Literary translation

I`m a big fan of literature translation - whenever I translate fiction I feel like I`m not just working on a text, I feel as a regular reader - just paraphrasing every word in a written way. It`s similar to retelling a story to a friend. The other day I got an order from a client to translate a novelette by a young female author. He brought me the print-out of the first 10 pages to work on. I`ve passionately translated all of them in one sitting because the topic was very close to me - existence in a foreign country, doubts and inner struggle of a person searching for herself etc. And then, upon reading, the client concluded that it seemed kind of plotless to him, hence in his opinion there was no need to translate the rest, maybe just the last several pages - to see how the story ends. I felt like I missed out not just on the main bulk of the payment but on the captivating story written in a sincere and spontaneous way that I kind of got to develop an interest in by the time I finished the initial translation... Oh well, I guess this time the story gets interrupted. (:

Formatting of the original + translation or JUST translation - what is your responsibility as a translator?

Do you have to provide both or just the translation? I always try to be clear about it in the very beginning with my clients and ask straightforwardly - will there be any special formatting requirements, because if there are any, then I`ll have to charge extra. Somehow, a lot of clients think that if they hire a translator, they automatically hire an editor and proofreader. It is not so and who knows this better than us, translators? All the major translation companies have both but small size businesses are trying to economize on editing expenses. Therefore, I always state in my response, that I provide basic formatting, nothing else. Also, occasionally I run into a bit of misunderstanding, because the original`s layout is far from perfect and I keep it as it is in my translation but the client then asks me: why are there all these various indentations throughout the text, why the script and size are different? My answer is I worked directly into the original. All the complaints to the author of the source text, not to me.

On the importance of signing a written contract with the client...

Around two weeks I got contacted by a certain firm that needed a rather bulky translation performed with short turn-around time. So I agreed but (having had some bitter lessons throughout my translator`s career) and with some sixth sense whispering in me I knew I had to sign an agreement that would secure my rights and guarantee the payment. And yes, it came in handy, because after I sent the first half of the translation (never send the whole text because there is always a chance you will not see that money ever - and you cannot take every client to the small claims court, agree? It`s just not worth the time and effort), the client told me - "OK, now send us the other half- the remaining part and after we review it, we`ll send you the rest of the payment". But I said - "Nope, in the agreement it is clearly stated that the client sends the FULL amount and then the translator sends the rest of work". What could they do but agree to my terms?

An interesting article about a Russian interpreter... You don`t have to be born and raised in Russia to interpret Russian (:

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/02/zdravstvuite_ru.php

Future of Translators - will there be a need for us at all in 15-30 years?

One, of more immediate interest to translators is the impact and significance of machine-assisted translation systems. Technology which keeps track of terminology, neologisms, and specialized vocabularies is just around the corner. Reliable dictation software is here, though still not reliable enough in my opinion. Translation management software has arrived. All these products, plus others will make a translator more productive, but will also require translators to learn more and invest more. Two, many computational linguists and MT software researchers and developers consider viable machine translation systems to be at least 25 years in the future. Some consider it essentially impossible with today's technology. They are not referring to the speed or storage capacity of current systems, but to the digital and Boolean nature of 1990's computing. They believe that analog neural-based technology which companies like Intel are just starting to develop will be essential to creating any viable MT system. Few such experts are optimistic about the next ten years, saying that the current technological barriers and knowledge makes a reliable MT system impossible. So, the future of the translator is uncertain. Whether the profession is suddenly wiped into oblivion by computers in 20 years or becomes more and more automated over the coming decade remains to be seen. The translation profession is constantly changing in so many ways that dwelling on an uncertain future some 15 or 30 years away is not terribly productive.

Very true remarks... about how translation agencies and clients should treat freelance translators

1. Pay translators within a reasonable amount of time. There is no reason why a translator should have to wait sixty or ninety days for payment. There is no reason why a translator should have to write letters and make phone calls in order to receive pay. Agencies should specify in their independent contractor's agreements how long payment will take and then make payment within that time. 2. Maintain a functioning BBS or on-line account. The electronic age has arrived, and translators and agencies stand to benefit from it. However, while agencies invariably expect translators to have modems, they don't necessarily reciprocate. Agencies should have a dedicated modem line connected to a computer with a BBS installed, or maintain an on-line account with an organization like CompuServe or America On Line. 3. Have people in-house who understand the languages they deal with. I don't want to ask someone at an agency about a text and then be told that they don't know because no one there reads the language it's in. If an agency is going to do high volume work with a language, they should have at least one person who can read, write, and speak that language. The problems this will solve, the time it will save, and the frustration it will eliminate will more than justify the cost of hiring such a person. 4. Use a standardized independent contractor's agreement. Every time I work for a new agency, I have to sign a new agreement, after reading and studying it and then deciding if I think it's fair. We're all dealing with the same problems and issues in the industry, let's use the same agreement. 5. Use a standardized independent contractor's information sheet. Every time I submit material to a new agency, I have to fill out pages of forms. Wouldn't it be nice if there were one form which everyone used, and then you could just keep copies around your office and send it off as necessary? I think it would be great. After all, the agencies are all after the same information, so why not use the same information sheet? 6. Send detailed information to the translator about the job and how it should be done. Make a style sheet which specifies how to handle such matters as charts, graphs, page numbers, fonts, margins, and so on. This will not only make the translator's job easier, but will cut down on the time the agency spends answering the phone and explaining such details to the translator. 7. Provide clean, legible, readable copies of the material to be translated along with all other related material. A fax of a photocopy of a fax is not readable, no matter how good a translator might be at decoding information. Moreover, translators are hired to render information and ideas from one language to another, not to decode bad printing or writing. 8. Hire at least one person who is (or was) a professional translator. Working with an agency which considers the translation industry to be just another business is frustrating. The agency should understand the profession and the people in it. The only sure way to do this is have staff who have been professional translators. 9. Define a schedule and then stick to it. No one appreciates being told that a project will start on a particular day and then finding out it has been delayed by a week or two, or even a month. No one appreciates starting a job and then getting told that the deadline has been moved up and the job must be done in three days instead of four. Translators already work under extreme time constraints; the agencies and clients should at least stick to the original terms for the job. 10. Recognize the valuable and vital service that translators provide. Agencies and clients should not be concerned with what title to use for a translator or how to define their role in linguistic or corporate terms. They should be concerned with providing the in-house translator with a proper work environment, including computer hardware and software, dictionaries and reference materials, and understanding and cooperation. They should provide the free-lance translator with fair market price for the work, clear instructions concerning the material, and readable copies of all documents.

Insurance for Translators - To Have or Not To Have?

The cost of medical insurance is a factor of self-employment no one can afford to overlook. Even for a young, unmarried male with an exemplary medical history like myself, medical insurance can cost hundreds of dollars a month, depending on what kind of coverage you want. If you are older or have children, then the costs increase more. When considering the free-lance path, consider these kinds of long-term costs. A translator who is married with children will find the cost of medical and dental coverage a far greater burden than someone in my position. Moreover, such translators might also want accident or life insurance, to protect their families. This will increase the red side considerably, especially in the face of current skyrocketing premiums. Such translators might do well to find in-house work or other work where the employer picks up part or all of the insurance tab. Although 25% of your medical insurance costs were deductible on the 1993 federal tax return, this could go down to 0% in the near future. When you consider that it was 50% only a few years ago, you can see that the government is trying to get the most out of its self-employed citizens.

Useful info for translators about How To INCREASE Your Profits

There are numerous ways to increase your profits as a translator. The easiest is to do more work. This is a nice idea, but given that there are only 168 hours in a week and 1440 minutes in a day, you can readily see that there is an upper limit to how much work you can do. Assuming you have as much work as you are capable of (or something close to that level), the trick is to get as much money as possible for your work. In other words: learn to negotiate. Negotiation is very important when dealing with translation agencies. A little math makes this clear. For a 10,000 word translation, if you work at ten cents per word, you'll make $1000; at eleven cents per word, you'll make $1100, and so on. In other words, you should think of your word rate as your salary ratio. If the average word rate for your language combination drops by 10%, you'll effectively take a 10% cut in salary. Of course, the converse is also true. You should have a minimum fee below which you will not accept the job. Many translation assignments are quite small, running between fifty and two-hundred words. Such assignments include translations of inter-office memos, birth certificates, official documents such as driver's licenses, passports, family registrations, and so on. If you were paid by the word, you'd make only a few dollars for the job and probably not cover the cost of printing and sending the finished job to the agency. Agencies are aware of this problem because they are in the same position. If they take a very small job, they have to consider their fixed costs as well. Regardless of how small or large a job is, certain costs remain the same, and the agency knows this. Therefore, so should you. Sit down and figure out roughly how much it costs you to do a translation. Include the time and money spent on talking to the client, sending faxes or files, and printing the translation or the invoice. I won't do a job for below $20 and this has caused me little trouble. You should also know what word rate you are willing to accept for a job. Work this out ahead of time and stick to it. You might even keep a chart on your desk, telling you for example that you will do general material for $0.09/word, technical for $0.10/word and rush jobs for $0.15/word (these are just examples, not recommendations). You might also have a chart worked out for how you adjust your rate based on the size of the job. I regularly accept a slightly lower rate for jobs which exceed two weeks in duration. Make sure your rates are reasonable; there's no point in asking for twice the market average because you'll quickly find you have no work. There are lots of good translators out there waiting to replace you; so don't give anyone a reason not to use you. Stick to your rates once you establish them. There are times to change your rates, and I'll discuss that in a moment. But first, let's look at why you should stick to your rates. If you constantly let yourself be talked down, you are effectively cheapening yourself, and by extension, other translators and the profession as a whole. People value what they pay a lot for. And, people are willing to pay a fair price for what they value. Part of that sense of value and price comes from the quality and nature of the work. Part of that sense comes from the pride and professionalism of the practitioners. If you show no pride or professionalism, you will lose, and by extension, the entire profession will lose. I'm not saying that translators should all double or triple their rates. But when translators start accepting lower and lower rates, they create a crisis for themselves. As rates decrease, more and more good translators will be forced out of the business simply because they cannot earn a living. Some will leave voluntarily because they know they can make a better living elsewhere. Others will leave because they have no choice. Eventually, only those who are translating part-time and are not concerned about pay (do such people exist?) will be left. This brain-drain in translation will be bad for everyone, not just translators. Naturally, the same issue about rates applies to agencies and to end-clients. You get what you pay for is a maxim which is just starting to be considered in the translation industry. Translators have to do their part by insisting that their work has value and is worth so much per word. Agencies have to do their part by insisting that a project will cost so much if it is to be done correctly. And, end-clients have to realize that they are dealing with specialists and experts and respect their ability and judgment. There are, however, some times when you will want or be forced to change your rates. For example, I translate Japanese. If Japan suddenly fell into the ocean, I might have to lower my rates (though more likely I'd be looking for a new job; perhaps as a Japanese historian). On a more realistic level, when the Japanese economic bubble burst in 1991, rates for Japanese translation began to fall and have yet to recover. So, Japanese translators were forced to lower their rates to remain competitive. Right after the Tienanmen massacre, Chinese translators found themselves in a sudden dry spell and had a hard time finding work. Now, they are finding more (because in part of the Clinton administration's delinking of human rights and trade status). And, eventually, they may be able to raise their rates.

Excerpt from an Interesting article for translators on education

From the article of Roger Chriss: The Education of a Translator Translators come from all backgrounds. Some have Masters Degrees in translation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, some have certificates from Georgetown, others have degrees from schools in Europe (such as the ones in London or Geneva) or Asia (such as Simul Academy in Tokyo or Winzao in Taiwan) and many have a degree in a general field such as literature or history. While a specialized degree in translation is useful (I have one), it is far from necessary. What counts more than anything else is ability. So, where does this ability come from? Perhaps it is nature, but I suspect that nurture helps immensely. Most translators are very well-read in their languages, and can write well. Some are writers who use translation as a way to write for a living. Others are fascinated by language and use translation as a way to be close to their favorite subject. Still others are experts in certain fields and use their language skills to work in that field. Almost all professional translators in the United States have at least a college degree. Some even have advanced degrees either in translation or in the field they specialize in. Most translators have university-level language training in their B and C languages. Some started their languages earlier, others later, but very few translators have no language training at all. Of course, language training might mean specialized courses from a variety of schools. Translators also generally have lived in the countries where their languages are spoken. I lived in Japan for almost three years. I know of translators who have spent seven or even 10 years abroad. Some translators have spent more time in the country of their B language than in the country of their A language. The notable exception to this is Spanish in the United States and English abroad. Because Spanish is used so widely and available in many parts of the U.S., some translators learn and then work in the language without ever leaving the U.S. As well, translators in other countries often work from English into their native language with just the language training they received in school. Above all, translators must have a deep interest and dedication to the languages they work with. The only exception to this rule is people who translate very specialized material. I know an individual with a Ph.D. in math who translated a book on advanced mathematics (topology I think) from French to English. His French skills are dubious, but since few people in the world understand the material, he was suitable. In almost all cases, however, translators have to be committed to honing and polishing their language skills throughout their professional life. The knowledge of the field the translator is working in is often overlooked by translators and those that hire them. Translators are by definition language professionals, but they also have to cultivate knowledge of the areas they work in. Few translators claim to be able to translate anything written in their languages, just as few people can claim to be experts in everything. Most translators have to specialize, working with one or a few related categories of material: legal, financial, medical, computers, engineering, etc. Each field has its own vocabulary, syntax, and style; the translator has to work hard to develop the knowledge necessary to deal with such material. The knowledge also includes two other important factors. First, the translator should have the background knowledge to work in the field. This does not mean that a medical translator should have an M.D. or that a computer translator should be a programmer. But, some background experience or education (or both) is all but essential. My own background and experience are in computers and medicine, so I stick to those areas. I've worked in hospitals, taken many premed courses, and took programming classes in college and worked as a database consultant over the years. Some translators do have degrees in their specialization, but most do not. Second, the translator should have the necessary resources to deal with the material. This means dictionaries, glossaries, and any other resources. Such resources can include the Foreign Language Forum, translator's BBSs, friends or colleagues who work in the industries, and magazines and journals. And, translators have to work tirelessly to improve their knowledge of the fields they work in by reading related material. They also have to invest the time and money in maintaining their reference library. In other words, professional translators are always learning. You don't just put your hand on a rock and say, 'I am a translator.' Nor do you simply acquire a language in a few months by living somewhere and then begin translating. Heinrich Schliemann may have learned to read each of his languages in six weeks, but he couldn't write or speak them (nor did he need to). Moreover, at that time, languages had considerably more limited vocabularies than now. And of course, reading and translating are two separate things.

Some interesting notes for translators on bilingualism

From the article by Roger Chriss: A good translator is by definition a bilingual person. However, the opposite is not necessarily true. A born and bred bilingual will still need two things to become a translator. First, the skills and experience necessary for translation and second, the knowledge of the field in which he or she will translate. The skills and experience for translation include the ability to write well in the target language, the ability to read and understand the source language material very well, and the ability to work with the latest word-processing and communications hardware and software. This brings up the question: does a born and bred bilingual makes a better translator than someone who learned the B language later in life? There is no definite answer, but the following issues are important. First, a born and bred bilingual often suffers from not truly knowing any language well enough to translate. Second, born and bred bilinguals often don't know the culture of the target language well enough. And last, they often lack the analytical linguistic skills to work through a sticky text. However, the acquired bilingual might not have the same in-depth knowledge of slang, colloquialisms, and dialect that the true bilingual has. As well, the acquired bilingual will not be able to translate as readily in both directions (from B to A language and A to B language; for instance, I cannot easily translate into Japanese). Finally, true bilinguals often have a greater appreciation of the subtleties and nuances of both their languages than someone who learns their B language later in life can ever hope to have.

Useful link to watch not just for Russian translators

The vendor Client relationship.

Stop wasting millions translating leaflets into foreign languages - he-he- what else will Great Britain decide to cut down on in these times of hardship?

The Communities and Local Government secretary said translating documents was a “very expensive and poor use of taxpayers’ money”. Mr Pickles told MPs in the House of Commons he was concerned that the costs were being driven by human rights and equality laws and actually served to divide communities rather than unite them. Independent figures show that local authorities spend nearly £20million a year translating documents into a variety of different languages. Mr Pickles issued a Written Ministerial Statement urging councils to stop spending the money on the translation services. The statement replaced existing guidance on translation services, issued by former Communities secretary Hazel Blears in December 2007. Mr Pickles said: “Some local authorities translate a range of documents and other materials into languages spoken by their residents, and provide interpretation services.

Do you work as a translator? Then you are Devil`s servant (: Работаешь переводчиком, тогда наверняка ты служишь дьяволу

Вот такое забавное видео (: Whoever likes the conspiracy theories and mystical explanation of the world set-up and developments - will like this cute video (with English subtitles, so I guess the makers of the video did not avoid of joining the league of Devil`s servants (: ):

How to Translate a Russian Website to English? A great Resource for us, Russian translators dealing with localization.

Analyzing the need Apart from the fact that Russian is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the World Tourism Organization, it also ranks fifth in the list of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Russia hold a key position in the present global economy, being a strategic exporter of technology, especially in the Oil and Gas, as well as Defense sectors. Collectively, all this has increased the demand for Russian to English translation across the world. Food for thought “Translation is not a matter of words only; it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture.” Not only is this view put forth by English Writer Anthony Burgess thought-provoking, it also questions the relevance of word-to-word translations. The wide variety of computer aided translations available today certainly save a lot of time, money and effort, and are of great help to professional translators, but sole dependence on them for executing a full-fledged translation project (for instance, one that entails website translation) is highly questionable. With this thought in mind, let us ponder over the easiest available options for translating a Russian website into English. 1. Use a Russian to English bilingual dictionary: This is probably the oldest aid for translation and is an excellent aid for beginner or learners. But it is impossible to convert a Russian website into English solely using this age-old tool. 2. As the first step towards Russian to English translation, Romanization of the Russian words can be done, which means transliterating the Russian Cyrillic script into the Latin alphabet. This can be done via a number of websites, one of them being http://www.translit.ru/, which transliterates Russian letters into Latin letters. If you copy and paste a Russian word into the field, the website will give you a letter-to-letter Latin Alphabet equivalent. However, this only involves transliteration and does not imply proper translation. 3. The most popular and instant option of course is Google Translate (translate.google.com/) Even a layman who has no idea about translation can use it conveniently; one just needs to select the desired languages and enter words, sentences or paragraphs in the translation field. However the number of paragraphs that can be entered is limited. Moreover, there are two major disadvantages of using this tool. First, its underlying principle involves Statistical Machine Translation without application of grammatical rules, and second, it often uses English as a pivot language, which increases the ambiguity in the final translated version. Here is an example of a mistake caused by overlooking the grammatical aspect as extracted from Wikipedia: Пишет (3rd person: it writes) вам (dative: to you(all)) письмо (letter) семья (family) Дарьи (genitive: of Daria). Based on the word order, Google translates: You wrote a letter to family Darya.[34] Based on declensions (word functions), it means: [it's] Daria’s family [that] writes you a letter, exactly the opposite. Google took you for to you, Daria for of Daria as well as to the family for the family. 4. One can log onto the website www. Dictionary.reference.com, and select the translator tab, which will display a field where you can enter up to a maximum limit of 2000 characters at one time. 5. Bing Translator (www.bing.com/translator): This has the option of translating entire web pages by selecting “translate this web page” in Bing Search results. One has the option of viewing the bilingual viewer in four different layouts namely top and bottom, side by side, original with hover translation and vice versa. However, the underlying technique of word-to-word translation often leads to errors. 6. Babylon Translator (translation.babylon.com/): This gives you the option of specifying your domain. There are about 400 options you can choose from ranging from arts, business, and computers to health, law, entertainment and sports. The question of finesse All said and done, there is no software or tool that can substitute the expertise of certified, professional translation of a Russian Website into English. The following points illustrate why: • Only an expert human translator can understand the context and objective of the translator and execute the translation accordingly. • Professional translation entails understanding the psyche and expectations of the end-user and translating the website accordingly. • The question of finesse in translation means understanding lexical gaps, area-specific idioms, terms, terminology etc and conveying the real meaning as opposed to the literal/ word-to-word meaning • For effective website translation, one needs to understand the political, social and cultural background of the end-user in order to deliver socially as well as culturally appropriate translations. • The ambiguous word-to-word translation of machine churned versions is eliminated.

Is it worth for me as a freelance Russian translator in Manhattan to start my own translation company?

My husband told me the other day: "Instead of working for others, why don`t you start something of you own, where you are going to be the boss and where you can delegate most of work to others?" That`s a good question - why don`t I? At least at the first look it seems like not a big deal: register your domain, create a nice impressive website, work your SEO and be patient - the clients will start flooding in a month or two. Translator`s work has its own advantages, among which is the fact that we don`t need any special bulky equipment - no ladders, no sewing machines, no paints or hammers etc. Just a neat laptop & a couple of the latest translation software packages. Maybe some papers and a pen for making notes. But that`s pretty much it - omnia mea mecum porto so to say. (: But on the other side, the main disadvantage is that every second self-respecting linguist has already his own website, his own translation agency, which he/she is "pimping" around in the virtual universe. So, do I want to join the rat race of competing with hundreds of other linguists? Since unless you really stand out and have truly great testimonials and reliable clientele that trusts you, the obscurity for your business is guaranteed. Hence, for now, I am following the middle track - just working as a hired hand. But who knows, maybe in a month or a year, you will see the logo of my newly created company flashing in some Google ads.

I wonder if somebody created a Kickstarter for translators - how popular the site would be?

On the regular crowd-funding sites translation projects usually do not get a lot of attention and cannot boast the same popularity as for example underwear, organic toilet paper or computer game campaigns can. It is a shame in a way because interest in artistic translation projects equals education and a sophisticated view-point. Hence, the conclusion I can make is that most people backing other`s creative endeavours are not that sophisticated ): And yes, why would anybody want to back the fifth translation of Goethe`s Faust into English? Were the first four attempts to deliver him in Shakespeare`s language not good enough? It`s hard to explain to an average reader that perhaps a modern time translator would choose the phrases more understandable and popular among this generation. There are so many worthy contemporary authors worthy of being presented to foreign audiences, a lot of Russian writers among them. Hopefully some of them will get translated and if not by means of crowd funding, then at least by some grants given out by high-brow institutions such as European Union Cultural Heritage Fund etc.

Renata Litvinova in English Translation - Is She an Unreachable Goal for Russian Translators?

I finished reading Renata Litvinova`s collection of novels and scripts today. I was always an admirer of her quirky way of delivering the lines as well as presenting the written texts. I googled Renata Litvinova`s books but nothing came up. I guess no Russian translator until now took up the challenge of working with her whimsical prose. If I had more time I would probably dip my "translator`s toes" into her writing in spite of the fact that it is extremely poetic and melodic and a lot of sentences are edging on silence, are defined by the emphasizes that only a local native Russian speaker would understand. Her works are like an ever-changing color paint palette, like an asymmetrically built butterfly, like a resurrected God that never existed. Anyway, these lines of mine show perfectly well that I got my quote of inspiration for today. (:

Sometimes paperwork issues can be the biggest obstacle...

I`m dealing with this one company that I have been trying to get to accept my paperwork for at least four months now. The problem is that I cannot figure out how to fill out the PDF they sent me still in 2012. At first I printed out the pages and faxed them to the company but they notified me that they needed it in the original PDF format emailed back to them. So I filled it out. For some reason it looks perfectly fine when I fill it out on Mac laptop - I can see every typed phrase but then when I save and send it to them - the project manager tells me that my answers are not visible. I tried on a PC computer but the same old story. I went to Kinkos hoping that their computers in some mysterious way would grant me the desired visible answers but nope. Still invisible. Well, I gave up and admitted to the company manager that I was unable to produce the required answers in the PDF file and the response I got - the encouraging: please try again... (: Should I try again? ):

Weighted Word Count - How fair it is to us, translators?

This trick of the translation software industry really makes me feel like my skills are undervalued sometimes. Yes, I understand if half of the text is filled with 100% repetitions - then a discount is surely applicable but all these 95%, 85% matches. Should it be not at the discretion of the translator to give a discount for those? Why is the machine-calculated amount more fair? I prefer to give the estimates in the old fashioned way - counting every word at the same rate.

A legal term - to translate from English into Russian or just leave it in its Latin original form?

I was rather perplexed by an obscure legal term the other day during the deposition when the opposing parties were throwing verbal fireballs. I am used to interpreting at such events and the legal specialized vernacular does not sound foreign to me. But this particular term "contra-proferentem" got me stuck. I should admit I need to brush up my legal terminology originating in Latin. Well, I managed to look up the meaning on Wikipedia and here what it said: "Contra proferentem (Latin: "against [the] offeror"),[1] also known as "interpretation against the draftsman", is a doctrine of contractual interpretation providing that, where a promise, agreement or term is ambiguous, the preferred meaning should be the one that works against the interests of the party who provided the wording." I believe one could translate it as "толкование против составителя". At the deposition though, I just kept the Latin version, which sounded rather persuasive. (:

Am I stuck in my high rate treadmill?

When I get contacted by some translation companies based in New York enquiring about my quote on a certain project, I give my standard rate, which I know, is higher than the one that a larger half of translators` gang charges. And I am not talking about those disadvantaged linguists sitting somewhere in India, provincial areas of Russia, Ukraine or elsewhere - I am talking about those who inhabit the money-making capital of US, that is New York. Everybody is trying to win over the competitors and have an edge by cutting their rate. But what is the point of undervaluing your skills, your time, your energy? I prefer to miss out on those obscenely cheap gigs and pick up some supersize assignment that will pay according to my conditions. It is better not to disperse your creative spirit. So, sometimes I get a response - sorry but we already found somebody else or even this (in order not to be so bluntly insensitive): since we choose the translators on "first come - first serve basis", we had to pick somebody else. Never mind that I responded to their email the moment it got sent. (: What is that, the store give-away or the restaurant reward program? He-he - who knows maybe one day I will join the brotherhood of translators` rat-race but for now I stand my ground.

My dilemma being a bilingual Russian and Ukrainian translator and interpreter

At times when I fill out online questionnaires and translation companies` applications, I face the need to choose between claiming Russian or Ukrainian as my main "strong" language. In such cases I usually feel frustrated when the application does not give me the option of putting both of them as main working languages. I choose Russian most of the time because there is bigger demand for it in comparison to Ukrainian. But, on the second thought, maybe I should tick off Ukrainian because there are less Ukrainian language experts and I will automatically have higher hiring rate? Whichever language I pick and whichever I sacrifice at the bottom of the page, clicking "submit" does not make a difference - I invariably feel the translator`s "pangs of conscience" so to say... since I am a native speaker and a professional translator of both - Russian and Ukrainian and my command of them is identical.

The tricky Russian phrase & its translation into English

An interesting observation that I have made recently during the lesson with my Russian student whose background is Russian but who spent most of his life in US and therefore lost the language skills. He told me: In Russian you say "насыпать сахар", "насыпать немного соли", which does not have the exact equivalent in English, does it? And he is right - in English we actually say - "to pour sugar", "to pour salt" as well as "to pour sand". However, we can also surely use "put" instead of "pour". But in Russian we would definitely NOT use "pour" with "sand", "salt" or "sugar" - only water and other liquids can be poured in this language, which is actually the verb`s primary meaning and that is why it is completely justified. Anyhow, these are the subtle variations between the English and Russian way of perceiving the world and processes taking place around us. As you can see, I have some very observant students.

Offering Russian and Ukrainian classes in Manhattan

Hi! Are you planning a trip to Russia or Ukraine? Would you like to read Russian classics in the original? Do you have Russian or Ukrainian friends or partners that you would like to surprise with some knowledge of their mother tongue? If you are looking for some guidance, don`t hesitate - contact me at convaliya@gmail.com. I have over 10 years of teaching experience. My rate is $40/hr & I usually meet students in Midtown East (public spaces such as Starbucks etc). I can meet any time after 5:30 pm. I have taught both individuals & small groups, I also taught in several schools in Manhattan, including Dwight School. I work with all levels of knowledge: beginners, intermediate and advanced. I hold a degree in Teaching Russian & Ukrainian as Foreign Languages. As a teacher, I am very patient, supportive and flexible. I have lots of textbooks, illustrations, CDs & videos that I use in my study program. I use a structured approach where we learn grammar as well as communicative aspect (practicing dialogues, writing compositions & dictations etc) every lesson. Looking forward to hearing from you. Best,

Zhanna