Imagine that you are standing before a mirror. You see your face reflected in it, an image you are so familiar with and yet unable to contemplate directly without recourse to a rendering device. Paradoxically, the human being’s most readable domain is not accessible to him in the original, but rather as a reasonable simulacrum at best, the consistency of which is by no means a sure thing: think of a reflection in rippled water! This is precisely how the translation works. Its faithfulness is born out of a comprehensive break with the original followed by meticulous polishing of the language to eliminate whatever stains are left.

An emphasis should therefore be placed on adapting the translation to the original rather than on translation as such. This requires sophistication and experience going well beyond a particular language or parlance. As a philologist and published translator I have not only these but also an imagination capable of forging creative paradigms. My expertise in words and things stems, in part, from my academic background in language teaching and hermeneutic research as well as in mechanical engineering (yes, a rare combination).

I provide translation services in Russian (mother tongue), German, English, and Hebrew in the following fields: Marketing / Market Research, Business / Commerce, Science, Finance, Ships / Sailing / Maritime, IT, Engineering, Anthropology (though not in all language pairs). When dealing with poorly written texts, I do my best to improve their wording and style while keeping the original message intact. For technical translations I use translation memory (TRADOS™) and corpus linguistics software, to ensure consistency of style and terminology.

What does it mean for you as a client?

• Quality text without any “smell” of translation;
• reviewed for flow, clarity, consistency, cohesion, and coherence;
• delivered to you within negotiated deadlines.
• I understand that sometimes last-minute changes are inevitable and will do my best to meet your expectations.