I am María Ruano from Barcelona (Spain). Languages have always been my passion, which is why I have become a professional translator. I have grown up in an international environment as my school was billingual (Spanish and German): students start learning Spanish and German at the age of 4 until they pass the Swiss and Spanish university entrance exams (at the age of 17 or 18, depending on the case).

I started working as a professional translator in 2015, when I began offering my translation services at a real estate agency in Barcelona. I worked for a year at this agency and, in 2017, I decided to become a freelance translator specializing in the field of Law. I wanted to take advantage of my bachelor’s degree in Law and two master’s degrees (fields: Civil law and European Union law). My source languages are English and German, and my target language is Spanish (my mother tongue). Apart from that, I also offer proofreading/editing services for the same language combinations.

I would really love to do some voluntary work in order to help people who are in a social and economic disadvantage. I have always wanted to carry out some volunteer work as I believe that translation helps people connect each other and, thus, improve their social, economic and cultural relationships. This a way of making those people’s lives easier. Overmore, the pandemic related to Covid-19 has caused a large number of negative effects on such people, and this is another main reason why I would love to contribute to improving their lives. And last but not least, as I love translating, I would feel delighted knowing that I am helping a community of people by doing what I am passionate about.