Posts Tagged ‘Medical Translation’

Medical Translation Workers Enjoy New Scientific Research

Regardless of occupation, the dawn of a new decade often comes with very little change. While the beginning of a decade may not have great importance, it’s an important time for translation and interpretation professionals to evaluate technological and scientific discoveries and project where the new opportunities will be for us. Within the research arena, some areas that professional interpreters and translators should evaluate at this time are the fields of Medical Translation and Scientific Translation. We know that translation workers with a formal education in science or medicine are in short supply and command the best salaries when they seek employment that utilizes their knowledge. That’s why we’ve devoted this article to exploring emerging opportunities in these areas.

The world is full of people who are skeptical about the future and who believe that there are no more great discoveries that are left to be made. But as translation professionals, we have witnessed a growth in the number of projects that have come from discoveries made in the medical, biotechnology, genomic, and space technology fields that have kept us busy for months and provided attractive salaries. Even with a limited scientific and medical background, it is likely that you have taken on projects that have been related to important discoveries in green technology, computer science, medical products and more. When the concept of The Human Genome Project (HGP) was first introduced, the scientific community and public had high hopes that the investment would produce ground-breaking reports that would explain our world, reveal how our bodies function and provide cures to conditions that range from autism to stroke. Another scientific project that required an investment in the billions of dollars was the Large Hadron Collider that will help answer questions about matter, antimatter, black holes, dark energy and extra dimensions.

But science often has a way of not being able to live up to its intentions To illustrate, while scientists have claimed to have cracked the code of the human genome, it will take many decades to uncover the mysteries of life and the end of disease that the project was intended for. While geneticists are discovering some remarkable things relative to the intricacies of the human body, they are no nearer, scientifically speaking, to unlocking the mysteries of life than before they started. Even though the project hasn’t produced any earth shattering results, the substantial investment has given researchers a tremendous amount of information about humans.

If on the other hand, you are one of the hundreds of French and German Translator professionals who play important roles in the translation of research projects related to the LHC, then you know that the project hasn’t lived up to expectations. Since it opened, you have probably seen news stories calling it a monumental instrument that has been nothing but a letdown in the public’s point of view and the target for bad press. The fact remains that while the LHC is years away from operating at the power it needs to discover the Higgs Boson Particle, scientists continue to believe that the collider will provide amazing information.

Of all scientific breakthroughs, the one that created the most work for translation workers was research involving global climate change. Without the availability of experienced translation professionals with scientific backgrounds, the analyses of leading scientists would come to a screeching hault. Most importantly, Language Translators have been able to work in tandem with skilled scientists and have had opportunities to establish themselves while earning substantial salaries and most importantly, job security. Perhaps this is why so many Japanese to English Translation workers have found a great deal of personal reward by being scientific translation workers.

Recognizing and Dealing With Challenges in Legal and Medical Translation

Regardless of the industry that employs you, in this global economy you are bound to encounter people who communicate in different methods. As you are already aware, some international college students can be very difficult to understand, but local US college can seem quite clear with when communicating. On the other hand, some people may have vocal limitations that force them to rely on written forms of communication. In these cases, people may try to communicate using a crude form sign language. In addition to people who have difficulties talking, there will also be people who have difficulties with listening.Are you good at reading body language? The reason for asking is that some people may prefer to use body language and we must be able to recognize to this and respond appropriately.

According to a Korean Translation agency, explaining common communication problems is done by example. Therefore, It sometimes helps people to think of familiar people that have trouble communicating. By doing this, people begin to understand the wide range of ways in which people try to get their ideas across on a daily basis. After suffering from a debilitating illness, disease, accident or some other injury, a new form of communication may be adopted by some people. We need to stress that the purpose for doing this exercise is to provide examples that add to the complexity of interpretation. Here is a set of questions to help you when you find yourself in a similar situation.
_ How does the individual communicates with others?
_ Does the person communicate in writing, by drawing or in other certain ways with others?
_ Is it acceptable to communicate in a particular way that you have observed?
_ Could your team communicate through pictures and images?

Can you understand the importance of asking these questions? In the arena of German Legal Translation, the answer is clear. Steer clear from this and at all times and because it will certainly mean the further decay of communication.

Even in the world of Portuguese Medical Translation, one must place great importance on the art of conversation and interactions that take place between relatives, co-workers, insurance companies and other external services companies. That’s because when messages are incorrectly decoded, the data that is collected will be inaccurate and could result in large, costly errors. Everyone has a right to make their own choices in life and this includes the people you support.

Let’s imagine that you are tasked with providing service to a German speaking visitor. Even in these times, it might be difficult to have someone standing by that can communicate with this person immediately.. A logical place to begin is by defining a strategy that answers the question about how the patient will communicate with you and how you will communicate with her. While it seems somewhat trivial, it is still important to learn what your patient would like to be called. Never under estimate the importance of calling a person by their name and more important, doing it accurately. This informs the person you are speaking to him, gets his attention, and shows respect. Until you know the patient well, it is usually not advisable to use his or her first name. In fact, some cultures may consider this rude.

Learning From Angry Clients in German Translation Services

Professional German and English translators are well aware of the similarities of the two languages, especially when it comes to certain vocabulary words. Students of German Translation would agree that this can be both good and bad.

English and German language learners need to be apprised of this situation. However, new German translation graduates often plunge ahead without fully understanding that words can be deceptive. “False friends,” which exist in many languages, are cognates that are false, and having nothing in common with the words you would expect them to mean. The translation profession regularly deals with the challenge of avoiding falling prey to false cognates. To reiterate, “false friends” appear or sound like a word you know but there is really no connection. Incorrectly using false cognates can cause embarrassment at best and lawsuits in the worst case scenario.

False cognates are prevalent in German and English because the two languages are both Germanic languages. Experts will readily confirm that English and German have many words that sound alike. Brother / Bruder, auto / Auto, house / Haus, glass / Glas, etc. are just a few examples of the numerous true cognates that exist between the two languages. Many such true cognates exist between the German and English languages, and these should be differentiated from the many false cognates between the two languages.

Regardless of whether you are translating into English from German or into German from English, your translation process will go much more quickly if the text contains true cognates. However, translations can go bad when translators do not take care to learn all they can about potential issues with false cognates. Translation service workers must avoid making translation mistakes because they do not recognize these “false friends,” also known as “falsche Freunde,” “faux amis” in French, or false cognates.

After (After) the objective (Objektiv) act (Akt) of translation, the target document must be reviewed. In reference to the German words in parentheses, this statement is a good example of how false friends can completely change the meaning of a sentence. The German words, “After,” “Akt” and “Objectiv” actually mean “rectum,” “nude,” and “lens” respectively in English. Many such false cognates also exist in medical translations. These include words like “Weh” which really means pain. True professional medical translators are wary of false cognates like “kosten”, which means to taste.

Similar difficulties are found in legal translations, which false cognates popping up frequently. These often include words like “Rathaus,” which means “City Hall,” and not a home for a rodent. Some other false friends that can be found in inaccurate German Legal Translation Services include words like “Akt,” which really means “nude” (in artwork).

Unfortunately, this is only a sampling of the numerous false cognates that exist between English and German. For example, the word “drogerei” refers to what Anglophones know as a drugstore, but it does not carry medications. What it does sell are personal hygiene items such as shampoo, hairspray, deodorant, toothpaste and the like. Those who speak fluent German know that the “Apotheke” is the shop where medications are sold. To get your prescription filled at the “Apotheke,” don’t forget to take your “Rezept,” but if you need a receipt, you should ask for a “Quittung.”What all this comes down to is the fact that professional German translators must be aware of the pitfalls and challenges of providing a highly accurate translation that conveys the true meaning of a text without compromising readability. Mistakenly using false cognates always results in gross errors that reflect poorly on the German translator, the German translation and on the organization or person who uses the translation for official purposes.

Educators See Increased Need For Translation Courses

Translation and interpretation can be extremely difficult, but the common reader usually doesn’t understand the complexity that is involved. In this paper, we attempt to explain some of the more common reasons for translation error and some new courses to aid translators. The art of document translation does not follow hard and fast rules, since something is translated into another language, and sometimes translated back into the original language and because of differences of the languages some of the original meaning is lost. Because people from academia saw the weakness with which translations were being performed, a need for improved translations was recognized. Eventually, complete degrees began to be offered in universities that had the objective to teaching the skills necessary to deliver quality translations that are equivalent to source documents.

As more German Translation studies programs were developed, a formal curriculum was developed that included a history of translation theory, beginning with the ancient Romans and encompassing key twentieth-century structuralist work. New coursework was later amended to study programs plans that emphasized specific problems of literary translation through a close, practical analysis of texts that tackles crucial problems of translation and extensive suggestions for further reading.

In the first semesters of the program, students learn that a text’s reliability consists in the trust a user can place in it, as a representation or reproduction of the original. Perhaps the first lesson that students learn is that simple word by word translations have tremendous disadvantages. Anyone who has ever used an internet translation product has encountered the weakness of online translation systems. These issues are encountered on a regular basis by professional translation workers when dealing with highly technical subject matter like Legal Document Translation. For your insight, the author of this article has written a real life story to help you better understand the challenges that the translation field is presented with.

Several months ago, a major healthcare provider sought the assistance of a Medical Document Translation worker in the United States. Consequently, the project required some travel to Dresden, Germany. Because the new translator had some German language skills and proficiency in English, his translation skills were acceptable.As you might imagine, the person had excellent English language skills but his German skills were somewhat limited. In one example, a company representative asked if he was comfortable. He knew the answer to the question, how he might respond in English and the corresponding words in German. He felt confident that if he responded that he was a bit too hot, that the correct meaning would be conveyed. However, as most Anglophones do not realize, in German, it is necessary to say “it is hot to me,” and not, “I am hot.” The two statements carry very different meanings in German. The person who had asked the questions gave him a bizarre look that made him think he had done something embarrassing. Indeed, the German translation of “I am hot,” conveys a sexual meaning, whereas “it is hot to me” conveys the meaning that the temperature is too warm. You can be assured that the American will think twice the next time he thinks about how he might respond in German.