A former Afrikaans teacher and subject head, I have been a freelance language practitioner for many years.  I obtained the Postgraduate Diploma in Editing and Translation at Stellenbosch University and also did several short courses (academic editing, self-revision and other-revision) offered by this university. My other qualifications include a BA (Afrikaans and Dutch III; Psychology III; Xhosa II), a BA Honours in Psychology, and an M.Diac. in Play therapy (cum laude).

I delight in well-chosen words, logical flow, clear structure and a message effectively conveyed. This enables me to identify and address the shortcomings of a text.

My client-base includes publishers, authors, students, academics, business people, bloggers, language agencies, advertisers and schools.

Helene van Niekerk

+27 82 681 6232

vnhelene@gmail.com

“Words... They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good any more.. I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little or make a poem which children will speak for you when you're dead.” 

 Tom Stoppard,ﾠThe Real Thing: A Play