Yelena McCafferty, Director of Talk Russian Ltd, has won a prestigious interpreting award given by the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI). The ITI Awards 2018 ceremony took place in London’s historic Gray’s Inn on 16th June, where Yelena was announced as the winner of the Best Performance on an Interpreting Assignment nomination.
The award recognises an impressive achievement during a challenging and dynamic interpreting assignment, meeting the client’s requirements and adding value.
Yelena assists clients with translations and interpreting in projects ranging from manufacturing and technologies to media and international relations. The project she won the award for involved a number of dignitaries, including a governor from Kazakhstan, the Kazakh Ambassador and Lord Prescott, and aimed to develop business relations between the city of Hull and Mangystau Region.
Yelena says “the ultimate aim for me is always to make sure the communication between the parties is efficient, with the essence of the messages delivered accurately, taking into account linguistic nuances, cultural differences and humour. As interpreters, we have to bear in mind that the impression made by the people we interpret in many respects depends on their interpreter. Building rapport and trust with people within a very short space of time is an absolute must if we want to establish a working relationship quickly. You often hear references to ‘language barriers’, in fact, language can be a key to doing business”.
Yelena has been running the Russian language business since 2002 and has helped exporters win contracts overseas, supply manufacturing equipment, produce mobile phone apps; she even provided language support during the film-making of some of Hollywood’s blockbusters. She has also worked on a number of projects related to the FIFA World Cup currently taking place in Russia.
“Language professionals aren’t born overnight”, says Yelena, “it involves extensive training, hard work, sleepless nights and determination”.
Yelena McCafferty (left) and Chair of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting - Sarah Griffin-Mason (right).
[If you have a Russian interpreting assignment coming up and wish to book Yelena, please call us on 0207 0436940 or email enquiry@talkrussian.com]