The Hunt for Russian-Speaking San Diegans

WANTED: Interpreters. Must spk Russian.

As Navy officials scramble while preparing for an unprecedented visit to San Diego of three Soviet ships later this month, they have hit a snag: interpreters.

“The more Russian-speaking Americans that we can present the better,” said Barry Zulauf, a senior Soviet analyst with the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington.

Zulauf and local officials are looking for people whose knowledge of Russian is the equivalent of about two years of college Russian classes or comparable experience to help squire 750 Soviet sailors and officers around San Diego during their five-day visit beginning July 31.

The Navy has lined up its own gaggle of 45 interpreters for formal ceremonies and events occurring at military bases. But they want more. And they want the friendly, down-home touch of San Diego natives.

“Having people from the local area saying, ‘That’s where my house is,’ is much more welcoming than us coming as official naval interpreters,” Zulauf said.

But finding those interpreters is not easy.

There are more fluent teachers of English in the Soviet Union than there are speakers of Russian--at any level of competence--in the United States, Zulauf said. “We are a very parochial nation, and we don’t feel that we need to emphasize foreign language training,” he said. “In the Soviet Union, college-educated people will have at least one and maybe two foreign languages.”

Each volunteer, who will be screened beforehand to determine their fluency, will escort a group of sailors to various civilian excursions, including trips to Sea World and the San Diego Zoo.

“For volunteers, it will be a very enjoyable time. We are going to wine and dine the Soviets,” said Lt. Cmdr. Ron Lambrecht, an intelligence officer in San Diego.

So far, only about six volunteers have signed up, including Michael Wise, president of the Russian Club and a self-described groupie of Soviet visitors. He escorted visitors to the Soviet Arts Festival last fall, and, more recently, he assisted with visiting Soviet wrestlers.

“I just like the experience of it--I always learn something new,” Wise said.

The visit of the Soviet vessels will mark the second round of an exchange program that began with the Soviet Navy visiting Norfolk, Va. During that visit, officials made some mistakes that they hope won’t be repeated in San Diego. A few of those mistakes involved unwitting errors in language.

During the presentation of a plaque, American officials proudly referred to a Soviet Navy ship as a “sudno,” which is the word for a merchant vessel instead of a “korabl,” which is the suitable word for a warship.

“The Russians didn’t say anything--that’s how we know they were insulted. They passed over it with pause; and we knew they were deeply offended,” Zulauf said. “We were very embarrassed.”