Alter Lógos is a French enterprise for translating from English and Italian into French.
Who am I? Hélène Ginabat, an independent translator, based in Rome and specialising in religious topics, but also more widely in the human and social sciences.
I have a Masters II on research in the science of language from the University of Paris III-New Sorbonne, a Masters in French as a foreign language and a degree in English at the University of Paris IV-Sorbonne. I have been a translator since 2012 from English or Italian into French, my mother tongue.
For the past twenty five years, I have received formation in religious and human science within the Emmanuel Community and through courses at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris.
I am a member of the Société française des traducteurs (SFT) and I conform to its code of professional conduct. I receive regular formation which enables me to stay up to date with changes in my profession.
Why ‘Alter Lógos’?
Lógos, in ancient Greek, λόγος, means written or spoken speech and the reason behind or the way we think. From all this comes the ability to use a language.
Two languages, even if they are near to each other like Italian and French, evolve according to their own culture; their syntactical structures reflect a particular forma mentis.
This is why, in order on one hand to remain as faithful as possible to the original text and to the style and intention of the author, and on the other hand, to convey the meaning to a reader with a different language and culture, the translation will be simultaneously the same but in another presentation, an alter lógos, a bit like an alter ego in whom we place our trust.