Contact Us

Vital Blog

Return

The Complexities of Scientific Texts

Each type of text has its unique complexities, but scientific texts in the medical and pharmaceutical fields have intricate characteristics that translators have to fully grasp to properly approach the source text and render it accurately in the target language.

Complexity #1: Overlapping of different scientific disciplines

The current trend towards multidisciplinary investigation and the unification of scientific knowledge has led to an overlapping of different branches of science; for example, chemistry, physics, biology, genetics, psychology, sociology, pathology, epidemiology, biostatistics, logic, computer science, and so on. This has made medical texts even more complex. As translators, not being able to identify these scientific disciplines in the content of the source text can interfere with the comprehension of the overall text and hinder the search of the appropriate terms to express the original message in the target language.

Complexity #2: The authors of scientific texts are not linguists

Most medical and pharmaceutical texts are written by lab technicians, doctors, investigators, scientists that are competent in the fields they work, but most of them are not linguists as well, and this is sometimes reflected in the source text. It may be due to lack of time to complete and present the texts or due to lack of proper linguistic knowledge, but translators do sometimes face with source awkward sentences or typographical errors that can only be detected by the experienced eye of a specialised medical translator with the appropriate subject matter knowledge, who, independently of how well the source text is written, can properly grasp the idea and transfer it faithfully without much inconvenience. Subject matter knowledge of different scientific disciplines can help overcome this complexity.

Complexity #3: Scientific language is not universal

Scientific knowledge is universal, but scientific language is not. Although English is currently considered the “universal” language of science, medical translators need to be clear that each language has its own rules to write about science. Medical translators have to fully understand what they are translating about, and how to properly transfer the scientific knowledge presented in the medical and pharmaceutical texts into the target language without giving in to temptation of literally transferring the source syntactical structure, word order, and terminology, and this is done by mastering the grammatical and orthographic rules of the language pair we are working with, and having some basic knowledge about the subject matter we are translating about, of course.

Speaking two languages, having formal translations skills, and having randomly translated some medical documents in the past does not make you a specialised medical translator.

What makes you a specialised medical translator then?

Having learned—and mastered—some of the medical and pharmaceutical knowledge the real experts know. To be medical translators, we have to be a little bit of a doctor, a little bit of a nurse, a little bit of a pharmacist, a little bit of a lab technician; that is, to know a little bit of what the experts that elaborate the texts we have to translate know, and only then we will be able to fully grasp the content of the medical and pharmaceutical texts and transfer the original message without distortion or interference due to lack of subject matter knowledge.

Want to be a professional medical translator?

Well, get prepared then!

Get into the wonderful scientific world by learning basic concepts of chemistry, biochemistry, biology, anatomy, physiology, biostatistics, pharmacology—just to mention some—to fully understand the content of the medical and pharmaceutical texts you may have to translate.

Terminology comes along. There are lots of official and reliable terminological databases you can use, but those resources won´t be of much help if you don’t know what you have to look up or which term to choose when there is more than one option for your term search.

Subject matter knowledge and context are key to overcome these complexities, to make the correct linguistic choices and to generate accurate medical translations.

Categories

Explore the Sectors

LABORATORIES

RESEARCH

MANUFACTURING

PROMOTION

COMMUNITY

PATIENTS

Are translation and interpretation the same kind of language service?

No. Although both translation and interpretation are language services that require the linguists in charge to be proficient in both the source language and the target language, have translation skills as well as subject matter knowledge on the topic they are working with and be accurate in conveying the tone and intent of the original message, these services serve different purposes. The translation service implies working with written text. Translators work with different types of documents to be printed, published online or even exchanged with other people. The interpretation service implies working with speech; that is, spoken text. Interpreters can work in situ, for example, in meetings, congresses, seminars, over the phone or via videocall. Whether you need a translation service or an interpretation service, always trust certified professional linguists.

No. The translation of regulatory documentation requires in-depth knowledge of the source and target regulatory affairs as well as of the terminology of mandatory use in the pharmaceutical industry to provide high-quality and timely translations and help avoid delays during drug authorisation and registration processes. The translation of advertising materials requires subject matter knowledge plus a touch of creativity, a combination of translation and copywriting skills to transfer the creative language —generally lost during a direct translation— into the target language to achieve the desired response from the target audience.

Yes. The desktop publishing (DTP) service can be provided as an integrated part of the translation process or as an independent service. In the first case, the client sends us the file for translation, and we then deliver a translated file that keeps the integrity of the original design. In the second case, the client sends the linguistic content and the specifications for page layout and a team of experts in the field of desktop publishing generates page layouts and produces printed or digital materials using DTP software. In both cases, we can advise the client on professional output aligned with the target language’s visual layout and design requirements.

Yes. The method for establishing translation rates is based on source word count, language pair, complexity of the document, project volume and urgency of delivery. When clients contact us to get a quote, we analyse the file(s) to determine total word count and the complexity of the file(s) and we also take into account the language pair; for example, if it is English into Spanish, or Spanish into English. Special discount rates may apply in big-volume projects and extra “rush charges” may apply in the case of urgent deliveries.

Yes. To be able to provide a quote, we first need to analyse the file(s) to determine the word count, the complexity and the translation steps that would be involved in the whole translation process; that is, we need to evaluate whether there is non-editable text that needs to be converted into editable text to be translated, determine the total word count to estimate the translation time and delivery date, and assess whether the file(s) require desktop publishing (DTP). To be able to provide an accurate quote, we need to see and analyse the file(s).