RUSSIAN = ENGLISH

Sonia Melnikova-Raich

TRANSLATION     INTERPRETING     CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Interpreting for Senator Richard Lugar during his meeting with Russian business leaders

CERTIFICATION

American Translators Association

State of California / Judicial Council of California

SPECIALTIES

legal business health care social services science communications education

marketing advertising art & architecture religion film & video literary (fiction & nonfiction)

SERVICES

Translation (English into Russian and Russian into English)

Editing (English into Russian)

Interpreting (consecutive, simultaneous, voice-over)

Certified translation of diplomas and legal documents

Localization and Cultural Adjustment

Linguistic Analysis and Research

PERSONAL PROFILE

Born in Moscow, into a multilingual family of three generations of renowned linguists. Personally trained in English language and translation skills by E. E. Israilevich, one of the founders and professor at the Academy of Foreign Trade of the USSR, the well-known linguist, scholar and author of the first English grammar textbook published in the USSR. American citizen; emigrated to the USA and settled in San Francisco in 1987. Other professional areas include art, design, and photography (see My Art).

RELATED EXPERIENCE

Translator

Twenty years of experience in translation in a variety of areas for corporate and private clients. Provide accurate certified translation of academic records and legal and business documents, as well as linguistic analysis of company and product names, localization and cultural adjustment of marketing materials. Published author of literary translations from Russian into English and from English into Russian (see Published Translations).

Court Interpreter

Fifteen years of experience Interpreting for depositions, arbitration, mediation, and trials (civil litigation; criminal cases; business, intellectual property and real estate disputes; adoptions; personal injury; workers' compensation; hate crime). Worked for U.S. Federal Court, Superior Court of California, London Court of International Arbitration, U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Services, San Francisco District Attorney's and Public Defender's Offices, Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, Department of Health and Human Services; and major local, national and international law firms (see Testimonials & Clients).

Conference / Delegation Interpreter

Classroom interpreter for USAID and USIA educational programs. Delegation interpreter for visiting Russian business leaders during their meetings with Secretary of State Colin Powell and members of the U.S. Congress. Consecutive and simultaneous conference interpreter. Interpreted for Senators Richard Lugar, Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer; San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown; world-famous musician Mstislav Rostropovich, poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, and many other high-profile political and cultural figures.

Cross-Cultural Facilitator

Program coordinator and group facilitator for educational programs sponsored by USAID; USIA; Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Center for International Studies, California State University; Kaiser Permanente International; Asia Foundation; Earth Island Institute, and others.

Legal Research

Office of the Attorney General, California Department of Justice: Conducting background research; assisting attorneys and experts in preparing, reviewing and analyzing documents used in investigation and litigation involving the electricity and natural gas market in California. London Court of International Arbitration: Assisting in researching, abstracting, and translating into English of a large volume of rare historical and legal documents concerning British and American mining concessions in Russia.

Management

Department Manager: Successfully launched and managed Translation and Cross-cultural Communication Department for Productivity Enhancement Program, a U.S. Department of State funded program providing business management training to visiting Russian entrepreneurs; supervised a large international team of translators, interpreters and program facilitators; oversaw production and translation of program materials; developed bilingual glossaries, program manuals, and translation and interpreting guidelines. Assistant Director for International Programs: Assisted with developing and administering of several Russian-American programs, including Climate of Trust, a bilateral program for legal professionals and public officials designed to combat hate crime and promote ethnic and religious tolerance.

SELECTED TRANSLATIONS

“Unexpected Joy,” by Bulat Okudjava,
ICARUS, Rosen Publishing, NY

“Forbidden Fruit,” by Fazil Iskander,
TWO LINES 2000, San Francisco

“Little Soldier,” by Chingiz Aitmatov,
Formations, Northwestern University Press, IL

Solyaris, by Andrei Tarkovsky (subtitles),
The Criterion DVD Collection

“The Harriman Arbitration, Lloyd George, Lenin and Cannibals,” by V. V. Veeder QC,
International Commercial Arbitration, No.2, 3, 2005, Moscow

Court Rules of The London Court of International Arbitration,
LCIA Web site, London

(See Published Translations for complete list.)

AUTHOR

Doing Business With Americans (Russian)

Productivity Enhancement Program: Participant Guidebook (Russian)

Cross-Cultural Facilitator Manual (English)

Survival Guide to Russia (English)

Russians: Myths & Reality (English)

The Art of Dissent: Jewish Artists in the Soviet Non-conformist Movement

Old Voices, New Faces: (Soviet) Jewish Artists from the 1920s-1990s

GUEST EDITOR

End of Empire: New Works from the Former Soviet Union,
Rosen Publishing, NY

FILM & ART

Prisoner of Time,
Prize Production (cultural consultant)

10+10: First Joint Exhibit of Russian and American Artists,
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (mediator)

Old Voices New Faces,
National Jewish Museum, Washington, DC (curator)

A Family Album: Photographs from the Russian Émigré Community,
Jewish Museum, San Francisco (curator)

Identities Lost & Found,
Exhibits, One Bush, San Francisco (curator)

Expectation of a Miracle: Russian Artists at Home & Abroad,
Exhibits, San Francisco (curator)

MEMBERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATION

American Translators Association (ATA)

Northern California Translators Association (NCTA)

Center for Art of Translation, San Francisco (CAT)