Camilla Zucchini
English, Russian & Slovak<>Italian Translator
“A booster shot for happiness and satisfaction, that is what Respond has been for me.”
Camilla Zucchini is an Italian and English language teacher and a graduate in Conference interpreting at the University of Bologna. She was born in Bologna, and shares a strong bond with her city. She has a Bachelor degree in Intercultural and Linguistic Mediation, and completed a two-year Master in Interpreting, both at the University of Bologna. Camilla translated a bit while graduating and just right after, in different fields. Then she began teaching young learners and adults, both English and Italian, and is currently a full-time teacher.
Camille translates English, Russian and Slovak, mostly into Italian language, which is her mother tongue. She also translated from Italian into English and occasionally from Slovak/Russian into English.
When asks what motivates her to be a part of Respond, Camilla says, “I love Respond’s commitment to being a fair, transparent and good-quality translation service. I aspire to share the same values in my future career.”
Camille was asked to tell us something about the language(s) she translate that people wouldn’t necessarily know she she shares, “Can I just say—the beauty? There is a sense of harmony in some sentence structures of Russian and Slovak that I think people who have not studied them would not easily get, and it is absolutely normal. They seem scary. They are harmonious instead.”
When asked to tell us a fun or little-known fact about herself, she says, “Being Italian, I tend to get emotional/angry/emotionally involved very easily. It is well-known, but funny I would say! I apologize for the cultural stereotype, but it happens to be true!” She also tells us, “I do not consider myself special, and I do not say this to be praised even more. I am proud of my organisational skills. I always want to combine different activities in life, different tasks and duties, and I succeed in doing so. You just need a schedule. And as exaggerated as it can sound, it works, and I am proud of making it work!
Camilla shares her passions. “Well, as boring as it can sound: languages! I am a language enthusiast. I’ve studied languages all my life. Rest assured I also have other hobbies: nature, food (not necessarily cooking, no), skating and travelling. Let’s see where next year is gonna lead me, see you on the other side!”
We asked how she cares about the impact of this work on her mental health, Camilla says, “Working in solitude, but, I am lucky, being a full-time teacher, since I am then in contact with people all the time. But a remote translator needs to be careful about the loneliness.”
Here are Maritza’s answers to some rapid fire questions:
Who inspires you? “People I surround myself with every day.”
If you could choose anyone as a mentor, who would you choose and why? “My parents, who taught me how to thrive.”
What is your favorite place to travel to? Do you travel to places where you don’t speak the language? “I do travel to places where I do not speak the language, but obviously not with the same confidence I have when instead I know the language. I love travel to the woods, no matter where they are.”
What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a translator? “Study, study, study. And then study some more!”
If you could talk to politicians about why language access is so important, what would you tell them? “Stop neglecting the rights of The Deaf. Access to Sign language is crucial.”
Are there any other “causes” close to your heart? “The environment: people, wake up! And fight for the Planet!”
Favorite word in any language? Why? “Words that cannot be translated properly are my favourites. I will choose “тоска” (toska), because it gives back the complexity of human feelings so easily and effortlessly.”
What’s one thing you’ve learned in the last year? “When the going gets tough, the tough get going. I would like to keep it that way, with an optimistic spirit.”
