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Nicole Deuvaert was born in Zaire and grew up speaking
French, Greek and Swahili. She finished her schooling in
Belgium and moved to the United States in 1970. Nicole established Translingua in 1976 to provide multilingual translation and interpretation services to corporate clients throughout greater San Diego County. Since that time, her firm has created a vast network of foreign language experts across the United States that can handle virtually any foreign language requirement. This interview was conducted in March of 1998. |
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"Nicole, tell us about yourself -- where you came from and how you came to be where you are today."
"Well, I was born in Oicha, Province of Kivu, Republic of Congo at an American missionary hospital. Both of my parents were Belgian. My father was working for the Belgian government in the Congo helping the native people create roads and build better housing and so forth.
After his death, we lived with my Greek stepfather on a coffee plantation in the middle of the forest, near Beni -- close to the National Park and to the border of Uganda. As a teenager, I lived in Brussels, Belgium but traveled regularly to Cyprus and Greece. I worked in England for a short time as an au pair for three young girls, then back in Belgium for an import/export company before getting married and moving to the Washington, D.C. area in 1970.
My husband and I decided to move to San Diego, California where both of my children were born -- daughter Carina in 1973 and my son Stéphane in 1976. My children grew up listening to my African stories of elephants, leopards, snakes, jungles, pygmies... and my home reflects the stories of my native country. I started Translingua here in San Diego in June of 1976."
"Why have you decided to provide the services that Translingua offers?"
"There is an enormous global need to communicate with others using many languages. The services we provide allow organizations of any size to communicate internationally using any language that is appropriate. By bridging language barriers for our clients, we extend the reach of their words -- bringing them closer to other people. This philosophy has helped to define what we do and how we do it."
"How has Translingua changed since you founded the company?"
"We have expanded our customer base considerably over the past few years and have added many ancillary services to our basic translation offerings. We now provide assistance in areas such as travel, tourism, conventions and movie dubbing."
"What are Translingua's resources?"
"We have a very large pool of extremely hard-working and professional freelance workers, all of whom are experts in their specialty areas. Translingua is well-known for our ability to create working teams of language experts, providing the best possible mix of talent for a given project."
"Why do your clients keep returning to Translingua for foreign language assistance?"
"When a company consistently provides expert assistance and top-notch customer service, clients will return again and again. A very large percentage of our work is performed on behalf of clients who have worked with us for many years."
"What do you typically tell people who are looking for expert foreign language assistance?"
"I believe that Translingua ranks among the best language services firms in the industry. The quality of our work and the satisfaction of our clients shows this to be true. Let Translingua help you to bridge those language barriers. I guarantee that you will be satisfied with all that we do for you."
