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UN-led Online Translation Tutorial

Tutor: Sally Reading, Chief of English, Publishing and Library Section, United Nations Office at
Vienna
Participating students: Universities of Bath, Leeds and Manchester
Date: TBC

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Source Text: From a country report of the Russian Federation on gender-motivated killings
Text type: UN legal

Aim of the tutorial: to introduce English L1 students of translation to a sample UN document

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Your command of your mother tongue is crucial.
Translating well depends on:
A wide vocabulary
Correct spelling, grammar and punctuation
Natural collocations
Producing natural, idiomatic text that flows
Sensitivity to syntax
Capturing nuance
Ability to recast sentences
Writing clearly
Reproducing tone and register accurately


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Some practical tips for the exercise
Before you start translating
Read the source text through
Research sources to understand the subject (e.g. UN documents, press, Internet)
Judge the reliability of sources
Mine reference material for terminology and phrasing


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Some practical tips for the exercise
When translating:
Think about what is most likely from your general knowledge and common sense; the text
should make sense to you as a reader
Make your style factual, neutral, clear, direct and unambiguous
Be aware of different levels and registers (e.g. legal language)
Do not add or take away any particle of meaning (to misquote Newtons principle of physics:
meaning should be neither created nor destroyed!)
Check for false friends

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Some practical tips for the exercise
When you have completed the translation:
Proofread against the original, checking line by line
If you have time, set the translation aside for a while
When you come back to it, look at the English as a piece of original English, not a translation:
how does it read?
Be critical
When reading it through again, try not to read it merely to enjoy your own prose (!)
Look for ambiguities, awkward wording the reader might stumble over and even nonsense
(it happens!)

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A word on translating from Russian

Translation from Russian can turn out very wooden, with nouns piling up. Some nouns can be safely
eliminated and some can be turned into verbs.

Heres an example of a translation of a Russian sentence:
Kazakhstan pays special attention to the resolution of issues regarding implementation of
adequate control of licit trade in narcotic drugs

How about Kazakhstan pays special attention to ensuring adequate control of licit trade in narcotic
drugs.?

Also, be careful to check the case endings. Russian script is easy to misread because the letters are
more uniform than English letters.