Professional Advice for English/Russian Translators

Working with languages can create an exciting and rewarding career in the translation industry. If translators did not exist, international communication would be virtually impossible. Although some people may try to explain themselves using international “language” such as drawings or gestures, this way of communication will soon wear out both the speaker and the listener.

Free Online Translation Services

Free online translation services are not the most reliable tools, since they employ the most used meaning of a particular word disregarding the context. For example, let us translate the sentence “I am very excited about your upcoming visit” using a few available free online English/Russian translators:

PROMPT-Online: “Я очень взволнован о вашем предстоящем посещении.» This translation employs the word “worried” to render the word “excited.”

Microsoft translator: “Я очень рады о вашем предстоящем визите.» Here, the personal pronoun “I” does not agree with the short adjective that is used in plural: “рады.” The sentence also has an error with the use of the possessive pronoun: Instead of «о вашем предстоящем визите» it should be «вашему предстоящему визиту.»

Babylon translator: «Я очень довольны Вашей предстоящей поездки.» Just like in the previous case, the personal pronoun “I” does not agree with the adjective that is used in plural. Plus, the sentence does not adhere to the Russian norms of speech.

Google translator: “Я очень взволнован o Вашем предстоящем визите.» Тhe word “worried” is used to render the meaning of the word “excited.” This skews the meaning of the sentence written in English.

The correct translation of the sentence “I was very excited about your upcoming visit” would be: Я очень рад Вашему предстоящему визиту. This sentence sounds formal and is grammatically correct.

Reliable translation. Only a live language expert will provide an accurate translation from one language into another. In the translation industry, artificial intelligence will not be able to replace a living person. Translating from one language into another requires a certain set of skills. These skills have to be constantly developed by practice.

Steps to Practicing Translation Skills

Understanding the Written Text. This is the first stage of the project, where the translator has to review the text in the source language in order to make sure he or she understands the information. I recommend reading the entire text at first. Then, if you have questions, this would be the right time to ask the author or the client for clarification.

Clarifying information

Asking questions is important, especially when working with a highly technical terminology. Back in 1998, when I was translating a technical manual (from Danish into Russian) for a company that produced medical equipment, I came across an unfamiliar term. Out of fear to appear not completely knowledgeable about the subject, I decided to consult a technical dictionary. Although found the term I was looking for, the dictionary gave me multiple Russian definitions of the same Danish word. I knew I had to pick the best term that fit the meaning of the Danish word. Simply put, I could not complete the project without consulting a Danish engineer.

That same day, I went to the production department. After a gentleman with an “engineer” tag on his shirt greeted me at the door, I introduced myself and asked if he had time to clarify the meaning of the technical term. After the conversation with the engineer, not only was I sure which word to use, but also I gained more technical knowledge about the term itself. This information helped me throughout the project, since the same term was used multiple times in the technical manual. The lesson I learned that day: Do not be afraid to ask questions.

Translating

After the translator is confident that he or she understands the information, it is the time to write the first draft of the project. It is the translator’s dream to be able to write a perfect draft the very first time. Most of the time, however, it does not happen. Sometimes, a translator might run into a situation, where, it seems like all the words are familiar, but the sentence is impossible to translate.

An experienced translator knows that it is not enough to have an extensive vocabulary; a translator should also know to which part of speech every word in a sentence belongs. Familiar words and inability to put them together may often appear frustrating. It is one of the “translator’s dilemmas,” so to speak. To start solving this “puzzle,” first we have to find the subject and the object in the sentence; then the verb, followed by the adjective.

Cultural Knowledge

(Window frames commonly used
in Belarus and other countries of the CIS)

An experienced translator should be familiar with cultural realities present in the languages of both the source and the target cultures. For example, in Russian speaking countries, a window frame is not raised up with a push of a hand; instead, it is pulled open inside. Therefore, the sentence “She raised the window to clean it” will be translated in Russian as “She opened the window in order to clean it” (Russian: «Она открыла окно, чтобы его помыть.») 

Translating Idioms and Figures of Speech

Set expressions express cultural knowledge, and therefore, they present a translation challenge. A set phrase in one language may be translated in another language using different words. For example, an English speaker may say: “She’s head over hills in debt.” In Russian, this sentence would sound: “She’s up to her ears in debt.” (Russian: Она по уши в долгах.)  It is important to be familiar with translation of idioms or set expressions in order to render set expressions correctly from one language into another.

Editing

Proofreading and editing are the most important parts of a translator’s job. A rough translation draft is not a guarantee that the audience will understand the client’s message. Not only unedited text may contain numerous grammar and punctuation errors, but it also may not sound “natural” in the target language. A well edited text is free of any errors and can be read smoothly by the speakers of the target language. A translator, thus, has to be able not only to translate the information accurately from one language into another, but also to communicate the information in a way that it sounds naturally. As a professional communicator, my job is to communicate the information into the target language in such a way that the audience will not be able to suspect that the text has been translated from another language. The flow of information has to appear logical, simple and natural to the audience.

A language professional should always increase his or her cultural knowledge of the countries where both the source and target languages are used. In addition to cultural knowledge, a translator should constantly expand vocabulary. The most important advice to a translator is to never stop learning and growing professionally. After all, language professionals are irreplaceable.