Maria Parker
- State-certified translator for English / German
- Sworn translator for English (‘Beeidigte und öffentlich bestellte Urkundenübersetzerin für die englische Sprache’)
- Translator for German ‘Leichte Sprache’ (Easy to Read) and ‘Einfache Sprache’ (Plain Language)
- Member of the German Translators’ Association (Bundesverband der Dolmetscher und Übersetzer (BDÜ))
Profile
My name is Maria Parker and I am a state-certified translator for English/German, sworn translator for English (‘öffentlich bestellte und beeidigte Urkundenübersetzerin‘) and member of the German translators’ association BDÜ.
German is my native language, but I speak just as much English on a daily basis; my husband is from England and our kids are growing up with both languages – and both cultures! I love living our English-German mix, from breakfast (Butterbrezeln or scones?) to bed-time stories.
I have always enjoyed learning languages and getting to know different cultures. Before we had kids, my husband and I used to travel a lot, we made it as far as India and South America. Apart from English, I also speak French and Spanish and have a basic knowledge of a few other languages (Arabic, Japanese, Hungarian, and Italian, but also some that are no longer spoken, such as Sumerian, Assyrian and Latin).
When I’m not translating, I like to read and solve word puzzles like the Wordle (New York Times) or the crossword puzzle ‘Kreuz mit den Worten’ in the Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin. I also like to listen to music (mostly classical), practice the piano, knit, sew, garden, cook, bake, and preserve food.
Qualifications
After studying Social Sciences and Assyriology for a few semesters each, I ended up studying German as a Foreign Language and English and American Studies (B.A.) at the University of Augsburg as well as Applied Linguistics (M.Sc.) at the University of Edinburgh.
After receiving my Master’s degree, I was a research assistant at the University of Leipzig for nearly five years, at the Herder-Institute for German as a Foreign Language. Because I had always enjoyed translating, I then started working as a translator for English/German at the online repair platform iFixit, mainly translating blog posts, but also the user interface, user manuals, repair guides, product texts and marketing texts.
In 2024, I passed the German State Examination for Translators in English. In January 2025, I was sworn in as a translator for English/German at the local court of Ellwangen; this allows me to issue certified translations.
In October 2025, I took a course in German Leichte Sprache (the equivalent ot Easy to Read) and Einfache Sprache (the equivalent to Plain Language).
In July 2025, I officially launched my own business as a freelance translator and editor. I mostly issue certified translations of certificates such as birth certificates, marriage certificates and degree certificates. In addition, I work for the academic proofreading service Corlingua, proofreading students’ dissertation, and I proofread and edit novels by self-publishers.
My Values
My work is guided by two principles: good communication with my clients and delivering high-quality translations. I’m convinced that a good translation should not only be a precise representation of the original text, but also capture its spirit. At the same time, it should read as idiomatically as a text originally written in the target language. To obtain this level of quality, I rely on my extensive experience as a linguist and translator. I do not use machine ‘translation’ or AI-based ‘translation’ tools.
Translating is a complex process requiring deep linguistic and cultural knowledge. It means interpreting a text, grasping its meaning and re-creating it in a different language. It is thus an inherently human process, touching on the essence of meaning and its construction. It is by no means simply a process of stringing individually translated words, phrases or sentences together, nor can it be replaced by the calculations of a machine which are based on statistical, but not on linguistic or humane principles. The tools I use for my translations are based on human knowledge assembled by scientists and artists: dictionaries, language corpora, lexicons, research articles, etc. I refuse to treat language as a product of statistical operations. Because it isn’t.
Even if you don’t share my views, you will profit from my human translations. Since I translate everything myself, I’m hightly practised and as a result, I’m very fast. I have tested various AI tools and always reached the same conclusion: Without these tools, I’m faster, my translation is much better, I enjoy my work and I am continuously improving my skills. Many other translators agree that proofreading AI-based ‘translations’ takes longer than simply translating a text from scratch, most notably the vice president of the German translators’ association BDÜ.
If you ask me to translate your text, you can trust that it will have my undivided attention and that I will draw on all my experience as a linguist and translator to deliver the best possible translation. If you have any questions about my approach, please do not hesitate to contact me – I love talking about language and I look forward to discussing your project with you.