KING'S COLLEGE CAMBRIDGE

Erika Swales, MA, D Phil

Fellow in German
E-Mail ems32@cam.ac.uk

To the Graduate Tutor

Master’s Programme
In Translating and Interpreting

Dear Graduate Tutor,

ELEANOR TOAL

To put it in a nutshell at the very start: I simply cannot think of a

better qualified candidate for admission to your MA/MSc
Programme in Interpreting and Translation. Eleanor combines a
sharply analytical mind with great stamina, sensitivity and
interpersonal skills. In other words, she is one of the most
outstanding modern linguists I have ever taught.

I have known Eleanor since 1999 when she first joined King’s
College to read Modern Languages (French and German). As
Director of Studies in Modern Languages and Lecturer in
German, I had a good deal of contact with her. All the
supervision reports concurred with my view of her as an
unusually dedicated and inspiring student.
In the end (Finals 2003), she emerged with a II.i (borderline I). I
was on leave that term and hence did not have access to the
records; but, along with my colleagues who taught Eleanor, I
have always regarded this result as a travesty of her true ability.
She was a First-class student in every way: typically, she
branched out from language papers to literature.
In her Year Abroad Translation project ( a passage from
Doeblin’s ‘Berlin Alexanderplatz’) Eleonor displayed a keen
feel for the linguistic particularity of the literary text and
excelled at bringing German and English into a complex and
fruitful interplay.
Given Eleanor’s linguistic and intellectual gifts, it came as no
surprise to me when, after graduation, she was appointed by the
British Embassy in Berlin - initially as a translator and
subsequently as a press reader (a demanding post which requires
highest linguistic skills and critical intelligence).
Since then, our contact has been sporadic, but we have kept in
touch. From her application I conclude that she is still as I
remember her: an extraordinary young woman who wears her
distinction lightly. She has a wonderful sense of humour, but
above all she is tactful and unfailingly considerate of the needs
of others.
Given her academic record, the sheer breadth of her gifts and
her recent and current work experience, Eleanor is an ideally
qualified candidate for your MA/MSc Programme in
Interpreting and Translation. I am sure that she will greatly
benefit from your course – and in turn, with her gifts,
enthusiasm and stamina, she has a great deal to contribute. I
recommend her to you without any reservations whatsoever.

Yours sincerely,

Erika Swales