I would like to  talk about cultural aspect in translation today.

As a human translator I go from moment to moment, from revelation to revelation and grow less uncertain as I know how versatile the language is and the task of a human translator is to find the best possible compromise.

The most relevant part of my background is that I’ve always been fascinated by language. For me a novel turn of phrase or a well-sculpted sentence can be literally thrilling.

How playful, poignant, and convergent languages are! Every translation is a form of travel – to another place, to another time, to other worlds, to other people’s shoes, or to other people’s minds.

The word ‘idiom’ comes from Greek and means ‘one’s own’. An idiomatic expression is one that we understand among ourselves. Idioms are turns of phrases or expressions unique to a language. They are extensions of metaphors and similes, and often become immortalized as clichés. While they add flair to daily speech, they can also be problematic to a foreign speaker. The expressions are so tied within their own cultural connotations they sometimes sound absurd in translation.

We don’t pay them much attention, but idioms are more important than we usually realize. Linguists believe we have as many idioms and stock phrases in our long-term memory as we have words. They classify both words and idioms as lexemes (i.e., self containing units for conveying meaning). And idioms turn out to be a crucial piece of evidence in the surprisingly heated and ongoing debate on the evolution of language.

I am not pulling your leg or, as Russians would say: I am not hanging noodles on your ears!

A computerised English to Russian translation of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ is ‘invisible idiot’.

As a human Russian translator I need to look for evidence in linguistics, anthropology, psychology, all of which adds to the inaccurate view of human reason.

Unless you are given a green light to a free interpretation of a given book.

Russian translation of some lyrics often diverge dramatically from the original version. While translating foreign songs a translator tries to create a literary story from the simplistic original text in the tradition of Russian romance where the lyrics always relate a story.

The decision to make Russia the market focus is a recognition of Russia’s rising clout in international publishing market. Russia now stands alongside the United States, China and the UK in world rankings. As a result a real school of translation will be created. Those who graduated with Russian literature and languages degrees, like myself, went to work in the business, where was a huge need for translators. So, there is an idea of fostering a new generation of translators (aged 30 and 40) to close a gap in literary Russian English translation. Academia Rossica awards the only translation prize in the world, which specifically recognizes excellence in translation from Russian into English.

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