish- and Dutch-speaking communities and am familiar with the various dialects and colloquialisms these expressive languages are famous for.

As a native English speaker, writer and researcher I know my language inside and out. This means I work to a high standard at a rapid rate. I take the time to double-check my work, research the correct terminology and check grammar and spelling before returning your translated text within our agreed deadline.

I don’t own an agency and have no staff. I work from home; this means there is no need to pay for an office or other unnecessary overheads. Every translated word is my own work. I know how long each job will take and base prices on my personal speed and capabilities.

Although I take time to double-check my work, I do not format text. Submission via .doc or .docx is much preferred and returned as such. I will preserve original headings and tables, but page formatting is not included in my advertised prices. I will format your document if you wish but this will be more expensive – correct formatting takes time.

Finally, although the aim of my business is to increase my personal income I believe that long-term excellence in customer care is the only way to survive in the current and future commercial world. Your feedback and word-of-mouth recommendation counts. In order to become a trustworthy contender in a saturated market, I am committed to work at an honest pace for an honest price and consistently (and proudly) provide an honest service. My prices may not be the lowest when compared to the those of the current freelance translator community; however, when compared to the rates of high-end writing services that produce similar standards of work to my own, KnapVertaald pricing is extremely competitive.

Copy editing involves thorough observation of the entire text. Statements are checked for accuracy, changes are often made to the general structure through the repositioning of sentences, paragraphs and chapters, and vocabulary may be amended. The final draft may require further proofreading and/or formatting. Copy editing usually pertains to texts translated by non-native speakers or content written by beginners.

Proofreading concentrates on grammar, punctuation and spelling of previously copy edited or well-written texts. The process does not involve restructuring or making significant changes. As the majority of my work concerns translation, proofreading services are only provided upon request; however, the standards to which KnapVertaald translations works are high and further proofreading is usually unnecessary.

Here’s a scenario to consider:

You need to hand in an English translation of your Dutch 10,000 word specialist paper on alpha motor neuron function. Upon finding an agency which offers speedy specialist translation services at the incredibly low rate of €0.04 per word, you send both the document and €400.

The paper is duly returned but you spot a number of obvious spelling mistakes. After making some changes, you hand in your paper three days ahead of schedule.

The paper is returned by the review committee with the instruction to improve your English usage. The translator hired by your chosen (cheap) translation service was far from familiar with the intricacies of the nervous system. Branchial has become brachial. There is confusion between whether the muscle spindle is extrafusal or intrafusal. In fact, spierspoeltjes have become muscle spools. This is exactly what Google Translate thinks they are called.

You are forced to contact a professional copy-editing service; you only have 48 hours to hand in your revised version. This top-end agency charges you €0.09 per word.

The finished version is completed to a high standard just within deadline. You get top marks. Unfortunately, you have also spent €1300.

If KnapVertaald edits your low-quality €400 translation, you pay €300. It is possible that the quality of this translation is so low that a translation fee is applied. If not, the original €400 plus €300 = €700.

However, translation of the entire text with student discount costs €550 at KnapVertaald.

Sometimes it’s best to get it right first time.

High-quality translations require more than great language skills. Specialist topics need specialist knowledge.

I therefore limit KnapVertaald accepted topics to those subjects I am extremely familiar with or am, at minimum, able to research in order to clarify certain word choices:

●       General Translation

●       Marketing and Advertising Translation

●       Medical Translation

●       Literary Translation

●       Dutch to English transcription of clear audio or video files into .doc, .docx or .srt format.

I do not accept legal texts or documents requiring certification.

When you opt for KnapVertaald, you opt for a personalised service. This means no computer-generated translation.

Online automated translation has in no way attained the standards of high-end human translation. This situation may change in a decade or two. Until then, my job is completely safe.

If you are considering using Google Translate to convert your specialist text into English the following example might change your mind:

Original Dutch text:

De kleinste vier onvertakte moleculen koolwaterstof hebben een bijzondere naam; vanaf C5 wordt de naam gevormd door de stam van de Latijnse naam van het getal dat het aantal C-atomen weergeeft, gevolgd door de uitgang -aan.

Google Translate (August 2019)

The smallest four unbranched hydrocarbon molecules have a special name; starting from C5, the name is formed by the strain of the Latin name of the number representing the number of C atoms, followed by the ending -on.

The text starts promisingly but unravels into a difficult to understand and incorrect statement. The given example (from Bruggemans & Herzog’s Fundamentele begrippen van algemene chemie) shows computer-generated translation’s current immaturity in relation to even slightly complex specialist texts.

KnapVertaald would translate this Dutch language paragraph as follows:

The smallest four unbranched hydrocarbon molecules are given specific names; from C5 and above, hydrocarbon molecules are named using a numerically-based Latin prefix corresponding to the number of C atoms each molecule contains, followed by the suffix -ane.

For advertising, marketing and website translation, similar challenges apply. Content can be misconstrued to produce campaigns which do anything but encourage ROI: most global marketing departments still giggle at the US advertising faux-pas, Nothing Sucks like an Electrolux.

When you use KnapVertaald to convert your advertising, marketing and website content, you are employing a translator familiar with US, UK, Australian, Flemish and Dutch wordplay and context.

Get it right first time

Absolutely not. I don’t take on urgent work. If you need your magnum opus translating by tomorrow, KnapVertaald is not the right translation service for you.

Depending on subject matter, format and context, I am able to translate between 400 and 700 words per hour. The first draft is then double-checked for spelling, grammar, terminology and – extremely important but often forgotten – flow. This initial version is then sent to you.

However, this does not always mean that the process is complete. It is possible that you have questions concerning certain areas of the translation or particular word choices. KnapVertaald includes a second draft in its fee that guarantees an English translation you are 100% happy with.

KnapVertaald accepts payment to its Belgian bank account.

KnapVertaald will supply bank details as well as a contact email and phone number together with an offer received via the contact form.

Immediate payment before receipt of an offer is not possible. As a personal freelance service, KnapVertaald first needs to view your text before calculating a timescale for its completion.

A monthly invoice is preferred for regular work. KnapVertaald will simply record word counts for your business over the course of the month and send a digital invoice in the first week of the following month.

The chance of your being unhappy with KnapVertaald is slim. Even so, steps are taken to ensure client satisfaction.

• A free second draft in response to possible queries or preferences
• Track Changes option to explain certain amendments made within your text
• An honest service – if you really are not happy with the results, we can discuss a complete  refund

That’s easy:

Expand your target markets with UK, US & AUS English content translation that perfectly represents your company identity

Prepare professional English-language texts for UK and US publication

Integrate English SEO in your website content without compromising on copy quality

Multiply your reader audience through a high-end English translation of your work of fiction or ebook

Convert Dutch or Flemish audio and video to native UK or US English

Take advantage of the skills and experience of a knowledgeable and highly literate native English-speaker

Know your translations are carried out at an honest pace for an honest price via an honest service

You’ll get it right first time