What language is your doctor speaking? Facing the problems of translating medical documents into English

Abstract

What is translation - a craft, an art, a profession or a job? Although one of the oldest human activities, translation has not still been fully defined, and it is still young in terms of an academic discipline. The paper defines the difference between translation and interpreting and then attempts to find the answer to the question what characteristics, knowledge and skills a translator must have, particularly the one involved in court translation, and where his/her place in the communication process (both written and oral communication) is. When translating medical documentation, a translator is set within a medical language environment as an intermediary between two doctors (in other words, two professionals) in the process of communication which would be impossible without him, since it is conducted in two different languages. The paper also gives an insight into types of medical documentation and who they are intended for. It gives practical examples of the problems faced in the course of translation of certain types of medical documentation (hospital discharge papers, diagnoses, case reports,...). Is it possible to make this kind of communication between professionals (doctors) standardized, which would subsequently make their translation easier? Although great efforts are made in Serbia regarding medical language and medical terminology, the conclusion is that specific problems encountered by translators can hardly be overcome using only dictionaries and translation manuals.

Šta je prevođenje - zanat, umetnost, profesija ili posao? U radu se najpre definiše razlika između prevođenja i tumačenja, a zatim se traži odgovor na to koje osobine, znanja i veštine mora da poseduje prevodilac, naročito sudski, i gde je njegovo mesto u procesu komunikacije (pisane i govorne). Kada prevodi medicinsku dokumentaciju, prevodilac se nalazi u okruženju jezika medicine kao posrednik između dva lekara u procesu komunikacije koji bi bez njega bio nemoguć, jer se vodi na dva različita jezika. Dat je uvid u vrste dokumentacije koje postoje i kome su one namenjene. U radu su prikazani i konkretni primeri problema na koje se nailazi prilikom prevođenja određene vrste medicinske dokumentacije (otpusne liste, nalazi itd.). Da li je moguća standardizacija ove vrste komunikacije među lekarima, koja bi svakako olakšala i prevođenje? Iako se u našoj zemlji dosta radi na jeziku medicine i medicinskoj terminologiji, zaključak je ipak da konkretni problemi na koje prevodilac nailazi u svom radu teško da se mogu prevazići pronalaženjem rešenja u rečnicima i priručnicima za prevođenje.