Who are you? OK, good bye! Ty Kto takoi? Davai, do svidania! Russian-Azerbaijan Rap-Song.

We had to write about this 'work of art', because since the end of May 2012 this Youtube video received more than 7 million views. The two singers were invited to Moscow to a popular TV show.

We also would like to put a little note here: a Russian transliteration of the song is Ty kto takoi? Davai, do svidania.

For those of you who don't speak Russian language - these people are singing with a big accent in Russian. But I guess it makes it even more fun. This gathering of mostly men resembles to a wedding or some big event. They start by singing 'Who are you? OK, good bye!' And then they mix Russian, Azerbaijan and Talysh languages.

We asked for a professional Russian translation of one youtube description for this song:

So, it is a wedding in a settlement called Tangerud of Astary district of Talysh region located on the South Eastern part of Azerbaijan. There are two groups of people competing in a verse form (like rap battle). People are making jokes about nothing. They also call this Meykhana - (information from wikipedia) - Meykhana (Azerbaijani: meyxana) is a distinctive Azerbaijani literary and folk rap tradition, consisting of an unaccompanied song performed by one or more people improvising on a particular subject.

And now you can enjoy this video below.

Mission Statement for a Translation Company - Things to Include

            In this post we decided to explain our view on a mission statement for a translation/ interpretation company. 

Let's imagine there is some translation company called T-translations Inc. The company provides translation and interpretation services around the world. The company works with over 1000 of translators. This translation agency  interprets and translates from over 65 official languages. Some of the additional services that the company provides are proofreading, audio/visual transcriptions, and software localization. T-translations claims that it is open 24 hours a day, has emergency fast service option, and 3% price-beat guarantee. It is also a member of American Translation Association. 

        First of all, a mission statement shouldn't be too long. Though, a long mission statement can give a lot of information about the company, and what it provides. However, a mission statement should explain what the company is trying to accomplish. The description of the company and the services it provides is not the place for it. The information provided in the mission statement should be matching the information on the company's website. 

In addition, it shouldn't look like people behind T-translations think that the company reached its top in customer service, number of subcontractors, areas of operation, and they are not trying to improve anything. The mission statement shouldn't be like a hybrid of an advertisement and summary of the company.

In my opinion, a professional translation company needs to keep its mission statement short and clear. However, the most important thing to do is to show to the public and the employees (subcontractors mainly) what the main goals are for the company. In other words, they need to show how they are going to improve their business.

Lastly, a well-written mission statement for a translation company should be something like this (we chose Russian Translation Pros as an example): "Russian Translation Pros’ mission is to deliver the highest quality and variety of translation and interpretation services to businesses as well as individuals while constantly improving quality of the customer service and keeping the costs to a minimum". 

How to Translate Russian Birth Certificate

We needed to make a translation of a Russian birth certificate into English. I tried to find a sample of a well translated Russian birth certificate and I did find some useful resources online. And here is a little summary about the main things to look for when making the translation yourself. And I have attached an example of the translated document.

If you are a bilingual person, then it's not a problem at all. All you have to do is just to translate names, geographical locations, such as city, district, region, country, place of registration of a child, etc. The most important thing when translating a birth certificate is to make sure that all the names are spelled (or transliterated) the same way they appear in all other official documents. This can be a big problem for the immigration service if this rule is not followed. For example, the name Aleksandr can be spelled in several ways, like Alexander, Aleksander, Aleksandr - you got an idea. If you do not have your name transliterated yet, chose one spelling and go with it in every document.

If you are not sure how to translate your place of birth, wikipedia is a good source of geographical information. Let's say your birth certificate states that you were born in город Винница, Винницкой области, УССР. There are several options you can chose from - city of Vinnytsia, Vinnitsa, Vinnica. It all depends on how the city was recorded in your other documents. Then goes the region which should be the same - Vinnytsia, and finally, Ukrainian SSR should do it for the republic you were born in. Please don't be confused about district and region: район - district, and область stands for region, or it can be translated as oblast.

For the USCIS purposes, all the stamps should be translated also. If the original document is old and the stamps are not readable, you can put a note at the bottom of your translation that the text in the stamp is not legible.

I think I covered the most important parts when it comes to a Russian to English translation of a birth certificate.

Though most of the time, Immigration office requests a certified translation, that means that the translation has to be signed by a professional translator. If this is the case, you can always go with a Russian certified translation performed by a professional company. If you decide to use a translation agency, make sure you let them know the spelling of your names.

Below you can see a translation of a Russian birth certificate.

     

Russian privet in First 2012 Google Doodle

The first Google's Doodle of this 2012 year is an image of small letters trying to decide (or fulfill) their New Year's resolutions.

The first letter which is "G" listens to a language program and learns how to say "Hello" or "Hi" in 9 different languages. Among these languages you can find a Russian word for "Hi".

Hi in Russian is "PRIVET", in Cyrillic it's written as ПРИВЕТ. It's a really easy word to learn, pronounce and remember. Pronounce it as PREEVE'T - put a stress on the last syllable, but don't push it too much.

Happy New 2012 Year!!! And Privet to you all!!!

Russian Translation of Winter Wonderland Song

Probably almost everyone remembers and knows the song -  Winter Wonderland. You can check out this youtube video of the song if you are not sure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkFP0VwpPRY

We found a very nice translation into Russian of the beginning of the song done by one of the workers of some Russian translation company.

So, in the original it goes like this:


Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight.
Walking in a winter wonderland.

And here is English to Russian translation of the song:


Слышишь, колокольчик в санях звенит,
На дороге снег блестит,
Красота - не передам!
Cчастливы сегодня вечером,
Гуляя в зимней сказке.

I think the translation was made pretty-pretty well.

And for those of you who wants to try to sing it in Russian, here is the transliteration (Russian phonetic translation):


Slishish', kalakol'chik v sanyah zvinit,
Na darogi sneg blestit,
Krasata - ni peredam!
Shastlivi segodnya vecheram,
Gulaya v zimnei skazke.

The 250th Hermitage Anniversary

Hermitage or the State Hermitage is one of the largest museums in the world is almost ready to celebrate its 250th anniversary. The museum will turn 250 years on the 7th of December of 2014. The museum is well-known around the world for a large collection of art and culture pieces. Hermitage is located in Saint-Petersburg.  It was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great or Catherine II as her private collection. Historians don't know the actual birthday of the museum, but everybody celebrate its birthday on the 7th because of the day of Saint Catherine - the protectress (patroness) of the museum. It was opened to the public in 1852. Right now the museum has at its disposition nearly 3 million items. The place holds the Guinness World Record for its painting collection. If you are interested in Russian Art - this is the best place to learn about it.

So, what will the museum get as a birthday gift?

Russian government discussed some plans about changing the face of the museum by donating 15.7 billions rubles (about 573,809,880 US dollars.) By 2014 they want to equip the Palace Square, the building of the General Staff, the Defense Ministry transferred to the museum, as well as the building of the Small Hermitage museum. They will also have to renovate the interiors of the Winter Palace and build a brand new Repository which will be available to public. 

No Winter Time in Russia - Finish for Daylight Saving Time

Russian President - Dmitry Medvedev has decided to cancel the shift to winter time, so no more daylight saving time for Russian people. And most of Russians support this decision - more than 60% of the population. Russian government believes that people will benefit from this change, especially their health.
Scientists calculated that the country saves only 0,1–0,3% by implementing the daylight saving time. And there is no need to change the time in northern countries like Russia.
This spring, on the 27th of March, will be the last time Russia changes the time. Microsoft has already adapted to this, all Windows based computers will reflect this change after Windows update.
Dmitry Medvedev ordered the government to prepare all the documents regarding this change along with the Russian to English translation of the documents.
Ukraine and Belarus will most probably follow Russian decision as it is a hot topic in the Ukraine and Belarus governments.
Time difference between Moscow and New York is 8 hours in summer and winter times, but it will be 9 hours in winter from now on. 

Happy New Year in Russian Language - How to congratulate with the New-Year

You probably would be surprised to know that New Year is more popular in Russia than Christmas! Well, it is true. Actually, New Year is the most celebrated holiday in Russia. Government grants 10 days of vacation to everybody on this holiday - from the 31st of December to January 10th! In most cities all the grocery shops and malls are closed for about 2-3 days after the New Year. So, people buy a lot of food and drinks for the celebration.

The New Year is on the 31st of December like in most countries in the world. There is a tradition to watch a solemn presidential speech 10 minutes before the New Year's Eve. Basically the president congratulates all the people of the Russian Federation with this holiday.

Russian people celebrate New-Year with their families and friends. And they stay up late, so TV channels are on with festive programs. The most popular Russian TV on New Year is the First channel or ORT as it's used to be called. Some people book restaurants to ring in the New Year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR in Russian would be С НОВЫМ ГОДОМ!

You can pronounce it as Z No'vim Go'dom. The apostrophe in between these words means that you should stress those syllables.

You can listen to an audio recording of the phrase "Happy New Year" in Russian below:

There is no 'happy' word in Russian when you congratulate with the New Year. So, the Russian translation is just 'with the New Year'.

The most common greeting for this day is 'С Новым Годом - С Новым Счастьем' which means 'with the New Year - with the new happiness'. It is widely believed among Russian people that something new and exciting will definitely happen in the New Year and that the New Year will be much better than the old year. 

Russian Birthday Poems, Toasts with English translation

When your Russian girl-friend or a boy-friend has a birthday, you always want to surprise her/him. Here is a good way to show your creativity by learning or just sending a text message/sms on your friend's birth-day. Your attention is very important in this special day. These poems are specifically designed for birthdays. If you are at a birthday party, sometimes you forget words, in this case, you can take out your postcard with your birthday poem in Russian and read it out loud. The poems can also be used as a toast. It will impress your Russian speaking friend for sure.

If your birthday wish is sincere, it will definitely come true!

We have chosen the best Russian birth day poems out there.

1. Желаю радости всегда
И настроения бодрого,
Не знать печали никогда
И в жизни всего доброго.
Никогда не унывать,
Не видеть огорчения
И дни с улыбкой начинать,
Как в этот День Рождения!

Russian translation for this poem is:

I wish you to be always happy,
I wish you a great mood,
I wish you to never know sadness,
I wish you all the kindness in your life,
I wish you to never be sad,
I wish you to start your days with a smile,
Like on this Birth Day!

The pronunciation of the poems is:

Zhelayu radosti vsegda
I nastroenija bodrogo,
Ne znat' pechali nikogda
I v zhizni vsego dobrogo.
Nikogda ne unyvat',
Ne videt' ogorchenija
I dni s ulybkoi nachinat',
Kak v etot Den' Razhdenija!

2. С днём рожденья тебя поздравляю.
Веселись в этот день, не грусти.
Много счастья тебе я желаю,
А особенно счастья в любви!


Russian translation of the poems:

I wish you happy birth day.
Have fun this day, don't be sad.
I wish you lots of happiness,
And especially I wish you happiness in love!

And you can read it in English like this:

S dnyom rozhdenya tebja pozdravljaju.
Veselis' v etot den', ne grusti.
Mnogo schastija tebe ja zhelaju,
A osobeno schastija v lubvi!

3. Желаю счастья целый ворох,
Улыбок радостных букет,
Друзей надёжных и весёлых,
Счастливой жизни целый век!


Translation to English:

I wish you a lot of happiness,
A bouquet of joyful smiles ,
Reliable and fun friends,
Happy life for a century!

When trying to say it:

Zhelaju schast'ja tselyj voroh,
Ulibok radosnih buket,
Druzej nadyozhnih i veselih,
Schastlivoi zhizni tseliy vek!

4. Будь девушкой, уверенной в себе,
В своей борьбе, в тропе своей, в судьбе.
В толпе держись, как будто ты одна,
Как будто ты Богиней рождена!

Translated poem from Russian:

Be a self-confident girl,
In your fight, in your way, in your fate.
Be like you are the only one in the whole crowd,
Like you were born a Goddess!

And transliteration for this poem:

But' devushkoi uverenoi v sebe,
V svoej bor'be, v trope svoej, v sud'be.
V tolpe derzhis', kak budto ty odna,
Kak budto ty Boginej rozhdena!

5. Пусть день твой будет солнечным, прекрасным.
И розами твой будет устлан путь.
И каждый вечер - звёздным, чистым, ясным.
[Name here], всегда счастливой будь!!!

Translation:

Let your way be sunny and wonderful.
And let your way be covered with roses.
And every night - with stars.
(Put the name of a birthday person here), always be happy!!!

And you can insert these words in an email or a text message:

Pust' den' tvoi budet solnechnim, prekrasnim.
I rozami tvoi budet ustlan put'.
I kazhdij vecher - zdyozdnim, chistim, jasnim.
Name here, vsegda schastlivoi bud'!!!

6. And I like this simple poem:

Под звон хрустального бокала,
Шипенье сладкого вина,
Я с днем рожденья поздравляю,
Желаю счастья и добра.


Translation:
Raising this glass of sweet wine,
I wish you happy birthday,
And I wish you happiness and kindness.

Transliteration:

Pod zvon hrustal'nogo bokala,
Shipen'e sladkogo vina,
Ja s dnyom rozhdenja pozdravljaju,
Zhelaju schastya i dobra!

If you need a personalized poem translated for your birthday boy/girl, we can always help you.

Wedding Toast in Russian language

This toast was a part of a Russian English document that was translated by a certified Russian translator:

Дорогие Наталия и Федор!

Так уж случилось, что Господь создал уникальную ситуацию для вас. Никому неведомыми мотивациями и тропами вы шли друг к другу, в прямом смысле, из разных миров. Настя приехала в Америку из Европы, страны Латвия. Крег здесь жил давно, как потомок нескольких поколений. Когда встречаются две линии судеб, ранее отделенные пространством и временем, то природа в такой ситуации дарит шанс создать крепкую, во всех отношениях, семью.

Прежде всего, это будущие дети, которые рождаются крепкими, здоровыми, и красивыми, потому что родители – красивые и крепкие телом люди.

Во-вторых, есть все возможности создать высоко духовную семью, потому что сегодня на наших глазах мы видим пару: представителей разных культур из разных миров. Каждый может принести эту культуру в новую семью. И вот эта разница в духовности, культуре и воспитании дарит уникальный шанс создать разносторонне развитую, крепкую и высоко образованную семью.

При этом мы все здесь имеем единую критично важную платформу: со стороны жениха культура воспитания его и его близких предполагает на первом месте семейные ценнности. Но и со стороны невесты культура воспитания ее и ее родных заложила точно так же семейные ценности. Поэтому создание семьи и ценность семьи – это та самая единая платформа, которая как цемент скрепляет и эту пару, и всех нас, несмотря на то, что сегодня здесь мы говорим на разных языках.

Чтобы новая семья смогла стать крепкой, долговечной и счастливой, молодой паре нужно всего две вещи:

Первое, крепкое здоровье молодоженов. И второе, искренняя глубокая любовь, преданность друг другу и терпение. И потому я хочу пожелать молодым бесконечной любви и крепкого сибирского здоровья им и их будущим детям.

Счастья вам!

And here is a sample translation of a toast in English translated from Russian:

Good evening everyone. My name is Fred and I’m Susan’s brother. I would like to welcome everyone here tonight and thank all of you for celebrating this very special event with the Johnson and Flower families.

In particular, I would like to thank Bela and Terry for hosting this beautiful affair, and of course, Anastasia for meticulously planning every painstaking detail of both the ceremony and this beautiful party.

And a special shout out to Aqua who has been an incredible sounding board and “mission specialist” for her big sister!!!

Now, turning to the toast, it takes a strong and intelligent man to realize his dreams and to achieve his goals in life and love. A man that is not afraid to live life to its fullest and embrace what is truly important.

But enough about me... I'm here to talk about Craig and Anastasia.

Two people who have come together today as husband and wife.

Anastasia, you look absolutely beautiful. Craig is lucky to have found such a wonderful partner to share his life with. You have been a loyal, caring, trustworthy friend and confidant. Craig is truly blessed that you have come into his life and I am so happy to have another sister.

Craig, you look absolutely beautiful tonight as well, although not as beautiful as Anastasia. I am truly honored that you asked me to raise my glass to toast your new life together and I am eternally grateful to God and to our parents for making us brothers. You are a devoted son, a terrific brother and now, a loving and compassionate husband.

In your marriage, may all of your joys be magnified by two as you share them together. May all of your trials and tribulations be halved - as you solve them together. And may your lives with each other not go unwitnessed, as you journey down the path of life and love, together.

In honor of your marriage, I raise my glass and toast Craig and Anastasia and their new life together. May your cup overflow with health, happiness, prosperity, luck, and peace, and may God bless you and your lives forever.

L’chiam.