14 Russian interpreters joined by a Polish interpreter met up in Nottingham this month for the 5th networking lunch over the last few years. The busy atmosphere in Piccollino restaurant certainly set a tone to our lively discussions. The main issue on the agenda was the government’s contract with Applied Language Solutions, a commercial company now providing court interpreting services in England and Wales. Serious concerns were raised by colleagues due to unqualified, un-vetted and inexperienced people being sent on court assignments, leading to potential miscarriages of justice. We shared first-hand evidence we had been collecting since the contract began in February 2012, some of which had already been publicised on the RPSI Linguist Lounge. We agreed to continue raising awareness among colleagues who to date had been working in other sectors of the interpreting profession and might not be aware of the full picture.

As usual, we talked about tricky working situations we found ourselves in and about various ways of maintaining professional conduct in a sensitive environment.

The meeting was an excellent opportunity for continuous professional development as well as a team-building exercise and it was great to see people we had never met before, who came from as far as Portsmouth, Bedford and Manchester. We enjoyed each other’s company so much that we are already planning the next get-together!

Yelena McCafferty, Russian Interpreter and Translator, Talk Russian

Russian interpreters meet up in Piccolino, Nottingham

As the country hosting Euro-2012 Football Championship along with Poland, Ukraine has naturally enjoyed a certain interest over the past few months and this curiosity will only grow as we head towards the opening ceremony.

To an inexperienced traveller, Ukraine is probably just a former republic of the Soviet Union, often confused with being part of Russia. Russian is indeed very widely spoken in Ukraine, however, the official language is Ukrainian. Both Russian and Ukrainian belong to the same subgroup of East Slavic languages.

Ukraine gained independence when the USSR collapsed in 1991. Since then it has kept its reputation as a breadbasket of Europe, thanks to its fertile soil; sugar production has always been big too. The country still needs help in developing larger scale farming which is a great opportunity for British businesses to share their expertise to their commercial advantage.

Major British retailers, such as Marks and Spencer, Next, Mothercare have a presence in Ukraine as well and are said to be doing well.

Ukraine’s population is 46 million with a high percentage of highly educated people, the country has a strong tradition in science and technology. A growing number of Ukrainian students have been coming to the UK to take courses too. Learning English has been popular, although the number of people who speak English fluently, especially in the provinces, is still low.

Ukrainians are renowned for their good sense of humour. And although for a non-Ukrainian/Russian speaker an interpreter may be required, any cultural issues are easily overcome at a friendly dinner hosted by this extremely hospitable nation. And Euro-2012 should demonstrate just that.

Yelena McCafferty, Russian Translator and Interpreter, Talk Russian

The last days of 2011 remind us of all the good things we have experienced during the year, and some of our achievements will follow us into 2012. And while Britain will get back to work in the first days of January, for Russia Christmas holidays will only begin. Russian Christmas is celebrated on January 7th, and, after a 10 day break, the first working day in Russia will be on January 10th.

Russia remains an attractive country for many exporters and investors, with UK-Russia trade growing by an average of 21% year-on-year. For those businesses enjoying a good relationship with their Russian partners, it is worth noting those public holidays when most offices in Russia will be closed. It would, therefore, be an idea to re-schedule any important phone calls for another date and, in addition, perhaps to send a friendly note on the occasion.

So here are the Russian public holidays in 2012 in addition to the Christmas break I mentioned above:

23rd February is the Defender of the Fatherland Day.

International Women’s Day on 8th March falls on a Thursday so to make a short three-day break Sunday 11th March will be a working day to make Friday 9th March a day-off.

1st May is the Day of Spring and Labour. It falls on a Tuesday and to make another three-day break the preceding Monday 30th April will be a day off, while 28th April, the Saturday before is a working day.

9th May is Victory Day.

Tuesday 12th June is Russia Day. In a similar scenario to May Day, Saturday 9th June is a working day to make Monday 11th June a day off. This gives Russians another long weekend – 10th to 12th June.

4th November is Unity Day and as it falls on a Sunday, Monday 5th November will be a day-off in lieu.

The last working day in Russia in 2012 will be Saturday 29th December to make up for a day-off on the last day of the year, Monday 31st December.

Yelena McCafferty, Registered Russian Translator and Interpreter
www.talkrussian.com

When I read both English and Russian nursery rhymes to my little son, I couldn’t help drawing parallels and comparing the folklore of these two countries.

Naturally, both English and Russian (or Soviet) short poems for babies and toddlers make a very vivid use of pets and animals. Some first lines are totally identical, e.g. “Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, where have you been?” and “Кисонька-мурлысенька, где ты была?” A bear is one of the favourite characters, with “The bear went over the mountain” and “Мишка косолапый по лесу идет”. Russians love their hares, foxes, wolves and goats while the English prefer lambs, mice, rabbits and frogs.

Both nations enjoy rhymes about birds: “”Two little dickie birds” and “Петушок” or “Сорока-белобока” spring to mind. Clapping often becomes part of reading. Russians love their “Ладушки” while English children eagerly clap to “If you are happy and you know it, clap your hands.”

Counting rhymes have a special place in both languages too. Many Russians will remember “Раз, два, три, четыре, пять, вышел зайчик погулять”, while English children will recite “One, two, three, four, five, once I caught a fish alive”.

I find some Russian lullabies a little disturbing though, my son got scared in particular by the one which says that if you slept close to the side of your bed, a wolf would come and take you to the woods. I know it is probably meant to stop toddlers from falling off their beds, but the emotional effect it can have on some sensitive children is the opposite to that a lullaby is supposed to make.

A few rhymes in both languages are used as a warm-up or refreshing exercise, e.g. “Heads and shoulders” and “мы писали, мы писали, наш пальчики устали”.

While all these similarities speak about the common ways these nations use to speak to their children, one thing stands out for me. Every now and then an English poem would make a reference to history or a cultural term. If we take “Humpty-Dumpty”, it mentions the King and his men or the story about a pussy cat I referred to above, says the cat has been to London to see the Queen. There is nothing like this in a Russian nursery rhyme and if there once was, it was eradicated when the Soviets came to power. Russia was no longer an empire and poems for older children were full of heroic plots and fable-style messages with one aim: to educate the younger generation.

Whichever the character in the first poem your child recites to you, it leaves you with a fascinating feeling of joy and tenderness, as you hear it from your child…

Yelena McCafferty, Registered Russian Interpreter and Translator.
Talk Russian Ltd, www.talkrussian.com

The countdown has started for the London Olympic Games as there is less than a year to go before one of the biggest sport events is hosted by London. Preparations are also well under way in Russia where in 2014 the Winter Olympic Games will be held in Sochi. Another major championship hosted by Russia is, of course, the World Football Cup in 2018.

All this, certainly, means there are a lot of commercial opportunities for international companies in Russia as the country still needs to improve its transport and hospitality infrastructure, to design and build numerous sports facilities, in other words, modern Russia is not just all about oil and gas. This was discussed at the recent networking afternoon organised in Birmingham by the Russia Midlands Business Club.

Talk Russian’s sister company, Digimedia, produced a short video about the business club and what it is about. You can watch the video by clicking on the link below.

Some facts on UK-Russia trade:

- It is currently worth 6 billion pounds a year;
- Nearly 600 British companies are active in Russia;
- Russian companies account for 13% of all international IPOs on the London Stock Exchange;
- UK law firms in Moscow are among the most successful in the world;
- Britain’s revenue from Russian tourists accounts for 500 million pounds a year.

Yelena McCafferty, Talk Russian Ltd

Eight Russian translators and interpreters joined by a Lithuanian interpreter have met in the historic city of Lincoln this month. This was our fourth networking lunch over the past 3 years and it was great to see colleagues again and discuss the current situation in the interpreting and translation industry in the UK.

This time the Russian linguists included both local Russian translators (Lincoln, Boston) as well as those who came from further afield (Yorkshire, Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield).

We talked about the plans of the Ministry of Justice to outsource interpreting and what it potentially means for registered public service interpreters.

Another hot topic for discussion was raising bilingual children. While we all agreed that speaking two languages from very early age gives children a huge advantage later in their life, it is very difficult to achieve it if only one parent in the family speaks both languages and if the dominant language of communication in the family is the same as the language spoken outside the home. The small boy who was with us at the meeting proved the point!

We also mentioned the importance of cultural awareness in interpreting and had a go at translating some famous quotes based on puns.

The Wig and Mitre, an award-winning pub in Steep Hill near Lincoln Cathedral, offered a very welcoming atmosphere as well as excellent cuisine and we finished off by agreeing to meet up again very soon.

Yelena McCafferty, a Registered Public Service Interpreter (Russian/English)
Talk Russian

Tatiana Wood, Simon Hollingsworth, Tomas Petrauskas, Tanya Squires, Yulia Ravenhill, Daria Dimova, Yelena McCafferty, Tatiana Anderton, Anna Ibrahim at the Wig and Mitre in Lincoln.

This is the name of the book one of our clients, Anna Francis, published earlier this year.

The book is extremely informative. Literally every single paragraph from the first chapter to the last contains valuable advice, the kind of details you would only get from someone who has been through the whole process. The book is extremely well-written, very easy to read, with every section clearly defined. With attention to very minor, but vital details, such as the dress code for Russian court, having documents stamped to avoid rejection and many more, one can be almost certain that the adoption journey will be easier when knowing what to expect. Throughout the guide Anna also gives various links to useful Internet resources as well as sample forms.

The book covers the following areas: getting started, UK process, notarising and apostilling, choosing a facilitator, registration paperwork, criminal record bureau checks, referral, medical conditions, court paperwork, nine-doctor medical, related costs, Russian court, Russian passport and UK visa.

It is clear that Anna put a lot of effort into describing how things actually work and what exactly is required in the UK and Russia, from the paperwork to choice of professionals. It also shows how stressful preparation to adoption itself can be when a lot of things do not go according to plan or take much longer. At the end of the book, however, a few success stories prove that it is all worth it.

Should you wish to purchase the book, the author can be contacted at russianadoptionguide@yahoo.com

Happy New Year! And while most of Europe is now back at work, the first working day in Russia this month will be 11th January. I thought it might be useful to give a full list of public holidays in Russia in 2011 as it would potentially prevent any confusion or misunderstanding if a foreign company tries to contact an office in Russia only to find an irresponsive phone line at the other end. So here we go:

23rd February, Wednesday, – Defender of the Fatherland Day

8th March, Tuesday, – International Women’s Day

1st May, Sunday, – Spring and Labour Day.
2nd May, Monday, is a day off as May 1st falls on Sunday.

9th May, Monday – Victory Day

12th June, Sunday, – Russia Day.
13th June, Monday, is a day off in lieu of the previous Sunday.

4th November, Friday, – Unity Day.

Interestingly, Easter is Russia is a religious holiday, it is not a state holiday. That’s why even though according to the Russian Orthodox calendar this year it falls on Sunday, 24th April, Monday 25th April is a normal working day. The last working day of the year in Russia is 31st December. Unlike in Europe, there are no public holidays in Russia in December as Christmas is celebrated on 7th January. Merry Russian Christmas! С Рождеством Христовым!

Yelena McCafferty, Talk Russian

Frosty snowy weather which came down on us somewhat earlier than usual this year didn’t prevent us from meeting up for networking lunch, this time in York.

Eight of us, Russian interpreters from Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Sheffield, Leeds and Cheshire, gathered together to discuss career development, a changing job market, further training, as well as to share previous experiences.

As someone who has obtained a Diploma in Public Service Interpreting earlier this year, I personally could talk with my colleagues about the intricacies of the exam and the advantages of this qualification. One of them is, of course, the opportunity to be admitted to the National Register of Public Service Interpreters, which lists professionals who meet the strict criteria. Obtaining this formal qualification and getting on the National Register were important to me professionally and personally. We all agreed that continuing professional development enabled us to do our job better and more efficiently.

Apart from the benefit of sharing our professional expertise, the meeting provided us with a chance to enjoy the conversation informally, which makes a difference for those of us who tend to do more written work in isolation, rather than face-to-face interpreting.

And no get-together is good without a few jokes and examples from our previous experiences, which put us into a festive spirit in the run-up to Christmas.

Yelena McCafferty, Registered Public Service Interpreter, DPSI (English Law)
Talk Russian

Russian interpreters meet up in Strada, York. Anastasiya Shilonosova, Yelena McCafferty, Maria Savelieva, Mikhail Zhabin, Anna Ibrahim, Olga Wilkinson, Svetlana McCue, Tatiana Anderton

Who do you think you are is one of my favourite TV programmes. I may not know all of the celebrities tracking down their family history, but I still find it extremely interesting to watch how they research their family trees. The stories going back hundreds of years can be truly fascinating.

In fact, my work is sometimes directly related to such research. Many Britons are just as interested in genealogy and manage to get hold of documents written in foreign languages. Some of such documents are written in Russian.

That’s where a Russian translator comes to face certain challenges. The fact is that very often such papers are written in pre-revolutionary Russian, when the alphabet was slightly different and so were the spelling rules. Some words naturally become obsolete. Records were also made by hand in a somewhat flowery writing so it can be quite difficult to decipher every single word.

Double dating is another striking feature of some records which were made in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, with the other corresponding date given in brackets. The Julian Calendar is often called the old style or the old calendar in Russia and it is still observed by the Russian Orthodox Church. That’s why the October Revolution is called just that, even though it took place on 7th November, as we know it. The date on the old calendar was 25th October.

What is also interesting is that some documents written in Russian are actually archived in Poland. This is because for a period of time in the 19th – early 20th century a part of Poland was ruled by the Russian empire. So a document found in Poland is not necessarily written in Polish!

It is particularly difficult to get access to papers originated in Russia. Sadly, some of the records were destroyed when the Bolsheviks came to power and burnt many churches down. Some of such records are gone forever, but many still exist because a system of two registers was run. And as I am writing this, I feel very tempted to try to see what I can find out about my family, even though I am now hundreds of miles away. I speak Russian, and that’s already half the battle!

Yelena McCafferty, Certified Russian Translator at Talk Russian