A review of On Interpreting for Russian-Speaking LGBTQ+ Individuals, presented by Olga Bogatova at ATA65

Review by Julia LaVilla-Nossova

Finding a session that was not related to AI in translation or interpreting at the ATA Conference was a nice change of pace.  It was therefore refreshing to come across the session titled “Interpreting for Russian-Speaking LGBTQ+ Individuals” by Ms. Olga Bogatova among the offerings of the 65^th ATA Conference in Portland, Oregon. What can be better than learning about something new and practical and, most importantly, related to the development of languages – the love of our lives!

In her lively and well-illustrated presentation, Ms. Bogatova examined various LGBTQ+ reference terms (such as queer, transgender, questioning, ally, pansexual, etc.) and their newness. In addition, she guided the audience in understanding the language barriers that LGBTQ+ asylum seekers encounter when they initiate asylum claims and the process that leads to obtaining legal status in the United States.  Ms. Bogatova mentioned the well-founded fear LGBTQ+ persons have of being persecuted for belonging to a certain social group and how that impacts what words should be used to characterize their situations. She also described the asylum interview structure and provided information about general and special questions one needs to answer during an interview.  Her presentation (which is available on the SLD website) included a table with a fascinating comparison between the LGBTQ+ situations in Ukraine and Russia. While this complex and sensitive topic is of great interest even of itself outside of making asylum applications, using appropriate terminology and forms of expression can be determinative in deciding the outcome of any particular case; therefore, especially in this context, Ms. Bogatova emphasized that one needs to be very careful in choosing precise English and Russian equivalents for the phrases used in connection with LGBTQ+ individuals.

This made me think about a different, albeit related, subject – translating Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, which the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor at the Department of State prepares and publishes every year.  The annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, also known as the Human Rights Reports, cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements, including sections on LGBTQ+ rights. Acts of Congress mandate the annual submission of the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices to Congress. These important reports serve as guidance to help craft U.S. foreign policy that bolsters respect for human rights around the globe (additional information about the Human Rights reports, Trafficking in Persons Reports, and Religious Freedom Reports may be found on the official site of the Department of State). These reports are translated into several dozen foreign languages to make them available to people in various countries around the globe.  They are presented to Congress on an annual basis for its committees to pass decisions regarding granting countries most favored nation status or, on the contrary, putting countries on sanctions lists due to poor human rights environments. Information about the most recent of these reports can be viewed here.

One of the most important emphases of Ms. Bogatova’s presentation is the idea that language is a dynamic entity. These changes are often driven by societal evolution – therefore, for translators to be relevant, they must always pay special attention to this societal evolution in order to establish correct equivalences for the languages they translate.  And this makes the research conducted by Ms. Bogatova in the LGBTQ+ milieu and her sharing of it especially valuable.

Julia LaVilla-Nossova received her M.A. at Herzen University in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has been working as a freelance interpreter and translator in the United States for more than thirty years. She has been a staff translator at the Department of State Language Services since 2011.