About Magda

Hello, my name is Magdalena Baranowska, and I see myself as a message enabler. Being a highly experienced translator, interpreter, transcreator, and proofreader in Polish, Spanish, English, and Lithuanian, I have since 2008 been successfully creating powerful marketing messages and helping my clients reach their international goals.

I believe that my language skills, combined with a thorough understanding of marketing and business in general, as well as broad international and intercultural experience, is what your business needs most to stand out from the crowd and put your unique products and services in front of a global audience!

My entire life has revolved around different languages and interculturality. I was born in Poland in a Polish-Lithuanian family, and my upbringing was completely bilingual. The primary school I attended was located in Poland but all classes were taught in Lithuanian — we even used Polish textbooks while all instruction, discussion and homework was in Lithuanian. My journey with translation began when my age was a single-digit number! 

Contact me and, together, let’s get your message across!

EDUCATION

          An unquenchable thirst for knowledge, exploration, and making the most out of the resources available has led me to pursue university degrees in languages and translation from recognised institutions in Poland, Spain and partially the U.S.: Ph.D. in Languages and Cultures in Contact (on-going at the University of Salamanca in Spain), Postgraduate Studies in Translation and Intercultural Mediation in Professional Environments (Spanish<>English, legal specialisation) in the EMT network (University of Salamanca), M.A. with Honours in English Studies (University of Salamanca), B.A. with Honours in Spanish Studies (University of Wrocław in Poland), and B.A. with Honours in English Studies (University of Gdańsk in Poland).

          I also hold multiple language certificates, including the Spanish Language Certificate – Superior (Level 2-Highest) granted by the Official Language School of Salamanca, confirming native or bilingual proficiency in Spanish. I was awarded two important scholarships: the Scholarship of Collaboration with the University Services of the University of Salamanca and the Scholarship for Academic Performance from the University of Wrocław, both of them granted to the best student of the year. I also received seven Academic Awards for Excellence in Academic Performance.

          Nowadays, I continue to improve my qualifications  by participating in trainings, workshops, seminars, and active involvement in the translation and marketing organisations.

EXPERIENCE         

          I have more than a decade of documented professional experience as a freelance translator, interpreter, transcreator, proofreader, copywriter, transcriptionist, audiovisual translator. During my stay in the U.S. I was a lecturer at Brown University and Iowa State University of Science and Technology. My expertise concentrates on marketing and advertising, fields that benefit greatly from creative translations.

          Things I handle include branding, product and company naming, catchphrases and advertising slogans, advertisements and advertising campaigns, content used in newspaper, radio, television advertisements and other promotional materials, such as websites, catalogs, brochures, leaflets containing product descriptions, sponsored articles, Android applications, SEO texts and positioning phrases, advertising offers and more.

          I also do what the typical translator does:

• law — trials, hearings, interrogations of parties or witnesses, service of minors, victims of violence or disasters of various kinds, as well as business law
  
• medicine — hospitals, clinics and treatment where medical personnel and patients aren’t sufficiently fluent in the same language
• business — meetings, presentations, digital and printed correspondence, business plans, contracts, reports, research, RFPs
• finance — reports, balance sheets, tax returns and other financial documents
  
• a number of other working fields such as psychology, sociology, fashion, cosmetology, leisure, and sports.

          Among others, I have collaborated with All Access Interpreters, Affinia Healthcare, Divine Savior Healthcare, Fort Healthcare, John C. Murphy Health Center, Crossing Rivers Health, Langlade Hospital, Stoughton Hospital, Brown University, Iowa State University, Codex Global, Zara, Desigual, Bershka, Prestige Network, Dualia, Kredito24, Zaimo, Grupo Intercom, La Xabrica, Promotur, Europa Idiomas, Royal Spanish Football Federation, and many other institutions, companies, and individuals based in Spain, United States, United Kingdom, Poland, and Lithuania.

RESEARCH

          My research interests and activities focus on Translation and Mediation in Multicultural Environments (English<>Spanish) and Languages and Cultures in Contact.

          When pursuing my master’s degree at the Faculty of Translation and Documentation at the University of Salamanca in Spain, I focused on Translation and Intercultural Mediation in Professional Environments and specialised in English<>Spanish legal translation. My master’s thesis was titled “New Challenges in Legal Translation: Analysis of a Divorce Decree (English-Spanish).”

          It was especially in the legal and medical fields where I faced a wide range of communicative situations in which, apart from being a translator, I also needed to take up the role of a mediator. I realised that language fluency and familiarity with legal or medical terminology was only the first step on the long path to becoming a truly skilled translator.

          Another important aspect of my research involves Linguistic and Cultural Studies. I am currently working on a doctoral degree in Languages and Cultures in Contact at the University of Salamanca (Faculty of Philology). In my dissertation under the long title of, “Examining Language Learners’ Roles and Perceptions in the Development of Intercultural Communicative Competence — Analysis of Intercultural Spanish Language Learning Materials from an Activity Theory Perspective,” I focus on the teaching of culture and development of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) in the context of a foreign-language classroom.

          My goal is to analyse, from an Activity Theory perspective, the Intercultural Spanish learning materials, which focus on the development of ICC, as incorporated in the courses SPAN201 and SPAN202 — Intermediate Spanish and SPAN301 — Advanced Spanish Grammar and Composition, and SPAN303B — Advanced Conversational Spanish for Professionals, which I taught in 2013–2014 at Iowa State University.

          I am also examining participants’ roles in the discussion of cultural information, their differences in pursuing their goals (e.g. understanding of cultural information), perceptions of and attitudes toward the Intercultural materials, and preferences for viewing materials either in-class or out-of-class. 

          For that purpose I employ two different research methodologies. Data consisting of participants’ submissions for Intercultural exercises is something I analysed qualitatively, and I follow a mixed-methods approach to investigate my research questions. I use both quantitative (participants’ ratings to Likert-scale items in an exit survey) and qualitative (responses to open-ended questions in the survey) data.

          Besides Translation and Linguistic and Cultural Studies, my past research involved Literary and Cultural Studies, focusing on intertextuality in English and Spanish literature. The main areas were Bertha, Antoinette and Rochester in “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë and “Wide Sargasso Sea” by Jean Rhys, and Rocamadour in “Hopscotch” by Cortazar and “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by García Marquez.

          By doing a comparative analysis of the factual material and the original and rewritten characters, I tried to determine whether Jean Rhys and García Marquez were successful in reconstructing the primary characters (and whether this was their aim) and to what extent these can be considered as original literary creations.