Benjamin will often be found engrossed in translating a set of articles of association or a contract, as well as being one of the relatively few translators specializing in the world of medicine.
Benjamin is an owner of ad Astra Translatører ApS together with Ole Bajlum.
The old Danish Act on State-Authorized Translators required a person to be 25 before he or she could be appointed a state-authorized translator. That particular qualification brought with it a certain authority and public-official status, with resultant requirements of age and experience. Consequently, Benjamin had to wait several months to become state-authorized after submitting his master’s thesis on financial regulation in Denmark and Great Britain.
Prior to that, Benjamin had already started his own self-employed business alongside his job as a translator at a Copenhagen law firm and while working as a teaching assistant at the Copenhagen Business School (CBS). During those early years the business was called Dragsted og Kjeldsen Translatører, before being amalgamated with ad Astra Translatører in 2004.
Down the years Benjamin has worked a great deal on knowledge-intensive types of text. Examples include stock-exchange notices, prospectuses, articles of association, shareholders’ agreements, annual accounts and other corporate documentation.
Benjamin’s translation career got off to a tough start translating clinical trial protocols at a time when HIV medication was very new and making a breakthrough. That laid the foundation for his knowledge and interest in the medical field, such as SOPs, package inserts and patient records. When the time came for a major manufacturer of in vitro medical devices to translate all its guidelines into Danish, Benjamin moved out to join the company for a while to familiarize himself with its products and collaborate with its specialists. That collaboration has now been going on for 15 years, and Benjamin is currently a national reviewer of the company’s product documentation.
Together with a colleague, Benjamin was responsible for translating the International Accounting Standards (IAS and IFRS) into Danish for a number of years. Precision is crucial when translating standards and legislation. At the same time, new terminology had to be introduced, which would then be embodied in Danish law. It was an assignment that called for a great deal of research and correspondence with a panel of auditors. And of course, it provided in-depth insight into accounting and accounting terminology, which in turn has benefited his clients.
When the Danish Environmental Assessment Institute existed, Benjamin had an office there a couple of days a week. His tasks included translating reports, interpreting and teaching employees.
Benjamin’s work assignments also include hard-core law, certificates and legal documents. Many of his translations have to be certified, and Benjamin’s official stamp is in regular use during the course of a working day. Certified English translations of company documents and utility bills never seem to go out of style.
Benjamin also has other Nordic languages to his credit, and his repertoire of translations from Norwegian and Swedish into Danish and English includes everything from stock exchange notices, awards handed down by the Swedish Supreme Court and more creative genres like lifestyle, health and recipes.
Benjamin was chairman of the Danish Association of Certified Translators (DACTI) during the period 2016-2018.
When not translating, Benjamin is probably out running, having in excess of 100 marathons and several ultramarathons to his name.
