Tourism, management and translation make a heady mix

In the '90s, Yves Girard, a tourism manager with a penchant for languages, gave up the good life in his native Bresse — a gastronomic gem set between the Burgundy and Lyonnais regions — and headed for Montreal. Establishing his career there, he increasingly gravitated towards translation.

Shortly after his graduation in tourism from the University of Nice, Yves Girard started working in the tourist industry in Germany. Why Germany? In addition to his solid grounding in tourism, he also mastered the German language following studies at the Ludwig Maximilian Universität in Munich. A polyglot, he also speaks English, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. What could be more useful than that in the tourist industry?

In the ten years prior to his arrival in Montreal, Yves Girard put all his talents to good use while working as both consultant and manager in various tourist agencies in Lyon, not far from Bourg-en-Bresse. Immediately after arriving in Montreal, he joined the team of Ad Hoc Research, an acknowledged leader in marketing, communications and social research. But that was not enough for him; he then decided to perfect his translation skills.

That is how he came to be awarded the Georges Néray Prize. Created in 1985 in memory of Georges Néray and in recognition of his years of service as a professor of translation at McGill, this prize is awarded annually to the student with the best results in the English-French option of the Certificate in Translation program.

The combination of McGill's Certificate and Graduate Diploma in Translation gives access to the professional designation of "traducteur agréé" (certified translator) awarded by the Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec, the regulatory board for certified translators in Quebec.

For further information:
kathy.peacock [at] mcgill.ca (Mrs. Katherine Peacock)
Tel.: 514-398-1484