SCIT – News

UN Information Center in Moscow: translation quality at the forefront

22 December 2016|

On 30 November the UN Information Center in Moscow hosted the annual seminar for the higher education institutions from Russia and Belarus – members of the MoU network. The seminar was focused on the issues arising in cooperation between the universities and international organizations in training T&I specialists with the Russian language. The SCIT achievements in preparing its graduates for careers in international organizations were marked by many speakers. At the meeting Alexander Gorelik, ex-director of the UN Center, gave a presentation Russia and the UN. Vladimir Parshikov, head of the RTS at UNOG, and Alexander Vorobiev, acting head of the Conference Management division at UNOV, spoke about the importance of delivering quality in translation and interpreting at international organizations. The universities shared their experiences of T&I training; the discussion was very interesting. SCIT was represented by Director Irina Alexeeva and Deputy Director Angelique Antonova.

Daria Sinitsyna, SCIT trainer, received the IsLa-HISPÁNICA literary award for the best translation from Spanish into Russian

12 December 2016|

On 2 December 2016 the concert hall of the New Tretiakov Gallery hosted an award ceremony for the winners of the IsLa-HISPÁNICA literary translation competition. The award was established by the Embassy of Spain in Russia, embassies of Latin American countries, the Inostrannaya Literatura magazine and the Institute of Servantes in Moscow. The prize is awarded annually for the best translation from Spanish into Russian regardless of the genre, be it prose, poetry, drama or essay. We are happy to announce that Daria Sinitsyna, SCIT trainer, received this honorary award for the translation of Reinaldo Arenas’ novel El Mundo Alucinante. Presentation of the book took place in the New Library of the Loft-project Etagi on 7 December. Congratulations!

2 December 2016: virtual class with UN interpreters Anna Uspenskaya and Yuri Gariev

3 December 2016|

On 2 December SCIT held a tele-class with UN interpreters Anna Uspenskaya and Yuri Gariev. The students practiced sight reading as preparation for simultaneous interpreting. The organizers offered speeches from the UN Security Council on recent humanitarian situation in South Sudan. From the SCIT side the class was coordinated by Mr. Boris Pogodin, a UN interpreter with 30 years of experience. All participants were satisfied with the results of the class and expressed hope to continue the practice.

27 – 28 October 2016: SCIT participation in the Translating Europe Forum 2016

10 November 2016|

Almost 600 participants attended the 3rd edition of the Translating Europe Forum, devoted this year to translation tools and technologies. During 16 sessions and hands-on workshops, 54 speakers from the translation industry, EU and national institutions, the academia and the IT sector addressed the topic from different perspectives, highlighting the needs and priorities of all actors of the translation world. Vice-President of the European Commission Kristalina Georgieva, Director-General of the Directorate General for Translation of the European Commission Rytis Martikonis and the keynote speakers of the two days, Andrew Bredenkamp and Jost Zetzsche, set the tone for the discussions, inspiring and motivating participants to embrace technologies in order to thrive in the profession. Special attention was given to involve young translators and translation students in the discussion, in the tradition of the Translating Europe Forum. SCIT was represented by its Deputy Director Angelique Antonova.

https://ec.europa.eu/info/events/translatingeurope_en

I Siberian Philological Forum in Krasnoyarsk: More Attention to Translation

8 November 2016|

Throughout the whole week – from 24 to 28 October – I International Siberian Philological Forum took place in Krasnoyarsk. Above 100 participants from Russia and seven other countries presented their papers. The presentations and talks focused on old manuscripts, Old Believers’ literature, present day tendencies in the literary process in Russia and abroad, world literature in translations. The participants were unanimous that the quality of translations deserves a lot more attention.

The plenary presentation of Irina Alexeeva, SCIT director, devoted to The Dynamics of Perception of the Russian Classical Literature in Translations in XX-XXI cent. drew much attention.

VAN GOUGH UNITES: REMARKABLE BOOK PRESENTATION

28 October 2016|

On 14 October SCIT organized a remarkable event: Oxana Yakimenko, SCIT trainer, and Elena Zheltova, SCIT graduate, presented their translation work – two volumes of Van Gough: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith published by Azbuka Publishing House. The image of the famous painter existing in the public conscience due to numerous films and other popular forms of cultural production proves the importance of Van Gough’s documentary biography which found its place in the Russian cultural context due to the work of our respected colleagues.

17 October: Virtual Conference with the DG SCIC, European Commission

24 October 2016|

On 17 October SCIT hosted the first remote class with the Directorate General of Conference Interpreting of the European Commission. The class was devoted to interpreter self-training. On behalf of the DG SCIC the seminar was coordinated by Paolo Torrigiani, interpreter from the Italian section of DG SCIC, and Fernando Leitao, DG SCIC e-learning coordinator. After discussing the necessity of self-training and giving organizational tips, the coordinators held two self-training sessions in real time followed by an evaluation and final brainstorming. According to Vera Vinter, a SCIT student, the seminar on self-training was everything they expected it to be and even more. It was highly practical, well-structured, and effective. They had a chance to review from a different perspective some of the techniques end exercises they already used, as well as to learn new techniques. The students have already incorporated several tips into their self-training practice: interpreting for a pure customer, panel discussion (which was very helpful in preparing for the conference, setting clear and realistic objectives. Also, the students received advice on giving mutual feedback. All in all, the remote class encouraged the students to continue effective training.

Conference in Rome: Russian Language Issues at FAO, UN

11 October 2016|

On 28 September – 3 October FAO HQ in Rome successfully hosted the International Forum Russian in Global Context and International Organizations co-organized by Moscow State University, ESIT School of Interpreting and Translation (Paris), Saint Petersburg School of Conference Interpreting and Translation, Herzen University. The Forum brought together some 300 Russian language specialists and leaders of T&I programs from 43 countries. At the opening ceremony Mr. Louis Gagnon, Secretary-General of the Conference and Council at FAO, stressed the role of Herzen University in providing FAO with translation and terminological base and put great value on this cooperation. At the plenary session Irina Alexeeva, SCIT Director, gave a presentation Russian: Who is to Blame and What is to be Done? At the round table The Art of Translation – Interpretation in International Conferences two presentations by highly qualified professionals drew a lot of attention: Angela Keil, AIIC President, spoke about its principles and work, and Ekaterina Shutova, SCIT trainer, told about her work on Russia’s first Interpreter’s Code of Ethics.

5-8 October: Master-classes of Liam Long, DG SCIC Senior Interpreter

10 October 2016|

From 5 to 8 October SCIT hosted Liam Long, DG SCIC senior interpreter. His master-classes were an introduction into interpreter note-taking. As an experienced interpreter he explained the purpose and principles of note-taking for interpreter’s work and shared some elements of his personal note-taking system. Also, the master-classes provided an excellent opportunity for the students to practice consecutive interpreting and to get feedback from an expert. The master-classes were also attended by the IFL students, Herzen University, as observers.

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12-30 September: Master-classes of Dmitri Bloshenko, Senior Revisor of the Russian Translation Service at UNHQ

10 October 2016|

From 12 to 30 September 2016 SCIT hosted Dmitri Bloshenko, RTS Senor Reviser at UNHQ.

Since the master classes were scheduled at the beginning of the academic year, Mr. Dmitry Bloshenko had to adapt the teaching materials to the beginner’s level of the students who have just started their schooling. During the classes the students analyzed and translated the letters of Permanent Representatives to the UN Secretary General, various reports, journal articles on political and economic issues. To their surprise, the students found that UN translators often have to deal with translated materials rather than original documents in English. At the classes the students worked to expand their vocabulary, analyze the sentence structure, the meaning of the text, and understand the precise idea and position of the author. As a final exercise the students did a test UN translation in true-to-life conditions (without access to dictionaries or the Internet). Some of the master classes were also attended by the SCIT graduates and the students from the Institute of Foreign Languages, Herzen University. All agreed that the master-classes were very useful and highly effective.