Rod Ohira's People
Translator talks her way into worlds
By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer
Russian is her native language, and French was something she had to learn, but Marina Starostina chose to add English to the mix.
Cory Lum • The Honolulu Advertiser
As a linguist who became a Hawai'i resident in April, the languages have allowed the 34-year-old Moscow native to satisfy her passion for travel and experience different cultures from a unique perspective.
Marina Starostina translates for the Russian cast in Tim Bostock's "Slava Snowshow."
"Being able to communicate with different people gives you a better understanding of who they are," said Starostina, a Kahala resident and the wife of Hawaii Pacific Rigging-Stage & Film company owner David Martin.
Starostina's father, a retired Russian air force engineer, heads an economic research institute. Her mother, who speaks Russian and English, supervises the foreign language department at the Academy of Theatrical Arts in Moscow.
Their daughter began studying French as a second language in school at age 8. "I went to a French school, so I had to learn French," Starostina said.
While attending what is now the Moscow Institute of Foreign Language in 1985, she chose to study English. "Once you learn a second language, to me it's easier to learn other foreign languages," said Starostina, who is interested in studying an Asian language. "Becoming familiar with the sentence structure is the key."
Being fluent in three languages opened doors to the world.
Her first job was with the Bolshoi ballet as an interpreter and tour manager. From 1989 to 1995 she traveled with the ballet to England, France, Holland, Ireland, Belgium, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and in 1993 to Hawai'i.
"I was fortunate," she said. "When I applied, the Bolshoi had created a new international division and they wanted to take young people overseas. It was a prestigious job."
Between handling hotel accommodations and news conferences, Starostina was required to be present whenever Russian staging technicians and directors were working with local setup crews in a foreign country. She laughs when recalling how the parties often grumbled about each other in their own languages.
"Artistic people get very emotional," Starostina said. "Then everyone start saying naughty words, and they ask me what the other is saying. I try to find a compromise, saying to each that the other is really concerned."
She left the ballet and became a free-lance interpreter in Australia. She maintained contact with the Bolshoi and returned to Hawai'i for a visit with the ballet in 1997.
Her linguistic talents have allowed Starostina to see beneath surface differences between Russian, French and English speakers.
"Russians are very conservative, and if you deal with them in business you find everything with them is done at the last moment," she said. "In Russian family values, there is much respect for older generations. In that way they are very similar to Asians.
"Russian people are very religious. Even when religion was banned, people kept their beliefs. But they are also very superstitious. Like if someone accidentally steps on your foot, they believe you have to step on their foot; otherwise there will be a quarrel."
The French, meanwhile, are more reserved and generally perceived to be arrogant, said Starostina. Being hospitable, for example, is different for the French and Russians.
"In Russia, even when there was not much food, a family would still put everything out for a visitor," Starostina said. "In France if you go to somebody's house, you are expected to bring something."
Among the major English-speaking countries, Australians and Americans tend to be more straightforward and easygoing than the British, she said.
"They are all different, but once you communicate with them, you find that human beings are very much alike," she said.
Starostina has applied for U.S. citizenship and is enjoying her first Christmas holiday in Hawai'i, where she will be interpreting for the mostly Russian performers in Tim Bostock's upcoming "Slava's Snowshow" at the Hawai'i Theatre.
"I love the light decorations," she said. "It makes you feel like Christmas. In Australia it's summer right now, so for Christmas they don't do much lights."
After moving here, she made a quick discovery about the local language. In Hawai'i "hui" is often used to gain someone's attention. "But in Russia," she said, "it is a very bad swear word."
Reach Rod Ohira at 535-8181 or rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com.
