Medical Translation

Language and sociolinguistic context

Sociolinguistics

We can define sociolinguistics as the study of the bound between language use and social aspects. It takes into account several social aspects such as social class, ethnic background, context, manner and social relationship. The purpose is to foster the communication and maintain social relationships.

Sociolinguists can be interested in analyzing regional or social dialects in order to discover if different social groups speak different or if a language change takes place.

At a large-scale interaction between language and society, language shift takes life. This interaction represents the increasing dominance of a language over the others. In this case, the dominant language becomes more and more used in the domains where once, these other languages were dominant.

Sociolinguistics research does not stop here. It continues with investigations of the form and function of politeness, minimal responses (such as yeah, hmm, nice) and discourse markers (such as well, I think).

Another research at a large-scale concerns the language variation and change. This phenomenon represents the bound between the standard languages and the non-standard dialects related with those languages. Standard English, for example, is a variety of English that has written grammar, pronunciation and spelling conventions, promoted by media, the educational system and many other institutions. This variety is considered the correct manner to speak English. Non-standard English represents the ungrammatical form and betrays a lack of education. Studies show that the majority of speakers use from time to time non-standard features in their speech. (Linguistics: and introduction, 1999, Radford, Britain: p14-16)

Sociolinguists proved that people will speak different in certain context or groups depending to the social background, age, genre, age and so on. In the following tables we will have some examples of how people speak in certain situations:

Taking into account all these issues, we can distinguish different language styles and registers that we often encounter in a language. They are present both in oral and written communication.

Language registers

Language registers can be divided into three main categories:

Casual language registers (home, neighborhood, friends);

Academic language registers (university, school writing);

Professional language registers (job, politics).

As they are related one to each other, the more language registers we know, the easier will be to develop others. Casual language registers learnt at home represent a starting point for the academic language registers that we learn at school which offers the proper background to learn a professional language register of the workplace. Lately, more and more employers are increasing their demand for employees with technically-specific language skills, so learning a professional language register offers an advantage about a future successful career.

Casual language registers

Casual language registers develop at home. As we go into the community we start to develop different casual language registers concerning our interests, different from the one we learnt at home. For example, sports language registers have casual language registers, even though sports like baseball or cricket have a significant difference in their casual register comparing to others.

They are considered to be language registers of speaking or listening, used to communicate with family, friends, neighbors. Casual language registers help people to make friends, to set a dinner and other social interactions but they cannot help when the social context is related to a more academic field. At school, the language registers become more complex and abstract. Becoming proficient in this field will prepare us for a future successful career. Casual language registers represent the first step that people make in order to develop language abilities and prepare themselves for the next stage of their education if they are willing to build a future based on academic training.

Academic language registers

Before we enter in an academic field, everyone is able to use informal speech. The complex patterns of language related to this field, may be similar in many ways with learning a second language. After learning a casual language register, mastering an academic language register represents the second register we have to learn. For English language learners, this represents the third register they need to master. Usually, English learners acquire the primary language speaking and listening abilities in the first 2 years of study. This allows them to socialize, make friends, negotiate a dinner, but they cannot master the academic language of a classroom. Even though they use words imprecisely, conjugate verbs improperly and speak informal, yet they still can be understood by others.

Academic language registers are more difficult to learn than the other registers because it is focused on reading and writing. Academic language supports academic discourse and this discourse is centered within written text, content-area writing and journal articles, so it represents a challenge for students because in the beginning, they are mainly capable only to speak and listen.

The purpose of the academic field is to give us the opportunity to engage in higher-level learning. This can be possible when the academic language is effectively integrated with the language of each specific content area.

Professional language registers

If we research the variety of jobs on the workforce, we will see that nearly every profession has its own language register. As every profession operates within a different context, each one expands a language register unique to its environment and context. These language registers differ in the words, discourse patterns, tools and actions that must be developed to master a particular profession. When we learn academic language registers, we are actually preparing for learning a professional language register. Each profession has created its own terminology and specialized language that helps those who profess in the same field to become proficient. Mechanics, doctors, judges, teachers, translators have their own unique language registers that help them to communicate effectively and do their job.

Furthermore, each profession has its unique discourse or specialized pattern for communicating. They have their own jargon or lingo and the specialized discourse is supported by the specialized language register in each working community. Consider the following example of professional language registers:

Types of professional language registers:

Doctor: surgery, patient, migraine, heart disease, rheumatics;

Teacher: homework, pedagogy, deadline, mid-terms, final exams;

Attorney: court, jail, release on bail, lawsuit;

Mechanic: transmission, piston, steering-wheel, gauge;

Translator: translation, adaptation, equivalence, linguistic calque, word-by-word translation.

As the professional language registers develop, they create words to describe tools, actions and concepts related to each profession. Nevertheless, to become successful using a professional language register, first we need to learn the dynamics of the academic language registers. (Johnson, 2009: 29-31)

Terminology

Socioterminology

As in the first chapter we discussed about Sociolinguistics which are in a direct relationship with words, in the second chapter we will treat Socioterminology, one of the main subjects of Terminology.

François Gaudin (2005: 80) stated that: “Socioterminology deals with all the sociological aspects of terminologies. Mainly, the way terminologies are created, the way they circulate in human societies, or the way they are perceived by speakers are some of the matters dealt with by socioterminologists.”

Modern terminology started to develop in the first part of the twentieth century and it has four basic periods:

The origins (1930-1960)

The structuring of the field (1960-1975)

The boom (1975-1985)

The expansion (1985-present)

The initial period (1930-1960) was characterized by the design for the systematic formation of terms. In this stage appeared the first theoretical texts by Lotte and Wüster.

In the second period (1960-1975), the major changes were created by the development of computers and documentation techniques. This is when the first databanks appeared.

The boom (third stage) is started by the development of language planning and terminology projects. It is also the start of the language policies of some countries.

The fourth stage (1985-present) the main changes in terminology are made by computer science. Now, terminologists have the technology they need in order to work proficient.

As social changes affected Terminology, these have had a major effect on linguistics needs:

The development of new technologies and science has been followed by the appearance of new concepts and fields which require new names.

The growth of technologies came with the need of a proficient communication in certain fields which led to the appearance of the so-called language industries.

The transfer of products and knowledge represents an important aspect of modern society. Technical, cultural and commercial exchange created the need to deal with multilingualism. This led to a standardization of elements in order to improve the transfer.

The big increase of information creates big masses of data that has to be continuously updated in order to offer an effective support.

Mass communication creates the widespread dissemination of terminology. Through mass media, specialized lexicons became general. (Cabré, 1999: 4-6)

Terminology

The first terminological theory arose in the initial period (1930-1960) and we can say that it is even today developed through a practical experience demanded by the need to provide proficiency for language-based problems in communication.

The beginning of terminological science was carried out in the 1930s by the three classical schools of terminology: the Austrian, the Soviet and the Czech schools. Their work was simultaneous but independent, so we can identify three different terminological approaches:

The first approach refers to terminology as an interdisciplinary but autonomous subject with the purpose of serving scientific and technical disciplines

The second approach refers to philosophy, which is mainly interested in a logical classification of concept systems and the organization of knowledge

A third approach focused on linguistics considers terminology a subcomponent of a lexicon and special languages as subcomponents of general language.

Generally, the nature of concepts, conceptual relations, the bounds between terms and concepts and assigning terms to concepts are of greatest importance for terminology. This general theory of terminology is based upon the first theoretical approach. Hence, the purpose of terminographers is to assign names to concepts.

Accordingly, terminology can be defined as “the process of compiling, describing, processing and presenting the terms of special subjects fields in one or more languages.” (Cabré, 1999: 10)

The functions of terminology

As a science which is multidisciplinary and intersectional, terminology is located at the crossing of many branches of linguistics. It can be understood only in relation to special languages and communication, with a variety of purposes related to communication and information.

Therefore, we can identify four different points of view related to terminological work and applications:

For linguists, terminology represents a part of the lexicon outlined by subject matter and pragmatic usage.

For subject field specialist, it is the formal reflection of the conceptual organization of a certain subject and an imperative medium of expression and professional communication.

For end-users (direct or intermediary), terminology signifies a set of handful communication units appraised according to principles of suitability, economy and precision.

For language planners, terminology is a field of a language requiring application in order to assure its utility and to ensure its continuity through modernization.

According to Auger (1988) we can distinguish three terminology processing orientations:

Terminology adapted to the linguistic system.

Terminology oriented towards language planning.

Translation-oriented terminology.

The third orientation represents the biggest motivation for the creation of terminological databanks:

TERMINUM of the Canadian Government.

BTQ of the Quebec provincial government.

EURODICAUTOM of the European Union. (Cabré, 1999: 10-14)

The difference between Terminology and Linguistics

Terminology is considered to be either a sub-discipline of Lexicology, or the study of terms and their use, a branch of Applied linguistics.

Wüster claims that terminology is being located at the crossroad of linguistics, logic, ontology, information science, computer science and individual disciplines. (Cabré, 1999: 25)

However, there are many differences that make the distinction between these domains starting with the difference between term and concept.

Differences between terms and words

As a whole, language represents a label used to describe all language and all language situations. (Pearson, 1998: p 7)

The concept

The concept represents a mental construct to which we assign labels. Objects and phenomena are first of all perceived and postulated in the real world then a mental process produces the concepts. After this mental process, these objects and phenomena take on an existence in our thoughts. These abstractions represent the concepts.

The term

According to Rondeau (1984: 19), “the term is basically a linguistic sign in the Saussurian sense; it has a signifiant and a signifié.” He names the label dénomination and the concept notion. The word term is used to describe the combination between dénomination and notion (label and concept).

Terms represent series of concepts or mental constructs comprised by special subject domains. Terms and concept are in a standardized and agreed relationship. Terms are perceived to be different from words. While a word can refer to more than one concept, between the term as label and the concept as mental construct there is a one-to-one correspondence- a term refers only to one concept within a given subject domain. As labels, terms are considered to be protected because they are set apart from language in use.

In order to avoid confusion, terminologists are concerned with fixing and standardizing meaning and imposing norms for the use of language. This preoccupation resulted in the creation of standardized terminologies. (Pearson, 1998: 11-12)

Medical Terminology

LSP: language for special purposes

The big increase in scientific and technical activities led to a growth in specific communication. As the demand becomes more and more specific, there is an interest to develop special target-group terminologies. (Somers, 1996: 109)

Terminology and specialized translation

General translation is not an easy task to accomplish. Despite the fact that many people believe that it is enough to know two languages in order to translate but when it comes to translate specialized text, besides the strategies that are available for translation, an extra complexity is added due to the specialized terminology contained in each field of specialization. (Zanón, 2012: 3)

In order to be able to translate specialized text we need to master basic concepts about Terminology and to understand the meaning of the specialized terms. If we want to provide a proper translation, we need to have sufficient knowledge of the Target Language. The following issues should be mastered in order to be proficient while translating specialized texts:

To be able to understand the different meanings of Terminology.

To know the possible types of Terminology users.

To find the main terminological resources.

To understand the rapport between quality and resources.

To understand the rapport between specialized translation and terminological aspects. (Zanón, 2012:3, 7)

Medical Terminology

The foundation of medical terminology is represented by the anatomic and physiological language. Despite the enormous efforts made in order to uniform the medical language, this purpose was not achieved yet because medical reports and textbooks often refer to the same structure by two different terms.

Derived medical terms

Medical terms derived from the name of the discoverer are called eponyms. Test, procedures, diseases, body parts and syndromes are often named after the person who discovered it, described it or the person who perfected or invented a particular procedure or test. Even though eponyms are still used, there is a trend toward eliminating them. Using the correct anatomic name for a disease or a body part is simpler and creates standardization. The following table represents an example of an eponym identified with an anatomic term:

Many medical terms are derived from the Greek and Latin languages, so learning the terminology may seem a hard job for those who want to master this field. In the following table we will illustrate some of the occupations and fields that require medical terminology:

In order to make plural forms of terms there are several rules that have to be followed:

In the following table we will introduce some of the commonly used medical term prefixes and their meaning:

Prefixes related to number and size:

Prefixes related to measurement:

Abbreviation

An abbreviation represents the shortened form of a word or a phrase. It usually contain a letter or a group of letters taken from the word or phrase. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbreviation)

The following list contains the most common abbreviations used in the medical terminology:

(Nath, 2006:2,4, 10,11, 16,18, 25)

Medical translation

The beginning of Translation studies

“The first step towards an examination of the processes of translation must be to accept that although translation has a central core of linguistic activity, it belongs most properly to semiotics, the science that studies sign systems or structures, sign processes and sign functions” (HAWKES, Structuralism and Semiotics, London 1977).*pag 13*TRANSLATION STUDIES, REVISED EDITION

Translation studies started centuries ago and show that this discipline had a big impact on the development of the capitalism and the decline of feudalism. Bible translators and scholars who translated Classical Greek and Roman authors put the bases of translation studies.

The religious role of translation appeared with the spread of Christianity and the translator also had the political function to make the text of the Bible fully accessible, which led to the fact that a translation needed to equate the meaning of the sentence, not only the words’ one. The first complete translation of a Bible into English was produced between 1380 and 1384, the Wycliffe Bible.

The educative role of translation was established before the fifteenth century. The value of some Latin manuscripts was well-known, so the desire of understanding the books which in the opinion of some persons (kings, priests, etc.) had to be understood by all men, led to their translation into English with the purpose of strengthening the culture and education.

The invention of printing techniques in the fifteenth century changed the translation function due to the big increase of the volume of translations and it represented a starting point because in that period were made serious efforts to formulate a theory of translation. *TRANSLATION STUDIES, REVISED EDITION

According to Roman Jakobson in the article ‘On Linguistic Aspects of Translation’, we can distinguish three types of translation:

1. Intralingual translation or rewording.

2. Interlingual translation or translation proper.

3. Intersemiotic translation or transmutation.

In Roman Jakobson’s vision, all three types of translation seem to have a common problem: the message cannot be fully equated through translation. *TRANSLATION STUDIES, REVISED EDITION

Translation techniques

In order to work in an efficient manner and to overcome the most difficult task, there are some translation techniques that can help us to fulfill our work.

Direct translation techniques are used when conceptual and structural elements of the source language can be transposed into the target language. They include:

Borrowing

Calque

Literal translation

Borrowing represents the taking of words directly from one language into another without translation. Many English words are "borrowed" into other languages (for example software in the field of technology and funk in culture).

A calque or loan translation represents a phrase borrowed from another language and translated literally word-for-word. We often see them in specialized or internationalized fields such as quality assurance.

A word-for-word translation can be used in some languages and not others dependent on the sentence structure.

Oblique translation techniques are used when conceptual and structural elements of the source language cannot be directly translated without altering meaning or upsetting the grammatical elements of the target language. They include:

Transposition

Modulation

Reformulation or Equivalence

Adaptation

Compensation (Fawcett, 2014: 29-39)

Specialized translation

Generally speaking, specialized translation covers the specialist subject fields comprised under non-literary translation. Some popular fields are economics, marketing, science and technology, law, politics, medicine and mass-media.

When Translation Studies emerged as a discipline, scholars were interested mainly with literary translation, while specialized translation was considered a part of Applied Linguistics, an ‘inferior’ form of mechanical translation. (Gotti, 2006: 9)

Medical translation

In contradistinction to most technical fields of translation, medicine has had a very long history of writing and it almost rivals the written tradition of law. Through the dominant role of the U.S. in computer science as well as medical technology, English has been rapidly imported into many languages. (Fischbach, 1998: 13)

Medical translation has a set of characteristic features that has to be taken into consideration in order to find the right professional niche. An overview of the working process provides a clear idea of what happens in the professional context.

Historical overview of medical translation

In a form or other, translation has probably existed since humans felt the need to communicate with other groups of their own kind. Probably, the oldest form of translation involved trade between different groups of people.

One of the most remote references to written translation is found in the cities of Ancient Mesopotamia where medical, mathematical and astrological knowledge was gathered and stored in cuneiform symbols written on clay tablets. These archeological treasures suggest that an intense translation activity existed long before alphabet and paper were invented.

The fact that over the last centuries English has become the new lingua franca does not necessarily mean that it is the only language of production. Knowing some facts about the history of medical translation and about some views on translating can help us to understand our position in the professional world better, to be aware of translation strategies and to learn to justify our choices and argue about them.

The alternative is to work routinely and inflexibly without awareness of the profession. In order to be a part of this activity, translators must be aware of the history of the professional field they work in.

The specifics of medical translation

Medical translation share many features with other translation types as the adaptation of cultural differences and the use of technological tools such as translation memories and electronic dictionaries. However, like any professional field, medical translation comprise some specifics.

Medical specialties

Medical translation involves the knowledge generated and needed in various specialties including among many others:

Internal Medicine: the diagnosis and treatment of infections and diseases of heart, eyes, skin and many others.

Obstetrics and Gynaecology: the medical care of the female reproductive system.

Orthopaedics: preservation and restoration of the form and function of the extremities, spine and associated structures.

Paediatrics: diagnosis and treatment of the infections, injuries and many types of organic diseases in children.

Psychiatry: prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders.

Surgery: preoperative, operative and postoperative care for a broad spectrum of surgical conditions.

Pharmacology: drug composition, action and therapeutic use of drugs.

When translating medical texts, we may also have to deal with notions from sociology, law, economics and many others.

Comprehension of medical notions

The priority of a medical translator is to deal adequately with factual complexity and accuracy. Gaps in the medical knowledge of the translator usually give rise to comprehension problems. In order to write the target text, the translator has to understand the medical notions in the text. After this process is finished, he will be able to work in the most efficient manner.

Medical terminology

Some key-aspects in the central activities in medical translation can be reached if we become familiar with the particular terminology involved in the languages and be able to solve terminological problems such as neologisms, polysemy and so on. Terms for anatomical parts, syndromes, drugs, diseases and medical equipment are peculiar to medical translation.

Medical communicative situations

The range of communicative situations does not cover only the communication among researchers but also any kind of communicative interaction between professionals, patients and general public. Among the main communicative functions of medical translation are the following: the dissemination of biomedical research, the education of health professionals at Universities, the education of patients, the approval of new drugs, the regulation of health products and services, the communication in hospitals and other health institutions and the campaigns carried out by health institutions in the national and international context. These communicative situations are usually found in the following sectors: health service, biomedical research, pharmaceutical laboratories, publishers in the health science, governmental and non-governmental health organizations and mass-media.

Medical genres

From a professional point of view, it should be emphasized that medical translation is not restricted to highly specialized genres. It covers a large spectrum of genres from research articles published in specialized journals, to clinical guides for physicians, text books for students, press releases, information brochures for patients and TV documentaries about health.

Medical information sources

Research for printed, electronic and personal sources is a key aspect in medical translation because:

The translator may not have the factual knowledge to translate the text.

The translator may have insufficient terminological information and familiarity with target genre in order to write the target text in an acceptable manner.

For this reasons, professional translators are in a constant need of up-to-date medical information like: specialized definitions, explanations of concepts, lists of terms in different languages, trade names and national names, health directories, information about the clients, online professional forums, medical data bases, nomenclatures and information about writing and document style.

Quality of medical texts

When taking decisions about the coherence and style of the translation, the translator should not rely on the quality of the original text. We need to take into consideration that medical authors are not professional writers and not all authors of medical texts write in their mother tongue which means that the translator may have to deal with source texts of a poor quality. Furthermore, not all the source texts are finished and ready to be published. In some situations, the authors of the text may rely implicitly or explicitly on the translator to revise and edit the source text before translating it.

Medical ethics

Medical translation is affected by medical ethics and responsibility. The translator must act with skill since the health and even the lives of patients are often at stake. Another ethical value in medical translation is confidentiality. Medical translator must respect the privacy of patient histories, drug development or medical patents among others.

The following table presents how ethical priorities differ in different genres and demand different skills from the translator:

Steps in the translation process

The aim of this sector is to provide the basic steps we should follow in order to provide a quality target text. Depending on the assignment, the medical translator should follow some of the following steps or all.

Analyzing the needs of the client and planning the project

When receiving an assignment, we should discuss the specifics of the project with the client. Once we have a firm agreement with our client we can plan the project: terminology management, contact with experts in the field and coordination with other translation if necessary and so forth.

Reading and understanding the source text

In order to translate a medical text properly, a translator should have a broad understanding of the whole text, not only the comprehension of particular terms. A broad understanding means: networks and hierarchies of terms, conceptual links between paragraphs, conceptual links between sections of the same text, descriptive, narrative and argumentative structures, overall cause and effect relationships.

Compiling a glossary

Glossaries are used to make sure that terminology is consistent internally (with the solutions adopted in a particular assignment) and externally (with the norms and preferences of the client). Compiling a glossary will allow us to understand new concepts and it should be done in such a way as to allow us to use the terms and definitions again or to share them online with other translators.

Drafting the target text

Once we have understood the original text and have compiled a glossary, we can start drafting the target text. In the first draft we should focus our attention on two basic aspects of text production: structure and contents. Both the macro structure (sections, subsections, moves, flow of information) of the target text, which may not coincide with that of the source text and the factual information the structure should contain must be considered. At this point we will deal with the most translation problems.

Revising and editing the target text

If structure and factual information are in place, we can start revising and editing for conceptual accuracy, completeness, clarity, cohesion, syntax, grammar, spelling, punctuation and consistency in the use of terms, numbers, abbreviations, etc. When revising and editing a logical sequence of steps should be followed, starting from contents and ending in punctuation and spelling.

Proofreading

Once we have revised and edited the target text, we can produce a document that should read as an autonomous, finished text. When proofreading we ensure that the text reads well and the punctuation, spelling, quantities, numerical expressions, etc. are used correctly.

Reviewing the translation by the client

In some cases, the clients may want to review the translation before it is formatted and printed for publication. Their review can be useful and help us to meet their demands.

Formatting

After the target text has been fully accepted by the client it can be formatted in the required format: PDF, HTML, QuarkXPress, Page Maker and other. Normally, the translator should be fully familiarized with these and other tools.

Reviewing the galley

Galley review is carried out when the translator is ready to print and publish the target text. In galley review are revised the correct hyphenation, font size, font type, page numbering and other. It can be reviewed even by the clients when they want to make sure that not only the document is meeting their demands.

Delivering the final document to the client

Finally, the document is produced and now it can be sent to the client in one of the following agreed forms: e-mail, FTP or CD.

Market approaching

Nowadays, the translation market is no longer restricted to our place of residence. Thanks to the era of Internet and globalization, working online for clients and other translators we never meet is becoming a norm, due to the dynamism of the translation market.

Types of clients

We can distinguish two types of clients. Those who work in the public sector and those who work in the private one:

Public sector:

International institutions (European Commission translation services);

Government agencies;

Universities;

Research institutes.

Private sector:

Private hospitals;

Publishers in the health sectors;

Medical software industry;

Biotechnology companies;

Health and care managers and professionals.

Common task of the medical translator

Clients frequently ask medical translators to carry out different tasks which may include:

Rewriting and adapting texts

Translating and updating web pages of medical content

Translating medical software

Translating medical texts for internal use and for publication

Translating research articles into English

Revising and editing translations

Translating and adapting medical dictionaries of health topics

Planning and managing translation projects

Interpreting in hospitals and other health services

Creating terminological data bases of medical terms

As we can see in the above list, medical translators do not simply translate. They have become writers, revisers, web creators, terminologists, communication experts and community interpreters.

The translation assignment

A translator should not be loyal only to the contents of the source text but also to the translation assignment as described by the client. When we specify the translation assignment we should take into consideration the following issues:

What product or service does the client need?

What is the profile of the target audience?

In which context will the target text be used?

What is the purpose of the target text?

What is the profile of the organization that will use the target text?

Does the client have terminological preferences?

Does the client have terminological glossaries or other information that may help us?

Which format of delivery is required?

What is the deadline for the delivery?

It is the responsibility of the translator to find out all necessary information that concerns the assignment, even if the client does not provide it from the beginning.

Frequently translated genres

Research genres are the genres used by physicians and researchers working in hospitals, laboratories, universities, etc. These genres are source of primary information (new information that has not been published before) and they are usually highly standardized:

Research papers

Review articles

Case reports

Letters to the editor

Book reviews

Conference procedings

Doctoral theses

Professional genres are used by health professionals such as doctors, nurses and managers:

Lab tests

Medical questionnaires

Manuals

Maintenance guides

Annual reports

Bulletins

Medical histories

Classifications of diseases

Educational genres are used to teach and learn in a large context from universities courses to domestic life:

Course books

Presentations

Treatises

Training courses

Medical encyclopaedias

TV documentary scripts

Commercial genres are used to sell and buy products and services in the health sectors:

Drug advertisements

Catalogues

Packaging inserts

Patents

Press releases

Socializing with peers

Translation is often a lonely activity and sometimes we can feel in need of support and reassurance from others who understand our work and who are willing to share their ideas and creativity. This kind of help is available from groups of translators who have exchanges and debates on the Internet. Some of these groups are hierarchical and formal while some are informal and open to all.

Some of the professional associations we know are: International Federation of Translators, Council of Science Editors, American Translators Association, Society for Technical Communication and many others.

Specific competencies of a medical translator

Translation competence refers to the ability, knowledge that translators need to have in order to work in an efficient manner, but in the specific case of medical translators special attention must be paid to the competencies listed below:

Language and writing

A translators needs to be familiar with:

The most translated genres

The form and function of medical terms in the languages involved and the difference between them

The chemical, generic and trade names of drugs

Terminological standardization: international nomenclatures, classifications, taxonomies, etc.

Medical metaphors and images

Medical acronyms, abbreviations and symbols

Medical phraseology especially in the target language

Linguistics varieties within the same language.

We need to know:

The genre conventions involved in the languages

The Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes relevant to the formation of terminology

The interferences that can arise between languages (mainly false friends and calques)

The importance of making interferences from textual and contextual elements when trying to understand the source text.

We need to be able to:

Understand and write original texts belonging to the most translated genres

Deal correctly with terminological variation

Recognize registers and register mismatches between languages

Pronounce medical terms correctly.

Communication and culture

We need to be familiar with:

Different types of target readers

Different types of authors

The national health systems related to the translation assignments

International health organizations.

We need to know:

Different types of publications and their norms

The legal norms imposed either on the source text or on the target text

The ethical norms imposed either on the source text or on the target text

The differences about the social values and beliefs attached to health in different countries and cultures

The euphemisms referring to body parts and functions and the differences involved in the languages. (Davies, 2014: 15, 18-38)