A book to aid language learning
Annika Bourgogne is a Finn married to Gilles, a Frenchman. Born and living in Finland, their two daughters spoke Finnish as natives, using it at school, with friends, and with their mother.
However, their parents wanted them to speak fully fluent French as well, since it is their father’s native language, and widely spoken around the world. The girls were reluctant to use French, since they didn’t have much need for it, unless they were talking with their dad. Annika saw the same problem with other parents, and she couldn’t find any good resources to help.
Situation
So, using her degree in linguistics and her own real-life experience, she wrote a practical book grounded in the latest research to show parents how to bring up their children to be bilingual. She wrote in English because she wanted the book to have a wide audience, and she was fluent enough in English to write a good draft. Yet she knew that it needed proper proofreading to be marketable.
Challenge
In 2012, Annika asked me to edit her book Be Bilingual from cover to cover. As she wrote it over the course of about 9 months, from April till December, I read every word and made changes to and comments on the grammar, vocabulary and style where I thought it was necessary.
Outcome
“For a non-native English speaker like me, it has been an absolute lifesaver to work with a proofreader as professional and efficient as James Perkins. What sets James apart is his dedication to deliver the best possible end result. His understanding of the conventions and nuances of the English language is unparalleled, and his revisions and suggestions have always been spot-on. He has really taken my work to the next level, and I feel very good about sending it out to be read by people all over the world.” – Annika Bourgogne
You can visit Be Bilingual here.