“Lifelong learning is above all else for a translator”

From January 27 to 29, 2020, the Third Winter School of Translation of the Russian Translators Union (RTU) was held at the Russian New University (RosNOU).

At the opening of the event, Rector of RosNOU Vladimir Zernov, President of the RTU, Scientific Director of the Institute for Humanitarian Technologies of RosNOU Olga Ivanova and Chairman of the Board of the RTU Vadim Sdobnikov spoke.

“The winter school of translation is held primarily for those who study translation, who are going to become a translator, or who would like to master this profession,” – said Vadim Sdobnikov, Chairman of the Board of the RTU. “Accordingly, the goal of the school is to talk about the features of this profession, about its different types, the specifics of the types of translation and to prepare participants for the fact that after graduation they will need to enter the labor market and look for work. And we must equip them with the certain knowledge that will help them to find a decent job with decent pay, an interesting job, to make them useful in this world.”

Vadim Sdobnikov

“The word “perfection” is not suitable for a translator,” – said Olga Ivanova, President of the RTU, Scientific Director of the Institute for Humanitarian Technologies at RosNOU. “Lifelong learning is above all else for a translator. It is necessary not to be embarrassed at any of the study stages to realize (like Socrates did) that you know nothing. And there is nothing to worry about. This is an incentive for further work.

When I started working as a translator, there were no computers or phones in my pocket, and the dictionary was not always at hand either. You, future translators, should always remember that situations are different: the phone’s charge will end, the Internet connection will be lost. And you will be left alone with the text (no matter what – written or verbal) and that baggage of knowledge that you have in your head. Or there is no such baggage. Prepare in advance so that knowledge (factual and linguistic) would be always in your head. You should be ready for different situations.”

Olga Ivanova

The following lectures and master classes were held within the school:

• “Translation Bureau: Where is the Entrance?” (O. L. Gilyarevskaya, O. A. Kladchikhina, Linguistic company AWATERA, Moscow);

• “Legal Aspects of the Activities of a Translator” (A. A. Larin, LLC “Alba”, Nizhny Novgorod);

• “AWP Market: Welcome, or No Trespassing?” (S. A. Gabunia, S. R. Malashkin, SDI MediaRussia, Moscow);

• “Translation 4.0. Knockin ’OnHeaven’sDoor. And Again About the Successes of AI in Translation” (M. V. Berendyaev, S (A) FU, Arkhangelsk; AKM-West, Moscow);

• “5 Tips for the Budding Project Manager” (K. V. Zemlyakova, Intellex, St. Petersburg);

• “SDL TradosStudio: Fundamentals of Work” (Yu. A. Belik, T-Service, Moscow);

• “Country of Advice (How to Ask for Advice and Give Advice in Russian and English” (I. V. Zubanova, INO MGLU, Moscow);

• "Oral Translation. How not to become a Victim of Stress?” (E. S. Kokanova, S(A)AFU, Arkhangelsk);

• “Consecutive Translation: Learning in Real Conditions” (T. A. Volkova, ChelSU, Chelyabinsk);

• “Iron for Synchronists: NoRocketScience. Practical Lesson in Sound Equipment” (A. A. Sivokhin, IE Moscow);

• “This is how I work with Cats, and especially with SDL TRADOS” (S. Yu. Svetova, T-Service, St. Petersburg);

• “Recommendations on the Design of the Translation Text” (E. Zababurina, Neotech, Moscow);

• “Simultaneous Translation of Cinema: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow” (M. A Zagot, Moscow State Linguistic University, Moscow);

• “Technical Translation: Specifics, Requirements, how to learn” (I. S. Shalyt, Engineering Translation Company “Intent”, Moscow);

• “Copyright in Audiovisual Translation” (A. A. Larin, LLC Alba, Nizhny Novgorod);

• “Localization of Computer Games: How Everything Works (F. M. Bonch-Osmolovsky, “Lefty”, Moscow);

• “The Secret of Subtitling” (E. D. Malenov, Omsk State University named after F. Dostoevsky, LLC Alba Multimedia, Omsk);

• “Who are the Judges, or How to assess the Quality of an Audiovisual Translation?” (E. V Alexandrova, Moscow State University, Alba Multimedia LLC, Murmansk);

• “Fundamentals of Work in Cloud-based Translation Memory Systems” (M. B. Chikov, NGLU named after N. A Dobrolyubov, Nizhny Novgorod).

About 270 students became participants in the III Winter School of Translation of RTU.