James Benn / Translator in English
Comic books:
- The adventures of Jak and Bil in Kazakhstan: The treasure of Genghis Khan
- The adventures of Jak and Bil in Gabon: The ivory secret
- The adventures of Jak and Bil in Scotland: The Loch Ness mystery
- The adventures of Jak and Bil in the Middle East: The H2O-tomobile enigma
- The adventures of Jak and Bil in the Netherlands: The plot of De Nachtegaal mill
“I am an Englishman, born in London but a long-time resident of Brussels. I have been retired for some years now, but in my professional career I first of all practised for some years as a lawyer in London and after that became an EU official, working as a translator/legal reviser in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg and subsequently in the European Parliament in Brussels. I am passionately interested in languages and even now, in retirement, I continue to do a considerable amount of work as a freelance translator.Most of the texts which I have hitherto been called upon, in my professional capacity as a linguist, to translate and/or revise, have been – unlike the adventures of Jak & Bil!! – rather dry and unexciting. So I was delighted and intrigued when Jacques Ortet asked me to assist with the revision and fine-tuning of the English-language versions of the Jak & Bill books, on all of which I have had great fun collaborating. This has at times presented certain challenges, especially when it comes to rendering Bil’s jokes and wordplay in vernacular English! But it’s a tremendously satisfying task, and very interesting…I’m not really into social media, so you will not find me on Facebook, Instagram, etc., but I do have an e-mail address, and can be contacted at: jameshamiltonbenn@gmail.com.Oh, and I am on YouTube! I play bass guitar here in Brussels in a band with a great bunch of guys from the Congo – here’s one of our songs. Enjoy! (49) Isabella Jeanjou Kawende – YouTube”
