The Russian Network is thrilled to be hosting Michele Berdy, the renowned Russian language expert and blogger, at a face-to face event in Central London this summer.
For many RussNet members and students of the language, Michele needs no introduction! She wrote a weekly column on the Russian language, translation and culture for The Moscow Times for 22 years, from 2002 to 2024. She is the author, co-author or translator of ten books, and her literary translations have been published by Pushkin Press, The Short Story Project, Glas, Abbeville Press and others. She has written scores of articles, book reviews, and features for the newspaper and published articles on translation, cultural communication, politics and society for periodicals such as Foreign Policy, Politico and London Magazine. She now lives in Riga, Latvia.
The centrepiece of the event will be a talk by Michele:
LITTLE WORDS, MANY MEANINGS, BIG PROBLEMS
Some of the most difficult Russian words to understand and translate are the “little words” — а, то, да, ведь, вообще, вот, уж, то, тут, там, же — (to name a few) that can be combined with other little words or other bigger words to produce dozens of meanings. They can be tricky to understand, harder to use and utterly miserable to translate.
A fun topic for a Saturday afternoon!
Whether you translate into or from Russian, have to wrestle with these problems on interpreting assignments or are just interested in how the language works, this deep dive into little words, presented in Michele’s always engaging style, will have something for you.
There will be a chance to ask Michele questions about her talk and other aspects of her life and work, and the afternoon will provide an opportunity for social and professional networking…
This is the Russian Network’s first in-person event for many years, and the Network would be delighted to see anyone who is interested – other ITI members, students and teachers, friends and family.
So, to make the event an even greater success, please share these details through your social media and your wider professional and personal networks.
ITI Network member fee: £15
ITI member fee: £20
Non-member fee: £20
Booking link: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/itirussiannetwork/1698695
Location: Blue Lounge, St Paul’s, Robert Adam Street, W1U 3HP
Contact name: Karen George
Contact email: [email protected]
CPD hours: 3
Closing date for bookings: Thursday 19 June
Network website address: https://www.iti.org.uk/discover/networking/language-networks/iti-russian.html