Medical texts: traps for the sworn translator

Abstract

Medical translation has been an area of an increased growth in the demand for translation services. It is considered to cover an extensive variety of genres, starting from hospital discharge reports, epicrises, specialist articles in medical journals, patient information leaflets (PILs) or instructions for use (IFU). It also has entered the area of activity of sworn translators due to e.g. migration or Poland’s membership in the EU and resultant EU-law implementation procedures (i.e., implementation of the Medical Devices Directive 93/42/EEC) and commercialisation of medical devices, thus generating the need to deal with an array of texts from the entire realm of various fields of medicine, and related disciplines (pharmacy, pharmacology, biology, etc.). Sworn translators are therefore facing difficulties and at the same time challenges, among which most important are the lack of medical knowledge, medical terminology (including acronyms and abbreviations) or medical phraseology in general. This entails the development of a new professional approach towards proceeding with such tasks, and requires constant improvement of skills and knowledge. The priority of the translator while translating medical texts is the complexity of the original, embracing both complex terminological content as well as form with certain features typical of technical (scientific) texts in general. In the article the utmost significance of the translator’s specialist knowledge and competence is underlined and typical problem areas are presented. The absence of those two factors is reflected in practical examples which were analysed in terms of their correctness and terminological accuracy.