Translator Astana

Last Friday I was translating at the business forum where different Greek companies were presented: marble, olive oil, furs, doors and windows… one could find anything there. I translated to Mr. Alexander Dimitriadis, Managing Director of Balkan company and also I helped Mr. Vasilis Giannakis, who represented another marble manufacturing company.

I already have experience in geology related translation, so words like „quarry“, „shear strength“, „porosity“ and the like were familiar to me. But there is always something new (for example, the term „slab“): Mr. Dimitriadis was so kind that explained to me difference between several types of marble: polished or ancient, with ot without fossils, more strong or more vulnerable and so on. He also had samples of about 20 types of marble from oll over the world: from his own quarries in Greece and from other countries such as Iran, Turkey, India. I was particularly attracted by the so called Snow White marble (the most expensive, it turned out ).

There weren’t too many visitors on that day, but those who did appear were real professionals in marble industry: they knew what they needed and what they were looking for.

After the exibition we went on the short excursion in Astana, visited Baiterek and several construction sites where marble was used.

Why I really like being a translator in Kazakhstan, is because I can always meet people from various parts of the world with different background and mentality. After rendering my translation services back on Friday, I knew a little more about Greece, marble and maybe even more Kazakhstan and its advantages over other countries.

Nowadays the idea of studying abroad is extremely popular in Kazakhstan that is why different fairs concerning education are held several times per year. “Education in Australia” was one of the fairs I translated at.

"Education in Australia". Translator Snezhana Skakovskaya

I translated for Ms. Gaynor Green, marketing project manager from Adelaide and Mr. Darren Turner, regional recruitment manager who represented Flinders university. There were a lot of people interested in education in Australia in spite of the fact that Australia is too far away from Kazakhstan. Mostly students took a keen interest in medical science, civil engineering, information technology and tourism. Some students or postgraduates had already taken TOEFL or IELTS and for that reason they knew the level of their English. No matter what the result of English exam is there is always an opportunity to take a foundation course and then enter a university.

Education in Australia. Translator Snezhana Skakovskaya

In my opinion what is also useful to know for those who want to come to Australia to study is that there is a lot of information on not just studying but also working in Australia. It means that a student can earn enough money working either on campus or off campus that allows to cover education fee and other expenses.

Couple hours after we got started our “neighbour” – Mr. Walter Ong – dean, who represented Curtin University of technology asked me to translate for him as somehow he didn’t have a translator. I really liked the way he talked to students: he didn’t just answer to their questions but gave them many pieces of good advice. It turned out for example that there were some specialties studying which a student could apply for Australian citizenship. And what is really amazing Mr. Walter Ong brought with him some information on Muslim culture centers in Australia. It was very wise as Kazakhstan is a muslim country and maybe I am mistaken but some people are afraid to go to a foreign country without having access to a mosque they got use to go to. So in my opinion this kind of information can make things easier.

Our team on the fair

One more thing that I would like to mention is the fact that Australian English is differs from British or American English. I can’t tell that I had hard time with understanding but there was a remarkable difference in pronunciation.

I hope the fair was really successful both for australian and kazakh sides. I am sure it is good long term partnership.

Ian P.Little and translator Snezhana Skakovskaya

It was a really interesting day since I was invited to the “Education in Europe and USA” fair as a     translator. It was held at Eurasian national university in Astana.

There were many representatives of universities in England, Scotland, the Czech Republic, the USA and     others. I was translating for Mr. Ian P.Little, who is a director of international recruitment office of     international education.

I took part in such kind of fair  as a translator for the third time that is why I knew what was going to     happen and actually I knew what kind of translation I would be doing. Pupils with their parents, students    and post-graduates were interested in getting more information about tuition fees, accommodation,    deadlines for application forms and so on. These are standard questions that have standard answers so    the process of translation went smoothly. These fairs are usually extremely useful both for students and    representatives of universities.

Fair started at 14.00 and so many people came up to our table that I couldn’t stop my translation even    for a minute.  There were several heads of universities of Kazakhstan who wanted to sign an agreement    with Virginia Commonwealth University and these people turned my translation from common English to    Business English. That is the moment when my work became more important and more interesting.

Four or five hours later we didn’t have many visitors so we finally had a chance to talk. It is always very     interesting to find out what a foreigner knew about Kazakhstan before he came over. I tried to look at     our country from his prospective and share with him my knowledge in the sphere of culture and  history     of Kazakhstan.

The fair is over but I  am still thinking about  it . For me it is a great opportunity to meet people from      all over the world, work with them and keep in touch with them afterwards.  It is also an extremely useful experience for me because of the practice I have since  both language and communication skills are involved in the process of translation. Usually I make a list of words or phrases that were difficult to  translate, then at home I look those words up in the dictionary and learn by heart in order for me  not to have difficulties in translation next time.  Thus step by step I enlarge my vocabulary.

So I am looking forward to new fairs, new universities, new people!