Russian Translation Service

PROFESSIONAL RUSSIAN TRANSLATION FOR THE RUSSIAN MARKET

When it comes to Russian translation, it is definitely not as simple as it seems.

Before we go into the challenges of performing Russian translation, let us examine the following information about the Russian language:

• There are 12 variations with Russian nouns, depending on how they are used in a sentence.
• The number of verb variations is also hard to count, as the ending depends on verb tense, gender, mood, and amount.
• All these factors contribute to a highly context-specific word form. Just to illustrate the above, simply by swapping two words in a sentence, you can totally change its mood and tone.
• It is also a different ball game altogether when you look at rules governing the use of punctuation. For example, the Russian language typically uses the so-called chevrons («») instead of quotation marks.

All these rules peculiar to the Russian language makes Russian translation a challenging task. When handling Russian translation, you may face the following challenges:

1. As almost every word in Russian has 10 direct synonyms, it becomes a challenge for the translators to find out the word that conveys the meaning true meaning of the source word precisely.
2. Because of the diverse nature of the Russian language, extensive research needs to be done when translating.
3. A good Russian Translation is the one that has utilized appropriate terminologies for the target sector for example hospitality, legal and other sectors. As such, a good Russian translator must be kept updated with the latest development and changes in these terminologies.
4. Ensuring that you are well-versed in every grammatical aspect of the Russian language is also something that haunts most Russian translators.
5. Translation is subjective. Yes. Even in Russian. Most of the time, it would work best for the client and the translator to work closely to create glossaries and guidelines to ensure the final translation output is fit for its purpose.
6. When translating from English into Russian, the text expands by approximately 15%. You have to bear this in mind especially when it comes to the layout of the translated text. Do cater space for such expansion.

There are many more things to consider than just getting someone who knows Russian to handle translation into Russian. As the Russian saying goes ‘Sem’ raz otmer, odin otrezh’, which literally means to “measure seven times, cut once”. It means to take any action; precise planning is required for accuracy.

Hence, it is important to engage the appropriate linguist. Do things right the first time, so that you do not have to do it again!

ABOUT THE RUSSIAN LANGUAGE

With more than 170 million speakers of the language in the world, the Russian language indeed has a significant global presence. It is the 7^th most spoken language in the world and the most spoken out of all Slavic languages. Russian is also popular among communities in the United States, Norway, Ukraine, and Romania.

If you are thinking of picking up the Russian language, you may be intrigued by the mysterious nature of this language at first. This is evident when you examine the Russian Cyrillic alphabet.

There are 33 letters, which are divided into 10 vowels, 21 consonants, and 2 letters, which do not have any sound. Each letter can be capital or small. Due to its uniqueness, beginners can find learning how to master the language to be both exciting and overwhelming at the same time. The grammar and punctuation of the Russian language is also a great challenge for many. Yet, learning Russian can be a very worthwhile experience.

There are about 200,000 words in the Russian language. You will be surprised that many words have more than one meaning!

Besides, a quarter of scientific publications are written in the Russian language, which shows the significance of the language in our world.

Fun fact: If you are planning to become an astronaut, learning Russian is a must! Russian is known as one of the official languages of space, and in case of emergencies, some instructions are given in Russian. Believe it or not but if you want to become an astronaut, a mandatory homestay in Moscow is necessary as part of the training?