Gunnel loves languages - her own language first of course, Swedish, but also languages in general. It is only natural that she should have spent all her life with languages, learning five foreign languages, teaching Swedish, doing post-graduate research in linguistics, before embarking on a translating career now spanning 17 years. When asked what she considers essential for a good translator, she puts this love of languages first: 'A fascination with the way languages work, and a near obsession to see how the sense of a text can be expressed clearly and to best advantage in another language. Also an irrepressible interest in the world around you, because you need to become an expert in the subject matter you are translating. Another requisite for success is of course to keep to promised deadlines, which is to me a point of honour.' But she comes back to her first point: 'It's my love for languages that makes translation such an enjoyable job for me - that and the satisfaction of delivering a job well done!'