Translation Blog

Knowing how to translate Russian accurately is challenging. The Russian language differs immensely from English in almost every area, including its alphabet, vocabulary, and grammar. These discrepancies make it hard to translate Russian to English or vice versa. Even companies offering professional Russian translation services can produce substandard translations if not properly skilled.

Poorly translated materials are, at best, frustrating to read or listen to. At worst, these translation mistakes could reflect sloppiness or lack of respect for the audience, make the business lose credibility, or give the reader an unreliable information source. This can lead to confusion, destroyed brand reputations, legal disputes, or health consequences.

In this article, we discuss the top five common Russian translation mistakes. We also give you tips on how to avoid these common errors next time you translate Russian documents.

1. Translating Disregarding Russian Context

Russian has about 200,000 words compared to an astounding 1,000,000 words in English. When you translate Russian, understanding context is therefore crucial. Many Russian words have multiple meanings when used in different contexts, and understanding these intricacies is critical in avoiding mistranslation. Choose the wrong context, and your translation won’t sound right.

For example, the Russian word “Вариант” can be translated into English as both “option” and “variant.” Translators will have to choose the most appropriate word that fits the context. A sentence such as “I have many variants for Russian translation services providers” doesn’t sound right – the right word in this context is “options.”

There are a lot of other words like this in Russian, and the way you use them depends on the context of the sentence. When you translate Russian, pay attention to the context rather than the individual words to make sure the correct version is chosen.

2. Overlooking Word Endings

The Russian language is infamous for its six cases: nominative, genitive, accusative, dative, prepositional, and instrumental. As all good Russian translation services providers know, these cases show the function of a noun in the sentence. Each case is reflected by changing the specific word endings. As a result, Russian nouns have many variations.

To make matters worse, these cases allow a more flexible sentence structure than in English. Unlike the English language, which often follows the (subject + verb + object) structure, Russian words can be placed in different orders to form a sentence. Here is an example that translates to “I like singing in the bathroom”:

• “Я люблю петь в ванной”
• “Люблю я петь в ванной”
• “В ванной петь люблю я”
• “Я петь в ванной люблю”
• “Петь люблю я в ванной”

These examples show that you can essentially put the words in almost any order and not be grammatically incorrect. However, this flexibility offered by Russian words is a mixed blessing. When you translate Russian, it is vital to ensure each noun ending is chosen correctly since the meaning of the entire sentence could change!

3. Translating Word for Word

We have just explained how the Russian language has a flexible sentence structure; each variation might change the tone, style, and tone. Therefore, translating word-for-word in the exact order is a rookie mistake, and it’s a dead giveaway that the translators don’t have an idea of what they are doing. The text won’t sound fluent or natural.

This mistake is common when using Russian translation services from computer tools like Google Translate. Machines cannot conjugate sentences correctly when they translate Russian, only rendering one word at a time. To avoid this issue, work with human Russian translators. Qualified linguists learn the best processes to avoid these errors as part of their training.

4. Using Incorrect Words

Another common mistake when people translate Russian is to misuse vocabulary. Certain words cannot be translated from Russian to English, which makes it difficult to convey the same message or specific feelings across multiple languages.

For instance, there is no English equivalent for the Russian word “Tosca.” This word expresses a negative feeling best translated to “depression” or “melancholy.” However, these words don’t communicate the depth of hunger or unhappiness you can feel for no reason, which is conversed through the word “Tosca”. There is no true English equivalent.

The same thing can also be said of translating English to Russian. For instance, you cannot translate “Holy Grail” into Russian. It is better to leave the original term rather than create a confusing translated equivalent. This is especially important for a legal translation where clarity is imperative; professional Russian translation services are essential to avoid miscommunication and legal disputes.

5. “Masculine” and “Feminine” Words

The English language is simple because all nouns are gender-neutral, except for those that refer to an animal with a specific gender, like a buck and a doe. However, all Russian nouns are one of three genders – masculine, feminine, or neuter.

Mistakes often arise if the agency offering Russian translation services neglects to choose suitable articles for every noun. In some cases, the gender of a noun in the Russian language is directly related to the gender of the thing you are referring to–these are easy to get right. But in other cases, the correct article is not as obvious.

An English speaker trying to translate Russian text will struggle to choose the correct article. For instance, a simple word such as a cat can be translated as кот (Masculine) and кошка (Feminine) in Russian. Although your text will still be understandable by Russian speakers, it won’t sound professional or as trustworthy as a grammatically correct piece of content.

Trust us to Translate your Russian Content

The Russian language is highly complex. To translate Russian accurately and professionally requires in-depth knowledge, or any of these five common mistakes might creep in! Even speaking Russian and understanding the source language is not enough to translate sensitive documents.

The only way to avoid ruining your Russian translations is by hiring a reputable Russian translation services provider, such as Renaissance Translations. To guarantee that a professional translator is always available when needed, we have pooled the talents of native translators and thousands of professional linguists internationally.

All our Russian translators hold translation degrees and use the best methods to avoid errors. We are also members of the Asociation of Translation Companies in England as well as SDL LSP Partner Programme. You are promised accurate, professional translations every time. Please contact our team or request a translation quote online if you want to discuss your project and let us translate Russian on your behalf.

We are often asked about how much it costs to translate a document. Unfortunately, there is no simple answer. Each UK translation company has its own pricing structure. The cost of a document translator also depends on the type of document and your requirements. Translate a document into a widely-spoken language, and you’ll pay far less than translating into a niche language with few professional linguists available, for example.

So, how can you figure out a rough cost estimate for your project? This article explains all you need to know! Below we look at six factors that can affect the rates for translating a document. By the end, you’ll have a fair estimation of the budget you need to set aside.

1. Language Pair

The language pair is the first thing to consider when translating a document. What language is the original document in?—this is the source language. And what language would you like it to be translated to?—this is the target language. For example, if you need to translate a document from English to Spanish, English is the source language, and Spanish is the target language.

Translating between two common languages spoken by many people will usually be cheaper than translating a document between a more unusual language combination. This is because more translators work between widely-spoken languages. A UK translation company almost definitely has a skilled linguist that can translate from English to French, for example.

On the other hand, it becomes more expensive to translate a document between rarer languages. The translation costs more when the source or the target language is uncommon. And when the original and the target language are rare, translation fees increase further. For example, finding a professional document translator for Albanian to Hawaiian can be challenging.

2. Length of the Document

The length of the document will have a significant impact on translation fees. A UK translation company usually calculates their fees based on the number of words in the source document. The longer the content, the more time it takes to translate a document, so the more you need to pay.

Translations are charged like this as it’s the best way for companies to provide accurate translation costs upfront. It isn’t easy to anticipate the word count of a final product ahead of time, so the source document acts as a reliable and fair price point. A professional document translator can translate an average of 1500-2000 words daily, depending on the language, technology aids, and other factors.

The only exception to this rule is for high-volume projects. A UK translation company typically offers generous discounts if you’re translating particularly long documents or the same document into several languages. The provided discounts will be clearly identified in your initial quote.

3. Turnaround Time

We’ve explained that most document translators can render 1500-2000 words daily. However, this doesn’t mean your document translator will be available immediately! A UK translation company will have many simultaneous ongoing projects and a backlog of other work.

If you need to translate a document quickly and push your project to the front of their to-do list, it could increase the translation cost. This is more likely if the document has a high word count or the delivery date is just a few hours or days away. If a translator must work evenings or weekends to meet a short deadline, this is likely reflected in the quote.

Planning ahead and offering extended deadlines when hiring a professional linguist to translate a document will prevent the cost from rising due to tight deadlines. Being flexible with the deadline saves money without sacrificing the quality of the end product.

4. Area of Specialisation

Translation fees can also vary significantly depending on the content of the document. Specialisation is necessary for technical translations, such as documents in the fields of medicine, pharmaceuticals, and engineering. These types of translations require specific use of technical phrases and specialist knowledge by the document translator.

Some organisations and governments may require someone with specific qualifications or certificates to translate a document. This is especially true in the case of identity documents, evidence to support visa applications, or legal translation. This is sometimes called a sworn translation or certified translation. Hiring a UK translation company for these purposes may cost more.

5. Source Text Formatting

The formatting of the original document can affect the cost of hiring a UK translation company. If the original document is a non-editable scan of a document or even a physical copy of a book, translation fees could be higher. Your translator must convert the document into an editable format before they can begin the translation process, adding to the time taken to translate a document.

Providing an editable, digital copy of the source text is always preferable for a professional document translator and anyone wanting to keep translation fees low. It is also possible to provide translations from an audio file. This service, known as multilingual transcription services, is priced differently from text-to-text translation, charged per minute of the original recording.

6. Localisation and Transcreation

Depending on your needs, localisation and transcreation might be required. These services are more comprehensive than translation services, considering cultural preferences and making the end-user experience the same for people across the globe.

These services better suit specific industries. For example, market-facing materials that capture a localised brand image might require creative writing in another language or transcreation. You can expect to pay more for localisation and transcreation than to simply translate a document. Your document translator needs to put more work into the project, as reflected in the price.

On the other hand, a more direct translation that does not need localisation or transcreation services will be priced lower. Not every UK translation company offers localisation and transcreation, so check when requesting a quote to ensure your translated materials are fit for their purpose.

Get a Quote to Translate a Document Today!

Ultimately, it is impossible to say how much it costs to translate a document without seeing the document or discussing it first. There are many factors used to calculate translation fees. The more specialised skills your need your document translator to have, the quicker your deadlines, and the more work you require, the higher the rates.

You can receive an accurate quote from our leading UK translation company easily online. Our company is a member of the Association of Translation Companies in the UK, and we are also members of SDL Trados LSP Partner Programme. Click here and provide us with just a few details about your document. One of our friendly team will be in touch to discuss our translation fees, providing you with a competitively priced and transparent quote within a few hours.

The Amharic language (also known as Abyssinian, Amhara, Amarinya, or Amarigna) is one of the five official languages of Ethiopia. Amharic has remarkably served as the official Ethiopia language for the government since the fourteenth century. It is written using the Amharic alphabet, a form of the Ge’ez script, and is a fascinating language to learn about.

This article gives a brief overview of the Amharic language. You’ll learn where it is spoken, the origins of the language, and how translations to Amharic can help your business.

Origins of the Amharic Language

The Amharic language has a long history, having been spoken for over 2000 years. The name “Amharic” derives from the Amhara region in northern Ethiopia, where the language originated. It also evolved from the now-dead language Ge’ez. Furthermore, Cushitic languages in the region influenced Amharic over the past 2000 years.

Amharic has only been a written language for the past 500 years and uses the Ge’ez alphabet, also known as Fidel, which means letter. Some surviving songs and poems were written using the Amharic alphabet in the fourteenth century. This was around the same time the language gained prominence as it became the language of the Ethiopian Government in the fourteenth century.

Nevertheless, Amharic was a common language across the region from the ninth century. Until 2000, it was also the sole official language of Ethiopia, sometimes previously referred to as the Ethiopia language. Today, four other official Ethiopian languages are spoken across the country: Afar, Oromo, Somali, and Tigrinya.

Countries Speaking the Amharic Language

There are around 80 languages spoken across Ethiopia; however, the Amharic language serves as a lingua franca. As of 2021, over 31 million people speak Amharic as their first language in Ethiopia, and an additional 25 million people are second-language speakers. This makes it the most widely spoken and written language of all Ethiopia language groups.

The predominant native language differs significantly by region in Ethiopia. Amharic is dominant in the Amhara region of the country, located in the north. It is also spoken by over 2.5 million emigrants worldwide and in some neighbouring countries, including Eritrea. It is thought that around 90,000 Eritreans speak Amharic and can understand the Amharic alphabet.

Moreover, followers of the Rastafari movement believe that the Amharic language is sacred and so often learn it as a second language. This means that a significant number of people in Jamaica understand Amharic. Consequently, numerous Reggae songs are performed and written in Amharic. The word Rastafari itself is Amharic, roughly translating to “chief to be feared.”

English to Amharic Translation Benefits & Challenges

The number of people who speak Amharic grows every year, with the number of first-language speakers increasing from 21.6 million in 2007 to 31 million in 2021. This continually growing audience means that the potential value of translating a text from English to Amharic increases with every passing year. Meanwhile, less than one per cent of Ethiopians speak English – 0.22%, to be precise!

Amharic is also the official language of business and commerce, the army, and local government administration. It is also the official language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. For this reason, translating into Amharic is critical to reaching a large Ethiopian audience. However, accurate and professional translation services for the Ethiopia language are challenging.

Translators must understand the three Amharic dialects – Gondar, Gojjami, and Showa – and know when each is appropriate. Linguists must also appreciate the unique Amharic alphabet, differences in word stress, gendered nouns, and an elaborate verb system. These discrepancies from English mean Amharic translations need to be left to professional translation agencies.

Renaissance Translations’ Amharic Translation Services

Renaissance Translations provides professional English to Amharic translation in all subject fields. When translating into Amharic, our expert linguists will ensure that the target text conveys the same message as the original. In addition, our DTP services account for text expansion and contraction when using the Amharic alphabet, ensuring your content both reads and looks professional.

We pride ourselves on working with professional Ethiopia language translators who can translate your project accurately. We have helped many global brands and NGOs worldwide with various types of content. If you’d like to know more about our translation services, contact our team or request a quote online on our website.

Across the world, language plays a massive role in forming cultural identities. Likewise, languages play a particularly significant role in the United Nations (UN). The UN is an intergovernmental organisation that aims to maintain friendly relations between member nations and has six official UN languages. These UN languages are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

Clear communication on issues of global importance should be in place, and the UN languages have been chosen specifically for this purpose. At times, unofficial language can be used to make a statement. However, the information will be immediately interpreted into one of the official United Nations languages and ensure clear and concise communication.

This article will discuss the importance of each official UN language in more detail and why these languages were chosen to represent the member states. Each of the official UN languages also has its own language day, and you can learn more about the celebrations here!

1. The Arabic Language

The Arabic language is one of the official languages of the United Nations. Arabic is a Semitic language dating back to the 1st and 4th centuries CE. Unlike all other UN languages, Arabic wasn’t made an official language when the UN was first established in 1945. It was instead made an official UN language and working language for the General Assembly in 1973.

Arabic is the primary language of the Arab World and the sacred language of Islam. There are 32 varieties of Arabic today, and an estimated 422 million people speak some form of the language. In fact, it is the fifth most spoken language in the world and the fourth most used language online. Uniquely, Bloomberg Businessweek named Arabic as the fourth most useful language for business.

The Arabic Language Day is marked on 18 December. This coincides with the day in 1973 when the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted Arabic as its sixth official language. The day celebrates this world language and promotes the growing cultural diversity across the globe.

2. The Chinese Language

Chinese is also one of the six official UN languages. The Chinese language is a group of languages that constitute the Sinitic branch of Sino-Tibetan languages. About 1.3 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language. While many native speakers consider the varieties of Chinese to belong to one language, linguists consider them to be different languages.

The version of Chinese used in United Nations communications is Mandarin. This is the official language of the Republic of China, adopted in the 1930s. Also known as Standard Chinese, Mandarin promotes simplified characters. The UN added Chinese to its list of official languages in 1945. Like Russian, Mandarin wasn’t made a working language until later, in 1973.

Like the UN languages already mentioned, the Chinese language also has its day of celebration. Chinese World Language Day falls on 20 April to pay tribute to Cangjie, a mythical figure who invented Chinese characters about 5,000 years ago. It falls in conjunction with Guyu, a traditional celebration of Cangjie in Chinese culture.

3. The English Language

Adopted in 1945, English is another official language of the United Nations, and the most spoken of all the UN languages. Various communities across every continent use English, making it another world language. According to 2016 statistics, 1.1 billion people speak English as their first or second language. It’s also the third most spoken native language, with 400 million native speakers worldwide.

English is a West Germanic language originally spoken in early medieval England. It has developed over more than 1,400 years and has transformed from old English to modern English versions. There are now many dialects of English spoken on all continents, including British English, American English, Canadian English, South African English, Australian English, and Indian English.

English Language Day falls on the 23 April each year. The date marks both the birthday and death day of the famous writer William Shakespeare. The day is part of the Department of Global Communications’ 2010 initiative to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity around the world.

4. The French Language

French has been one of the six official UN languages since the UN was founded in 1945. It was chosen as a language of the United Nations as it is widely used. In fact, French is an official language in 29 countries across multiple continents and is therefore considered a world language. There are about 274 million fluent speakers across the globe, of which 76 million are native French speakers.

Unsurprisingly, France has the highest number of native speakers, yet its global usage puts French as the second most spoken of all UN languages. In an article published by George Weber in Language Today, the French language reached second place in “The World’s 10 Most Influential Languages”. This is based on the number of speakers, the economic power of the countries that use the language, and the prestige associated with mastering the language.

French Language Day falls annually on 20 March to pay tribute to 20 March 1970, the day of formation of the Agency for Cultural and Technical Cooperation (ACCT). Later, it became the International Organisation of the Francophiles (IOC). The organisation aims to strengthen and promote the French language and its values.

5. The Russian Language

The Russian language is an East Slavic language that originated in Russia. It belongs to the Indo-European language family and is widely spoken in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It was made one of the original languages of the United Nations in 1945. But unlike English, French, and Spanish, it wasn’t considered a working language of the General Assembly until 1968.

Russian was chosen as one of the UN languages as it is the most spoken Slavic language. There are an estimated 250 million speakers worldwide. It also has the highest number of native speakers in Europe and is the most disseminated language throughout Eurasia. It is the seventh most spoken language of native speakers worldwide and the eighth most spoken language in general.

Like the other official UN languages, Russian has its own world language day. Famously, Russian Language Day falls on 6 June. It coincides with the birthday of the great Russian poet A.S. Pushkin, who is considered the father of the Russian language.

6. The Spanish Language

The last on the list of official UN languages is Spanish, which has been officially used since 1945. The UN chose Spanish as one of its initial languages as Spanish is another world language. It is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide on several continents. This includes several member states of the United Nations, such as Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Spain.

Overall, there are an estimated 463 million native Spanish speakers worldwide. This makes Spanish the second most spoken language by native speakers globally, falling only after Mandarin. An additional 75 million people speak Spanish as a second language, making it the fourth most popular second language in the world. It is also the third most studied language worldwide!

Astonishingly, Spanish Language Day falls on the same day as the English language celebration on 23 April each year. This date has been chosen as it is the anniversary of the death of Miguel De Cervantes, a renowned Spanish writer. Likewise, it is a day that celebrates the awareness of the language throughout the United Nations and the world in general.

Renaissance Translations Translates the UN Languages & More 

The six official UN languages are each considered a world language. There widely spoken by United Nations member states, and the UN uses these core languages to ensure smooth communication when conducting global affairs.

If you need professional translation services in any of these languages or others, please contact Renaissance Translations. Our company is member of the Association of Translation Companies in England as well as SDL LSP Partner Programme. We offer professional translation in multiple language pairs such as English to French, French to Spanish, English to Chinese, English to Arabic or else. We are always available to help you with all your translation needs. Request a translation quote online today.