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Translation FAQs

Russian translating in the UK and Europe

Q.	How busy are you?
A.	Normally quite busy - I usually have two or three active projects running at the same time.
Q.	Basically, I want to know whether you are available to work at short notice?
A.	In most cases I manage, even with very tight deadlines, that is why clients always come back to me!
Q.	What are your qualifications and experience?
A.	Diploma of Moscow Maurice Thorez Foreign Languages University (1981), further training in simultaneous interpreting. I have been in the translation and interpreting business since 1979.
Q.	If you could describe your strengths in three words, what would they be?
A.	Quality, reliability and confidentiality.
Q.	How can I check this?
A.	Quality: I can send you excerpts from the documents I have translated (if they are in the public domain); I can ask a client to give you a reference; I can do a sample (350 words max) translation for you. Reliability: Well, you have to take my clients' word for it; Confidentiality: I am bound by confidentiality agreements with most of my clients. Again, you need to have a certain amount of faith, but I have been in this business since 1979 and I am still in it!
Q.	Do you always do all your translations yourself?
A.	The absolute majority, yes. I have a few associates with particular strength in certain areas, and I involve them in specific projects. However I always do the final checking.
Q.	As a translator, you can't know every area of business. What do you do if you don't understand the meaning of something?
A.	As my clients will confirm, I never hesitate to ask them to explain anything in their materials that I don't understand. As a translator, I need to understand what I read, and make sure that what I write can also be understood.
Q.	What if you are offered a job in a subject that you are not familiar with?
A.	If I can recommend a person who in my view would do the job better, I would do so. There is no point in pretending you can do every job in the world!
Q.	How much can you translate in a day?
A.	I work reasonably quickly. 3,000 words is about standard.
Q.	What if I need, say, and overnight translation of 40 pages? You can't physically do it, can you?
A.	If I can't physically do it, I involve the trusted associates, but I still check the whole text myself to ensure correctness and continuity. However, better planning on your part normally helps avoid those unnecessary emergencies. Is this why you are reading this page? Then contact me now before it is too late!
Q.	Oh, do you do any other languages?
A.	I have on file names of some good "rare language" translators and interpreters: Estonian, Ukrainian, Kazakh or Bulgarian for example. If I can't recommend anyone I can still usually think of a path that will lead to a good name.