The concept which was approved/adopted/That/Something which was approved/adoptedin 1996, namely/I mean/that is/the concept for

the improvement of the status of women became a document which laid the theoretical foundations/bases/and determined/defined the strategic goals for the activities of the government in implementing constitutional provisions regarding the equality of men and women in the Russian Federation.

The national plan of action adopted in August 1996 to improve the status of women and enhance their role in society by the year 2000 in turn has expanded and supplemented the provisions of the Concept through specific practical steps/actions/by state institutions to implement the goals/objectives it contains contained in it/its goals/objectives.

The economic transformations/changes in countries with transition economies have opened up new horizons/opportunities/for women, have provided new opportunities for self-fulfillment/self-rea-lization/and, on the other hand, the major burden/costs/of market reforms are impacting most of all/are most intensively felt/born/ experienced by women: there has been a rise/increase in female poverty, a growth of women's/female unemployment and a deterioration of women's health. We are concerned about the negative demographic processes: a drop/decline in the birth rate, low life expectancy indicators, high mortality figures for the population, especially of working age, and negative trends in reproductive health. There has been a drop/decline in the level of female employment, and 60% of the unemployed are women/women account for 60% of the unemployed. In speaking of the moral state of society, we should take note of incidents/cases of harsh/brutal behavior/treatment/within the family and of violence against women.

The problem of unemployment, the problem of the status of women and many other social issues are global in nature/universal/ widespread. Mass and chronic unemployment also strikes/affects/

those who have found work. This is because/For/the threat of being fired/dismissed/downsized/let go/forces them to put up with/accept the arbitrary will/whims/of entrepreneurs. Thus, according to ILO data, entrepreneurs as a rule pay young workers (some) 40-50% of the salaries paid to adults for similar/such/identical/work.

Unemployment of a significant part of the younger generation is the root/primary/underlying/primary/major/cause/reason for/of many social ills/problems/issues. Deprived of the possibility to work, young

people begin to experience/feel/alienation/a feeling of alienation, that they are useless to society. And this ultimately/finally/in the last analysis leads to an increase in drug addiction, crime and prostitution.

Nor should we forget/And we should not forget/it should not be forgotten/there should be no forgetting that today the mass media have enormous potential for impacting on/influencing public opinion. This/is particularly true/makes itself particularly felt/today, when international relations are increasingly becoming a matter/subject/ affair/field not only for/professional diplomats but also for broad strata/ a wide range/of world public opinion, when glasnost and the availability of information are becoming a prerequisite/ sine qua поп and a catalyst for the democratization of international life.

A specific result of work to improve the status of women are the measures undertaken to ensure/provide female employment. There has been/we have seen the adoption of a general tripartite agreement between the government, employers and trade unions, and of a program of support and development for small enterprises. Intensive/sophisticated /state of the art/advanced training is being carried out/conducted for workers who are in danger of/threatened with/vulnerable to/dismissal /downsizing, and there are programs for social adaptation of the unemployed. We have seen the organization of/There has been the organization of/professional retraining of unemployed women, and assistance is being rendered/given to help graduates of universities/ institutes of higher learning/university graduates/find jobs. Social assistance is now becoming carefully/specifically targeted.

The problems of the status of women are in fact/indeed/truly global/universal/in nature/are global/universal. Very important/of enormous significance/A major factor/for the successful implementation of the Beijing documents is the solidarity of women, and also close cooperation between governmental and public organizations/ institutions.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

This text is particularly rich in participial constructions, and provides good examples of how to deal with the syntactic problems which arise in these sentences. There are also a number of sentences with impersonal subjects which require some reworking.

Комментарии:

1) содержавшаяся... рекомендация — if the interpreter does not have a text, it will be difficult for him to wait until the noun рекомендация shows up before starting the sentence. As soon as you hear a participle as the first word of the sentence in this type of clause, you can say

"Something/that/which... was contained in the Platform of Action..." and

then, when the noun finally appears — рекомендация — you can insert before it "that is/namely/I mean/I am referring to/the recommendation."

2) в кратчайшие сроки — the idea is "as soon as possible,"
"in the immediate future." Don't try to translate сроки as "time period"
or "dates" — this will only complicate the sentence.

3) была положительно воспринята — get away from literal translation
here: "positively" and "perceived" do not sound idiomatic. "Was
approved by" is what is meant.

4) утвержденная... концепция — this is the same kind of participial
construction as those described above. The participle and the noun it
modifies are fairly close to each other, but the interpreter who does not
want to wait for the noun can begin the sentence with "That which was
adopted... namely, the Concept..."

5) принятый... национальный план действий — a similar construction,
though here a literal translation would work: "Adopted in August 1996, the
national plan of action to improve the status of women... has in turn
expanded and supplemented..." "Action" here sounds better in the
singular, as "plan of action" is an accepted cliche, though theoretically
"plan of actions" would do.

6) по-новому реализовать себя — here some restructuring is in order.
"Realizing oneself does not work. The idea is that of "opportunities for
self-fulfillment." Changing the Russian verb into an English nominal
construction creates an idiomatic sentence.

7) солидные издержки — "солидный" is often а "ложный друг пере­
водчика," since it frequently cannot be rendered as "solid." The idea is
that of significant or important costs.

8) растет женская безработица, ухудшается здоровье женщин — this
sentence requires syntactic reorganization. Starting the sentence with
"There has been a growth of female unemployment" is much smoother than
trying to start off with the verb "растет" or with a present tense. The
conjunction "and" then links the two clauses and leads to a logical ending
for the sentence. Of course, the interpreter could also say "female
unemployment is rising, women's health is deteriorating," but it requires
quick thinking to reorder both clauses.

9) снизился уровень — this is similar to the above sentence, since starting
with "There has been" allows the other components of the sentence to fall
into place.

10) носят глобальный характер — the interpreter is well advised to forget
about the verb носить, and to reword this as "the problems are
widespread/global." "In nature" can safely be omitted.

11) бьет и по тем — here too, the original verb needs some rephrasing.
"Strikes" or "affects" can render the verb, or this can be reworded as
"mass and chronic unemployment is also a problem for those..."

12) первопричиной многих социальных зол — "the root cause of many
social ills" would do it, but the interpreter can simplify further:
"unemployment... underlies/explains/many social problems."

13) и не надо забывать о том... — it is not absolutely necessary to
translate this и as "and." "Nor" gives emphasis to the idea and stresses
the negative nuance.

14) конкретным результатом — this phrase should be translated as the
nominative subject of the sentence. "Specific" is usually much more
idiomatic in English than "concrete."

15) приняты — this is a tricky sentence, with a plural verbal form as the
first word followed by a list. The plural should set off an alarm bell in the
interpreter's head and prompt "There has been" or an attempt at
rephrasing such as "We have seen the adoption of..." to clear the way for

• a listing of the measures adopted.

16) проводится опережающее обучение работников — here we have
another orphaned verb wailing for a subject, which the interpreter must
hastily supply. "There has been" or "We have seen" takes care of both
parts of the sentence, as the interpreter can then skip "осуществляется:"
"there has been the organization of professional retraining of unemployed
women and assistance to help graduates..." The sentence in English is also
better off with the addition of a noun: "the organization/creation/
establishment of professional retraining" rather than simply "there has been
professional retraining," though if necessary that will do.

17) организована — this requires the same type of inversion as the other
past passive participles or reflexive verbs: "There has been/We have
seen/the organization of..."

18) носят глобальный характер — this is the same expression
encountered earlier; since it is at the end of the speech, a bit of emphasis
can be added: "The problems of the status of women are indeed/in fact
universal/global."

19) структур — these can be rendered as "organizations" or "institutions,"
since "structures" does not work, and "systems" is too restrictive for this
context.

The Status of Women: National Plans of Action (1998)

(Читается в нормальном темпе с индийским акцентом и в быстром — с британским акцентом)

Mr. Chairman,

What is» contained in the Platform of Action of the Beijing Conference, namely the recommendation to adopt as soon as possible national plans of action to improve the status of women, has the

approval of the Russian Federation, where there already is a clear need to produce new conceptual approaches to ensuring equal rights and opportunities for men and women during the transition to a market economy.

Something which was adopted in 1996, that is, the concept for the improvement of the status of women, became a document which laid the theoretical foundations and defined the strategic goals for the activities of the government in implementing constitutional provisions regarding the equality of men and women in the Russian Federation.

The national plan of action adopted in August 1996 to improve the status of women and enhance their role in society by the year 2000 in turn has expanded and supplemented the provisions of the Concept through specific practical actions by state institutions to implement its objectives.

On the one hand, the economic transformations in countries with transition economies have opened up new horizons for women, have provided new opportunities for self-fulfillment, and on the other hand, the major costs of market reforms are most intensively felt by women: there has been a rise in female poverty, a growth of female unemployment and a deterioration of women's health. We are concerned about the negative demographic processes: a decline in the birth rate, low life expectancy indicators, high mortality figures for the population, especially of working age, and negative trends in reproductive health. There has been a drop in the level of female employment, and women account for 60% of the unemployed. In speaking of the moral state of society, we should take note of cases of brutal behavior within the family and of violence against women.

The problem of unemployment, the problem of the status of women and many other social issues are widespread. Mass and chronic unemployment also strikes those who have found work. This is because the threat of being downsized forces them to put up with the arbitrary will of entrepreneurs. Thus, according to ILO data, entrepreneurs as a rule pay young workers some 40-50% of the salaries paid to adults for such work.

Unemployment of a significant part of the younger generation is the root cause of many social problems. Deprived of the possibility to work, young people begin to experience alienation, a feeling that they are useless to society. And this ultimately leads to an increase in drug addiction, crime and prostitution.

Nor should we forget that today the mass media have enormous potential for influencing public opinion. This is particularly true today, when international relations are increasingly becoming a field

not only for professional diplomats but also for broad strata of world public opinion, when glasnost and the availability of information are becoming a sine qua поп and a catalyst for the democratization of international life.

A specific result of work to improve the status of women are the measures undertaken to provide female employment. We have seen the adoption of a general tripartite agreement between the government, employers and trade unions, and of a program of support and development for small enterprises. Advanced training is being conducted for workers who are vulnerable to dismissal, and there are programs for social adaptation of the unemployed. There has been the organization of professional retraining of unemployed women, and assistance is being given to help university graduates find jobs. Social assistance is now becoming carefully targeted.

The problems of the status of women are indeed universal in nature. A major factor for the successful implementation of the Beijing documents is the solidarity of women, and also close cooperation between governmental and public organizations.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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