Challenges in Russian Translation: Difficulties in Translating into Russian Language?

It can be difficult to translate between the two languages.

Thus, translating between English and Russian is no exception to this pattern. Because of some grammatical differences, few meanings within the languages can be tough to translate.

Due to the growing significance of the Russian language on the global market, industries including medical, real estate, finance, are heavily investing in the value added Russian translation to unlock the path to enter the new market.

In this blog, we’ll tell a few of the challenges that may come your way when you translate a document, website or any other content into the Russian language.

Key Challenges in Russian Translation

We totally agree that every language is special and different in its own way. But when it comes to translation into other languages, there are a couple of challenges that arise.

If your target language is Russian language, here are some of the key challenges that you might face.

1- Text Expansion

You will not face any issues when translating a document from English into Russian. However, if you have a website, software or marketing documents like brochures, then you will face a problem.

When doing accurate translation in business field from English into Russian, the text is going to expand by about 20%. Because the Russian word has an approx. 7.2 symbols whereas English has around 5.2 symbols. As a result, the layout of the website or the design might have to be adjusted.

For example, the English phrase “we are a translation service provider” in Russian will be: “мы являемся поставщиком услуг перевода”;

So, there will be a big issue if you don’t have sufficient space when translating.

2- Punctuation

Utilizing punctuation such as commas, question marks, periods, colons, and double quotations is quite different in Russian in comparison to English. This is one of the major translation challenges.

For instance, in Russian titles do not include colons. In place of Single or double quotation (‘’, “”), chevrons («») are used in Russian.

In English, the dollar sign ($) is utilized before the number whereas in Russian it’s utilized after and should have space, i.e $50 in English, 50 $ in Russian.

3- Machine Translation

Machine translation has lately begun to be widely used, as it’s quick and also saves money and time especially if you have a great volume of translation.

When it comes to the Russian language, you can’t take the risk at all.

English and Russian are totally different languages. When the machine translates rapidly from English into Russian, it offers a cheap translation that looks quite unnatural and difficult to read.

So, when it comes to effective human translation vs machine translation, always go for human translation.

4- Providing Translation Context

To ensure that your Russian-translated content will convey the right message to your target audience, you need to advise to tell your translation partner(if you already hired) regarding the content that they need to translate.

A word in English may have plenty of meanings in Russian, so if your Russian language translator didn’t have knowledge of the entire context of the document, he or she will not be able to deliver a professional translation.

5- Time and Action

Verbs in English and Russian express time quite differently.

English depends on 12 tenses to transmit, whereas Russian has just three tenses, but it uses some aspects to bring meaning focusing on how the specific action was taken.

Taking care of time and action is important during valuable Russian document translation.

While such subtleties can be easily expressed in the English language utilizing phrasal verbs, you must go through all the subtleties and take into account every case in order to determine how to express a similar thought with the economy.

For example, “Я гулял” (I strolled) is expressed much more directly than “Я погулял,” which is quite close to “I strolled around for a while.”

6- Superlatives

There is only one form of superlative in English, whereas in Russian there are two types of superlatives: hard and soft. And translating these can be very challenging.

“Hard” superlatives are similar to those in English. The superlative in Russian is a bit книжный bookish form and sounds may be very similar to Russian diminutives.

English does not comprise the grammatical form that Russian has. This difference between English and Russian is perhaps one of the native translator’s most risky pitfalls.

Final Words

If you are targeting the Russian market, you have to be really careful while translating on your own.

Avoid depending on the machine translation because you won’t get accurate results.

It is advisable to put your trust in a reliable translation company in Gurgaon with vast experience to ensure you get the best results.

Also, be sure that your project is handled by a native translator who is versed in the tradition and culture of the Russian language.

From document to the website, we provide Russian translation for any kind of content. Contact us at +91-8527599523 or quickly send us a instant quote.