About
Our Foundations
Contrary to what our name might suggest, The French Key is a translation and interpreting service provider dealing not only with the French language, but with a wide variety of European languages. Since its foundation, translators at The French Key have been offering a genuinely professional service while maintaining our small business, friendly touch towards our clients. Their varied background and teams of specialised translators have allowed them to handle projects in fields as varied as legal, technical, medical, marketing and advertising, and they have handled all sorts of documentations for all a wide array of clients, from individuals to small business, law practices and multinational corporations. Accuracy and confidentiality are all important when translating these documents and The French Key have put processes in place to best respond to their clients’ requirements.
As the new translation market has grown, so has The French Key, ever since its creation 7 years ago. Founded by Corinne Durand, a French native and “adopted Scot” for 17 years, The French Key has since then gone from strength to strength. Corinne decided to set up her translation business, confident that her linguistic skills and business experience could be a winning combination. She has been proved right. With a network of native translators, interpreters and proofreaders, all able to demonstrate expertise in their particular field beside their linguistic abilities, she is confident she can deliver the service best adapted to a particular client and a particular project, in the best possible time, and at a competitive price.
At The French Key, the relationships we build with clients are key to the way we do business. Knowing the market and certainly being the best at what we do gives us the edge to meet our clients’ requirements every time. There is nothing more rewarding than a satisfied client, and that is what we aim for, at every level and on every project.
The French Key also use the latest technology in Computer Aided Translation tools and Translation Memory to ensure accuracy and clients’ terminology and speed up the translation processes.
Some clients can be wary of the use of these new technologies as they have been misused in the past, and quality has been lost as the human translator was being bypassed for economical reasons. We know how to use these tools to the full and benefit from their efficiency, but we never skip the indispensable human steps. They also allow us to handle large localisation projects. One thing is for sure, although we like to use the technological assets at our disposal, we never compromise on quality and we always go “the extra mile” to try and meet challenging deadlines, as experience has shown we have to expect them from our clients.
A face behind the name…
The French Key was founded in 2001 by Corinne Durand, a freelance translator with previous professional experience in project management, customer service and quality assurance for a world leading computer manufacturer.
A French native and speaker of 4 languages, Corinne moved to Scotland in 1991 after obtaining a Masters degree in Foreign Languages applied to Business Studies from Toulouse Le Mirail University and following a year long university placement in the Business School of Zaragoza, Spain aimed at furthering her linguistic and professional abilities.
Please take a look at her CV for further details on her academic and professional background.
In The French Key, besides handling various aspects of the business, Corinne works personally on English to French translations.
Corinne lives in Scotland with her partner and children and her personal interests include yoga, photography, art, handcrafted jewellery, and, on a more serious note, international development and environmental issues.
Links
The following are carrying out important work all over the world and need our support:
Amnesty International
Breast Cancer
Having recovered from breast cancer, Corinne would like to emphasize the important support the following organizations provide to people who need help through challenging times.
Beautiful things to look at and buy, places to stay and services
Victoria Milroy – amazing artist and fascinating person worth checking out!
Proz – the biggest online international community of translators
Belvedere – a heavenly retreat, in fabulous company, on a paradise island!