ATA Slavic Languages Division

Conference Presentations

SLD activities culminate each year at the annual ATA Conference. Many members consider this event one of the professional and social high points of their own years as well. In addition to the annual division meeting, there are a number of presentations of direct interest to people in Slavic translation and interpretation. Each year there are likely to be Slavic sessions relevant to literary and technical/commercial translation as well as interpretation. View topics of conference presentations and profiles of the speakers in 2005 below. For conference presentation archives, refer to archives to your right.

2007 Conference Presentations (San Fransico, CA)

Aid for the Imperfectly Articulate: Tips on English Article Usage by Vladimir J. Kovner and Lydia Razran Stone

Slavic nonnative speakers of English, no matter how fluent and erudite, tend to have difficulty using articles properly. Understanding the definite/indefinite distinction does not unambiguously determine correct usage. From actual examples of confusions and errors in article usage made by Slavic nonnative speakers, we will attempt to identify subtleties that create stumbling blocks and derive usable strategies for selecting the correct form in these cases. The presenters have considerable experience with these issues, and can consider them from the perspective of the nonnative speaker, translator, grader, editor, and teacher of English as a second language.

Translating Court Forms: Lessons Learned by Emma A. Garkavi

This session will present an overview of the translation of arraignment rights, scheduling notices, guilty pleas, and a variety of other court forms into Russian. Terminology will also be discussed.

Susanna Greiss Lecture: Lost in Translation—The Verbal Content of Visual Art by James West

The idea that visual art transcends language implies that art allows cultural exchange without the need for learning a language. In fact, works of art are deeply rooted in verbal culture. This session uses material ranging from Russian icons to Soviet cartoons to show how pictures from one culture can have a very different meaning in another culture—or even have no meaning at all—without the translation of their visual language or its explication in words.

Translation and Corporate Governance in Russia by Megan G. Lehmann

This terminology-based presentation will focus on translation and corporate governance in Russia today, specifically for banks and financial organizations. Topics will include working with the board of directors and the management board, as well as translating meeting minutes, board committee reports, internal regulatory documents, and other material. The speaker will provide an overview of the basics of Russian legislation for translation and other regulatory requirements, discuss nondisclosure agreements, and present information on major international rating agencies.

1001 Ways of Translating Children's Poetry from Russian into English by Elena S. McGivern

As any translator with relevant experience will agree, the language of poetry is stubborn and requires an innovative approach. This presentation will provide a comprehensive overview of the methods used to overcome the challenges associated with translating poetry. Participants will be invited to suggest their own rhymes in the rendition of original Russian verses.

Slavic Languages Division Annual Meeting by Elena E. Bogdanovich-Werner

Our annual opportunity to just get together and talk about what we want out of our division.

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2006 Presentations (New Orleans, Louisiana)

Susana Greiss Lecture: Translating Genres, Styles, and Realities by Michele A. Berdy

Michele Berdy discussed how she has applied the insights her career (and life) path has led her to in her work as a translator and interpreter. Working in media and communications she translated constantly, often for herself. "As a translator I care about words. As a client, I care more about audience, genre, communicative goal, and emotional impact. My experience has clarified my notion of a “good translation,” but the fast-forward language evolution in Russia makes 'good translation' an increasingly elusive goal." Ms. Berdy's lecture will be reviewed in the Spring 2007 SlavFile.

My Crude Ain't Your Oil by Konstantin Lakshin

This presentation provided an overview of the basic technical concepts necessary for language professionals to understand before they venture into translating or interpreting for the petroleum industry. In addition to some basic geology and engineering concepts, Lakshin walked his audience through some clever methods that can be used to determine equivalent terminology when it is not provided by dictionaries.

Slavic Languages Division Annual Meeting by Elena Bogdanovich-Werner

Translation of English Language Advertising Materials: Use of Adoptions and Their Grammatical Assimilation in Russian by Elena S. McGivern

This lively presentation addressed the numerous cultural and linguistic mis-matches between English and Russian that have led to the use of inappropriate terms and strategies in Russian-language advertisements. See the Winter 2007 SlavFile for a review of this session.

The Name of the Game: Russian Translation of English Expressions Drawn from Sports by Vladmir J. Kovner and Lydia Razran Stone

The presenters have compiled a copious list of English-language sports idioms, phrases, and metaphors, which may prove troublesome to language professionals required to translate them into Russian (or any other language). They took examples from their list, which is part of an ongoing effort to create a bilingual glossary, and explained the meanings and usages of these phrases and also discussed the relative roles of sports and sports idioms in Russian and American culture. This presentation will be reviewed in the Spring 2007 SlavFile.

Looking at the Overlooked: Sentencing, Paragraphing, and Textual Cohesion in Russian>English Translation by Brian James Baer and Tatyana Y. Bystrova-McIntyre

This session presented the results of research comparing Russian and English corpora to isolate differences in sentencing and paragraphing and situate those differences within a broader discussion of textual cohesion. Their research demonstrates the importance of dealing appropriately with non-semantic textual elements in translation. This session will be reviewed in the Spring 2007 SlavFile.

Lying to Tell the Truth: Are There Limits to Pragmatic Adaptation in Poetry? by Anastasia Koralova

Exploring "distortions" in translations of a book of children's poetry in English by Ann McGovern, Koralova defended the "deep transformations" of the poems made by the translator to adapt them for an audience of Russian children. This session is reviewed in the Winter 2007 SlavFile.

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2005 Presentations (Seattle, Washington):

Terminology in Legal and Social Services Brochures

This session stems from the speakers’ experience in translating into Russian concepts that are only now emerging in that language. Translating terminology used in American small claims court, by collection agencies, and concerning tenants’ rights, living wills, and affidavits of support requires a deep understanding of both U.S. and Russian/Soviet legal concepts and culture. Social services translation (and interpretation) is a growing field, as federal, state, and local government increasingly strives to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services. (Presented by Emma A. Garkavi and Vadim Khazin)

Boon or Bane? What You Should Know about the English>Russian and Russian>English Certification Exams

The presenters are certification exam graders. In addition to providing background information on passage selection and grading procedures, typical examples of translation errors from past exams were discussed.  See a related article on the front page of the Winter 2006 SlavFile. (Presented by Marina Aranovich and James E. Walker)

Idioms: A Major Source of Translators' Mistakes

See Dr. Koralova’s fascinating paper in the conference proceedings for an overview of this presentation, which combined analysis of the complex semantics of idioms with practical tips on proper usage and translation. Dr Koralova has taught translation at Moscow Linguistic University and is currently teaching Russian at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. (Presented by Anastasia L. Koralova)

Of Camels, Virgins, and Perrier Cognacs

Konstantin Lakshin’s previous presentations in Phoenix and Toronto (reviewed in the Winter 2004 and Spring 2005 issues of SlavFile) were highlights of those two conferences for many of us in the SLD. This presenter has a talent for discerning translation error patterns, which he illustrates with well-chosen examples from real documents. Here, he examined a few very serious translation problems that are all too common in business, legal, and technical translations into Russian and examine strategies for avoiding them. Session review to be published in the Spring 2006 issue of SlavFile. (Presented by Konstantin I. Lakshin)

Annual Susana Greiss Lecture:  Medical Translators and Medical Dictionaries

Until his recent retirement, Paul Djordjevic was a translator for the Social Security Administration working in French and all the Slavic Languages, among others. His frustration with the lack of adequate resources for translators turned him into a sort of accidental lexicographer. The second edition of his French>English Dictionary of Medicine came out in 2004, and he will soon publish an English>Serbian medical dictionary and a Croatian and Serbian>English medical dictionary, each containing over 45,000 entries. Session reviewed in the Winter 2006 SlavFile.  (Presented by Svetolik P. Djordjevic)

Between Norms and Style: Translating Punctuation (Russian>English)

Where do norms end and style begin? The speakers (who are both from Kent State University’s translation program, where Brian James Baer is an associate professor of Russian translation and Tatyana Bystrova-McIntyre recently received her MA) presented research data on “key differences both in the type and in the frequency of punctuation used in English and Russian publitsistika.” (Presented by Brian James Baer and Tatyana Y. Bystrova-McIntyre)

Annual Meeting of the Slavic Languages Division

See the minutes of the meeting in the Winter 2006 SlavFile.

This is a Fact: Mistakes of Russians in English

What kinds of mistakes do Russians commonly make in English due to a lack of understanding of the Anglo-American cultural context? The author of a book on this subject, Русские проблемы в английской речи: слова и фразы в контексте двух культур [Russian Problems in English Speech: Words and Phrases in the Context of Two Cultures], Lynn Visson examined examples of verbal behaviors that occasion misunderstanding and are rooted in cultural differences regarding polite discourse, social conversation, and formal statements. (Presented by Lynn Visson)

Translating Humorous Russian Poems for Children: Word Games and Pet Names, Pit Falls, Prat Falls, and Tough Calls

The speakers share a long-term interest in translating children’s poetry. They both read their translations (from English into Russian for Mr. Kovner and Russian into English for Ms. Stone) of children’s verse and discussed the translation challenges involved. Their 37-page handout, “An Alphabestiary: The ABC’s of Russian <> English Translation of Children’s Poetry” is a treasure trove of examples, history, and theory related to Russian<>English children’s poetry translation, starting with Aesopian language and ending with renowned Russian author, Boris Zakhoder. (Presented by Vladimir Kovner and Lydia Razran Stone)

Slavic Languages Division Post-Conference Wrap-Up

Joseph Bayerl gathered feedback about the just-completed conference and guided a group discussion about SLD plans for the coming year.

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2004 Presentations (Toronto, Canada):

Vital Medical Supplies: Creating a Russian D English Medical Glossary for the Real World

Anyone working in Russian-English medical translation will agree: there is not a bilingual dictionary in existence that can be called reliable or versatile. Many dictionaries are over-reliant on cognates that do not reflect accepted usage. Translators are constantly forced to research terms in monolingual references and on the internet. A discussion of how medical interpreters and translators address this problem, including a closer look at several problematic terms. (Presented by Nora S. Favorov, Irina E. Markevich, P. Elana Pick and Lydia R. Stone)

No Translation Needed! The Sequel

This interactive session is a follow-up to last year's presentation that dealt with lexical interference in English-to-Russian translation. This time, we will take a closer look at syntax and pragmatic interferences. These are a source of perpetual frustration for many end-users who find the level of risk associated with such interferences unacceptable and are willing to pay premium for accent-free translations. The practical goal of this session is to identify and discuss solutions to common syntactical problems, including but not limited to those encountered in technical, legal and advertising texts. (Presented by Konstantin I. Lakshin)

Slavic Game Show: Double Jeopardy

In keeping with its tradition, ATA's Slavic Languages Division will offer a fun test in a game show setting. Participants will be involved in a lively, exciting, and intellectually stimulating activity. They will have ample opportunity to demonstrate their abilities and incite cross-cultural humor. Everyone is welcome! (Presented by Larissa Kulinich)

Runet Roadmap: What's Where on the Russian Internet

The Runet, or Russian Internet, has grown significantly over the past several years. It contains a wealth of information of importance to people working in the Russian and English language pair. This presentation will describe the major "regions" of the Runet and show how they can be used by translators for background information, research, terminology hunts, as well as light entertainment. Effective techniques for searching and browsing the Runet will also be highlighted.  (Presented by Alex Lane)

Difficulties Encountered by Speakers of English When Using Russian

This presentation will focus on the typical mistakes made by English speakers who study and use Russian. An attempt will be made to explain why these mistakes occur and what could be done to avoid them. (Presented by Elena Bogdanovich-Werner)

Slavic Languages Division Annual Meeting

SLD Conference Wrap-Up

Annual Susanna Greiss Lecture: Translating Russia

Paul Richardson, Editor and Publisher of Russian Life magazine. Please read a brief description of the lecture or read Joseph Bayerl's review of the lecture in the Winter 2005 SlavFile issue.

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2003 Presentations (Phoenix, Arizona):

Regulatory Documentation as a Source of Most Rigorous Terminology

A guide to using regulatory documentation (along with manufacturers' brochures, catalogues, etc.) as the best source of terminology in translating engineering literature. (Presented by Igor Belyaev)

No Translation Needed! 

A look at Russian neologisms that first appeared in Russian documents translated from English. Established Russian alternatives to such terms as прайслист, акессуары and дедлайн do exist. The presentation explored many aspects of the practice of replacing established terminology with neologisms. (Presented by Konstantin Lakshin)

Croatian English: Background, Experiences and Resources

Presentation on the Croatian language and English Croatian translation from historical and cultural relations viewpoints. (Presented by Marijan A. Boskovic)

Initiative to Establish New South Slavic Language Pairs for Accreditation: An Update

The Trials and Tribulations of Cataloging the Obvious

2003 Annual Susana Greiss Lecture

Our speaker describes what gave rise to her interest in the role of common knowledge in culture, and how that interest grew into her two books, The Russian's World and Russian Context.  View a brief overview of the lecture. (Presented by Genevra Gerhart)

A Crash Course in Inferential Statistics and Experimental Design for Russian Translators

An overview of the procedures and terms in statistics and research design from the standpoint of Russian-English translation. (Presented by Lydia Stone)

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2002 Presentations (Atlanta, Georgia):

Slavic Game Show: Double Jeopardy

Translation challenges and word games for R<>E translators. (Presented by Larissa Kulinich and Steve Shabad)

U.S. Legal Terms: How to Say it in Russian and Ukrainian

Workshop on translating U.S. legal terminology. (Presented by Vadim Khazin and Boris Silversteyn)

Annual Susana Greiss Lecture

Thirty Years before the Slavic Mast: The Personal Narrative of a Literary Translator, delivered by Michael Henry Heim, literary translator and professor of Slavic languages and literatures, UCLA. View a brief overview of the lecture.

Translating Toads, Constructing Camels

Three panelists share their translations of Alexander Pushkin's 1830 poem "Стихи сочиненные ночью во время бессоницы" and receive audience input. (Presented by Nora Favorov, Alex Lane, Lydia Stone)

Navigating the Cyrillic "Swamp": Understanding Encoding

An explanation of the major encodings used to display Cyrillic characters and an overview of common problems that arise in Russian-language word processing, file sharing, internet browsing and e-mail. (Presented by Alex Lane)

The Influence of English Syntax on Nominal and Adjectival Word-Formation Models in Technical Russian

A report on linguistic research findings concerning trends in Russian word formation in technical writing. (Presented by Michael Launer)

Son of False Cognates: More Russian-English "Relatives" that Go Their Own Way

A follow up on last year's presentation of commonly misused false cognates in R<>E translation. (Presented by Steven Shabad)

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2001 Presentations (Los Angeles, California):

Annual Susana Greiss Lecture

The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful Speaker Patricia Newman shares the story behind the 4th edition of Callaham's Russian-English Dictionary of Science and Technology, her memories of Ludmilla Callaham and her own experiences as a long-time consumer of translation and interpretation services. View a brief overview of the lecture.

Audience-oriented Translation for the General Public

Workshop on translating brochures and forms for wide dissemination. Numerous examples of materials translated for New York City's large Russian-speaking population serve to illustrate the important points in this field of translation. (Presented by Igor Vesler)

Recent Issues in Russian and English Translation: Avoiding the Pitfalls and Overcoming Business and Technical Challenges

Practical tips to help today's R<>E translators work effectively, maintain an image of professionalism and make themselves valuable to their clients. (Presented by Alex Lane)

Russian-English Cognates that Go Their Own Way

A review of common "false friends" known to trip up translators working in R<>E. (Presented by Steve Shabad)

Double Jeopardy: A bilingual Game Show for Russian<>English Translators and Interpreters

Part idiom workshop, part game show-challenges for R<>E translators. (Presented by Vadim Khazin and Lydia Stone)

Challenges in Translating Russian Financial Statements

An overview of the problems and pitfalls involved in translating Russian balance sheets and financial statements into English. (Presented by Robert Taylor)

New Terminology in Polish

An examination of new Polish terminology and changes in the meaning of old terms over the course of Poland's first decade of integration into the West. (Presented by Ursula Klingenberg)

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2000 Presentations (Orlando, Florida):

Annual Susana Greiss Lecture

The presentation on the trials and tribulations of being an UN translator was delivered by Lynn Visson. View a brief overview of the lecture.

Adventures in Cross-cultural Publication II: Irina Ratushinskaya, Jesus People and Me

The presentation was delivered by Lydia Razran Stone.

Census 2000: A Pretext to Discuss Rendering U.S. Realia in Russian/Ukrainian

The presentation was delivered by Vadim I. Khazin.

Riding the Rough Roads between Russian and English

The presentation was delivered by Nora S. Favorov.

The Dictionary: My Friend, My Enemy

The presentation was delivered by Marina Aranovich and Boris M. Silversteyn.

Building an English-Russian "Lexicon" of Specialized Terms and Acronyms for the International Space Station Program

The presentation was delivered by Alex Lane.

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