User:Timothy Cooper

I retired on 1 July 2022. Before that I was the senior English terminologist at the European Commission. I helped to maintain IATE (the terminology database of the European Institutions) and the European Commission's English Style Guide. I joined the Commission in 1985 as a translator, working into English initially from French and German, and later also from Greek, Dutch, Bulgarian and Russian.

I use the bicycle as my main means of transport, and encourage others to do likewise. I am a member of two Belgian associations which promote daily cycling, the French-speaking GRACQ and the Dutch-speaking Fietsersbond, and also of the bicycle user group for EU staff in Brussels, EUCG. I give rickshaw rides to elderly people – see Cycling without Age, or more specifically À vélo sans âge (Belgium).

When working I used Wikipedia mainly for terminological research. It provides a good, concise introduction to fields with which I am not familiar, a kind of springboard helping me to target further research more precisely and thereby save time. I correct errors in the articles I read. Most of my corrections are purely linguistic, but I occasionally also make substantive corrections, when I come across an obvious error, or when my subsequent research shows that the Wikipedia article was inaccurate.

Now that I have retired I may finally have the time to write the new articles which I would like to contribute to this wonderful project, and to read more often for the simple pleasure of reading and learning.