writing Russian addresses in English

[David Powelstock]

Well, if they're going to use the address to send a letter to the reference,
it best be in the format that would reach the recipient, no? All the
department needs to understand is how to copy it onto an envelope. Form
follows function. I recommend keeping the Russian format, but
transliterating it. The Russian postal system is very used to dealing with
Latin transliteration. If you're worried about its looking funny to whoever
will be processing your application in England, you might consider adding a
parenthetical note for their benefit, e.g. "(address in Russian postal
format)." 

Cheers,
David (Powelstock)


-----Original Message-----
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list
[mailto:SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu] On Behalf Of Stephanie Briggs
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 6:45 PM
To: SEELANGS at bama.ua.edu
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] writing Russian addresses in English

Since the university I am applying to is British, I think the reason for
providing the address, email and phone number of my references is so they
can be contacted if necessary. Therefore, the address needs to be in a
format that Brits would understand. The department I am applying to has
tutors in Russian, but I think the application will first end up in the
generic languages department that runs the translation programme.

Further thoughts?

Stephanie

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On 11 June 2010 23:22, Paul B. Gallagher <paulbg at pbg-translations.com>wrote:

> Stephanie Briggs wrote:
>
>  Hi,
>>
>> In applying to Portsmouth University, I have to provide 2 references. One
>> of
>> them is a Russian professor in Yaroslavl, whom I have known for 11 years.
>>
>> I am accustomed to writing her address in Russian, which is different
from
>> the address format typically used in English.
>>
>> The Russian format goes something like this:
>>
>> Postal Code Number
>> City
>> Street and Apartment Number
>> Recipient's Name
>>
>> My application form and references must be in English. How do I write her
>> address so that it is correct but doesn't confuse English speakers? Is it
>> just a matter of transliterating from Russian to English, say, "Prospekt
>> Tolbukhina" or "Yaroslavl", and leaving the sections in the Russian
order?
>> Or should it be rearranged into Western format (Name, house number,
>> street,
>> city, postal code)?
>>
>
> If your purpose is understanding (your recipient needs to know what the
> address says), then give it as expected in your target language and
dialect.
>
> If there's a chance your reader will use the address on an envelope for
> correspondence, give the address that will work in the international mail
> system. In this particular case, I suspect a Slavic department will
> understand what it means and why you have done this.
>
> --
> War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
> --
> Paul B. Gallagher
> pbg translations, inc.
> "Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
> http://pbg-translations.com
>
>
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