A Ukrainian interpreter is needed in Georgia most often when working with civil status, educational and immigration documents. Ukrainian is written in Cyrillic, but its alphabet is not identical to the Russian one - and it is exactly this difference that causes the most frequent mistake in practice.
Below are the specific issues that actually come up when translating a Ukrainian document: the differences between the alphabets, the official Latin spelling of the name and the form of place names.
The Ukrainian alphabet and how it differs from Russian
The Ukrainian alphabet has four letters that do not occur in Russian: і, ї, є and ґ. At the same time, Ukrainian does not use the Russian ы, ъ and ё, and the letter и stands for a different sound than in Russian.
This is a practical difference, not a theoretical one: the letter і looks like the Russian и, but it is a different letter. In a low-quality scan or when retyping, mixing them up leads to a different spelling of the name.
The letter ґ deserves a separate mention: it was officially removed in the Soviet period and only returned in 1990. That is why in old documents the same word or surname may be written with г, and in new ones with ґ.
Ukrainian also uses the apostrophe, which is a sign separating sounds and a mandatory part of the spelling. Leaving it out distorts the word.
The official Latin spelling of the name
Ukraine has approved transliteration rules according to which the first name and surname are written in Latin letters in the passport. It is exactly this spelling that must be the reference point in the translation.
The practical difficulty is that many people also have an old Latin spelling in other documents, from the Soviet period or carried over from Russian. That is why the same surname appears differently in two papers.
In the translation we do not create a new Latin variant by rendering the sounds. If a passport exists, the name must match it; if there is a discrepancy between documents, this has to be noted in advance.
The patronymic and the three components of the name
In Ukrainian personal documents the name traditionally consists of three components: the surname, the first name and the patronymic.
The patronymic is a separate component and not a middle name. In European forms, where there are only fields for the first name and the surname, it is often entered as a middle name or as part of the first name, which then creates a discrepancy between documents.
In the modern Ukrainian international passport the patronymic is usually not shown, while in domestic documents it is. In the translation both variants are rendered exactly as they appear in the respective paper.
Place names and the names of institutions
The Latin spelling of Ukrainian cities and regions has changed in recent decades: they are rendered from the Ukrainian form and not from the Russian one.
Because of this, the same city may be written differently in an old and a new document. In the translation the form of the original is preserved.
In addition, many settlements have been officially renamed in recent years. So the place given in an old birth certificate may bear a different name today. This fact is not corrected in the translation - the document reflects what is written in it.
Soviet-period documents
Old papers submitted from Ukraine - a birth certificate, a school certificate, a diploma - are often in Russian or bilingual.
In practice this means that a document called Ukrainian may in fact be drawn up in Russian. To assess the cost and turnaround of the translation, we need to see the paper.
In bilingual papers the spelling of the name may differ between the two language parts. In such a case we agree in advance which form will be the reference point.
Frequently asked questions
My surname is written differently in Latin letters in my Ukrainian document and in an old document - which one is correct?
Ukraine has approved transliteration rules according to which the name is written in the passport. An old spelling, from the Soviet period or carried over from Russian, may differ. In the translation the passport form is usually used as the reference point, and the discrepancy is noted.
What is the difference between the Ukrainian and the Russian alphabet?
Ukrainian has the letters і, ї, є and ґ, which do not occur in Russian, and does not use ы, ъ and ё. The letter и stands for a different sound. These differences are directly reflected in how names are written.
My birth certificate is in Russian, although it was issued in Ukraine - is that a problem?
No. A large part of the documents issued in Ukraine in the Soviet period are in Russian or bilingual. The translation follows the actual language of the document, which we establish when we see the photo.
My place of birth has a different name today - how is this reflected in the translation?
The translation renders the document as it was drawn up, so the name as written stays. If needed, this circumstance can be noted separately, but the text of the original does not change.