Learn previously unknown facts and information about the Russian language, which is spoken by more than 260 million people worldwide, about its historical development, grammatical peculiarities and use in the GMP and pharmaceutical world.

GMP translators for the Russian language remain in high demand

Public opinion in Western and Central Europe is unfortunately full of persistent stereotypes about Russia and its culture, such as the very cold climate, long distances and the supposedly dangerous brown bears. The Russian language is also considered to be very difficult to learn and the Cyrillic alphabet in particular prevents many people from starting to learn this Slavic language. However, the Russian culture and the country, which are largely unknown to foreigners, still have an alluring effect.

Russian is a language spoken by over 260 million people around the world - not only in Russia, but also in the countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union. Russian is even the official language in Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, while it is also widely spoken in the South Caucasus countries of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. There are also a considerable number of two to three million people in Germany who speak Russian as their mother tongue.

There are also large Russian-speaking communities in countries such as Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Greece and Israel, so that Russian is used there as a lingua franca.

The pharmaceutical market in Russian-speaking countries has been playing an increasingly important role for German pharmaceutical companies for several decades. To ensure that communication with business partners in Russian-speaking countries takes place without language barriers and because many managing directors of Russian companies speak little or no English, professional specialist translators and expert pharmaceutical interpreters are often required for special occasions.

However, negotiations can quickly go wrong if there is no qualified Russian interpreter to assist the parties. Especially when it comes to complicated topics such as pharmacy and GMP, you need a professional interpreter and translator who specialises in the field and has experience in the pharmaceutical sector. When translating terms and process descriptions, it is crucial that they are not only linguistically correct, but also technically precise and standardised. That way, misunderstandings and errors can be avoided, which in the worst case could lead to harm to patients or delays in the authorisation of medicinal products. At GMP-inspection.com, we have in-house Russian translators and interpreters and also have a nationwide network of Russian colleagues specialising in pharmaceuticals and GMP.

Precise communication is particularly important in the pharmaceutical industry, especially in connection with GMP inspections and other important deadlines. To ensure that language barriers are not an obstacle, we at GMP-inspection.com provide competent and experienced pharmaceutical interpreters and GMP translators for the Russian language who can prove their qualifications and experience with meaningful references and letters of recommendation. Our team fulfils the highest quality standards and has extensive knowledge in the fields of pharmacy and GMP. With GMP-inspection.com, you can rely on smooth and professional communication.

Tricky challenges when translating and interpreting between Russian and German

Even if specialist terminology usually requires that it is clear and precise and there are rarely synonyms for specialist terms, there are terms in German-Russian pharmaceutical communication that someone without specialist knowledge hardly recognises and that can easily cause confusion. For example, the subject of sampling: In pharmaceutical production, many different samples are taken, which also have different purposes. Many of them have similar designations, which the professional GMP translator must distinguish. For example, a reference sample is a sample that is stored for the purpose of analysis during the shelf life. In Russian, this is called "контрольный образец". Under no circumstances should this term be confused with reference standard or reference substance. In the pharmaceutical industry, a reference standard is a standardised active pharmaceutical ingredient with a target content against which manufactured batches are compared. In Russian it is called "стандартный образец", which sounds very similar to the preiviously mentioned term. Another case: the word "журнал" in the term "регистрационный журнал" can be misleading because it has nothing to do with a journal or magazine. This refers to a logbook or log book.

The language experts at GMP-inspection.com, who specialise in the translation and interpreting of German and Russian, are experienced linguists who recognise and avoid such language traps. They have in-depth specialised training in their language combinations and subject areas, translate exclusively into their native language(s) and are fully aware of the differences in meaning between similar-sounding or similar-looking words. All translations produced by us are also thoroughly checked for content, language and style by another native-speaker proofreader or editor using a four-eye-principle to ensure a translation of the highest quality. If necessary, we also consult experts and specialists from the respective fields (e.g. experts from the pharmaceutical industry for pharmaceutical translations) to ensure that the specialised terminology is correct in terms of language and content.

History of the Russian language and its use in pharmacy

The roots of the Russian language go back to the Old Russian language (also known as the Old East Slavic language). At the end of the Middle Ages, Old East Slavic split into (East) Russian and Ruthenian (West Russian). The strong influence of Church Slavonic, the language of the Orthodox Church in Russia, had a decisive influence on the development of the Russian language. This is why there are still many similarities between the Russian language and other South Slavic languages such as Bulgarian or Slovenian.

The Cyrillic alphabet, which is used today in the Russian written language, was developed in Bulgaria in the 10th century. It has since established itself as a writing system in many Eastern European countries, to which Christianisation in particular contributed.

Russian is an Indo-European language and belongs to the Slavic subgroup. It is closely related to the two other East Slavic languages Ukrainian and Belarusian. Although these three languages are structurally similar, the sound system (vowels and consonants) differs in each of them.

In Russian, especially in pharmaceutical terminology, there are many foreign words from English. This includes, for example, the abbreviation "CAPA"(corrective and preventive action), which is not only pronounced simply as "kapa" in Russian, but is now also declined like a normal word. Terms such as "PQR", "HVAC" or "Master File" are also understood in the Russian pharmaceutical industry without translation.

Grammatical peculiarities of interpreting from Russian in the pharmaceutical industry

In the Cyrillic alphabet, which is used by the Russian language, there are 33 letters.

Russian is characterised by a strong inflection, which is expressed in three genera and six cases as well as the distinction between animate and inanimate nouns. The declension system of the Russian language is therefore noticeably more complex than in German. Proper names and numerals are also inflected in Russian.

Despite having three genera, Russian, unlike German, has no articles, which must be taken into account when translating and interpreting from Russian into German.

Russian verb conjugation undoubtedly poses the greatest challenge for translators and interpreters. In contrast to German, verbs in Russian not only have to be conjugated according to time and number, but also according to gender in the past tense. There are also two different verb forms, depending on whether an action is completed or unfinished. This distinction is called aspect and does not exist in German.

On the other hand, Russian is simpler in terms of tenses compared to German, as there are only three tenses. Sentence order in Russian is also more flexible than in German, which can be an advantage for translators and interpreters when translating. When a German sentence is translated into Russian, the Russian language offers the translator several possible sentence structures. The complexity of German is particularly evident in subordinate clauses, where the verb often comes at the end of the sentence and simultaneous interpreters have to wait for it before they can start interpreting. To save time, interpreters sometimes have to guess the verb from the context, and if their guess is wrong, they can correct their statement afterwards.

In view of all these factors, it is particularly advisable to appoint a native Russian-speaking pharmaceutical interpreter to accompany your upcoming GMP inspection by the EAEU authorities. Experienced experts in the Russian language and in Russian and German GMP terminology are the perfect solution for successfully passing your GMP inspection.

Russian: Specialised pharmaceutical translations and interpreting for Russian GMP inspections

Our team of GMP translators and pharmaceutical interpreters at GMP-inspection.com offers professional specialised translations and interpreting services for the Russian language. Whether you need a translation of your SOPs and work instructions for your GMP inspection by a regulatory authority from the EAEU or a language mediator for the inspection of your site by Russian GMP inspectors, our highly qualified language experts are always there for you and will provide you with professional, committed and reliable support in all matters relating to Russian GMP inspections.

 

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