Cillero & De Motta is a young business. Cillero, a part-time English teacher, is in charge and responsible for setting up the work-teams, «teams coherent to the project. We also do interpretation work: We have just participated in some training courses for the AVE», he states from his vantage point in Calle de San Miguel, from where he contemplates a wonderful view of the city. The graphical design of his anagram is by the painter Pepe Cerdá. «I really like his work. We met, I mentioned that we would love to have one of his designs, and he immediately designed an exceptional piece of work for us, one which one feels proud of», says Cillero.

He summarises some of the projects in which he has participated: «Dictionary of Japanese Cooking. Ingredients and Culture» by Richard Hosking (Zendrera Zariquiey, 2000); the web page of Gamesa, an aeronautical business; the translation into English of a monographic work on the Aljafería de Pano & Sepúlveda; and «the 200.000 word complete description of a work project for a hotel, commissioned by AC Hoteles». He assures that he tries to move in the same way the world moves, and that the Internet is essential for them: it provides them with agility and immediate resources for the most complex work, which could be a Spanish-Chinese version or vice versa.

A dream project

«Actually, the field in which we are most accomplished is Spanish to English or vice versa. The Internet speaks English. And our star project is being carried out in this way: Spanish to English. We are translating the web page of the University of Zaragoza: it is nothing less than a million words. Our determination is clear: we translate and localise (i.e. we adapt to the culture of the country) the programmes, contents and objectives of the more than 70 courses which the University of Zaragoza imparts. Which is no easy task. We have seven English and Irish specialists with their corresponding university degrees and a coordinator for lexical research. This task would not have been possible without the excellent coordination work done by Agustín Urdangarín of the Documentation Centre, and by Rosa Cercós and María Jesús Crespo of Vice-management of the University of Zaragoza», says Cillero.

The project, which has taken six months, is practically completed; the work, by means of an interface system will be uploaded onto the Internet and thereafter an edition in various volumes will be done. Elisabeth Grant (medicine), Rebecca Jowers (business management), Brendan Ward (engineering), Steve Wilkins (law), Martín Douch (humanities), Willem van der Merwe (sciences) and Pierre de Villiers (veterinary) have all participated.

A place in the World

This is how Cillero explains the method of work: first a selection of experts has to be done, then the material is organised, i.e., it is documented, drafts are drawn up, glossaries are adjusted, lexical research is carried out by experts («we have a lexical manager for each department») and finally a final and thorough revision is carried out.

«In this way, the University of Zaragoza will be on forefront on the Internet, i.e. in the world, and its programmes will be in reach of the European student. This is a long term investment. We know we are taking a risk, but the fact of knowing that the work will be exposed to the public makes us more responsible and careful. The courses and the programmes act as quality control for the University, and it is also a way to sell Spain to the world. We already have a translation shop on the Internet», Enrique G. Cillero points out. And he stresses, as someone looking for an ingenious title: «One could say that the University of Zaragoza is within everybody's reach: just 19 clicks away».

Cillero is very enthusiastic with the experience, willing to do away with any trite phrase. «The translator, a traitor? This was a medieval concept which is still used nowadays, but I believe that it is possible to do a very good job».