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Are degrees in translation and specialist areas such as medicine necessary for a translator to have?
Thread poster: Cathy McCormick
Njanja
Njanja
Serbia
English to Serbian
Just my thoughts Nov 6, 2018

I have more than twenty five years of experience. (By the way, I studied art history; I did not study linguistics – I just loved it, still do...)
Once, few years ago, I yielded to persuasion and agreed to translate one of the most renowned clinical manuals. And I did it – or WE did it: I had a whole team of wonderful medical professionals who successively reviewed my translation.
I think that’s as it should be; most translators do not possess expert medical knowledge, and most
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I have more than twenty five years of experience. (By the way, I studied art history; I did not study linguistics – I just loved it, still do...)
Once, few years ago, I yielded to persuasion and agreed to translate one of the most renowned clinical manuals. And I did it – or WE did it: I had a whole team of wonderful medical professionals who successively reviewed my translation.
I think that’s as it should be; most translators do not possess expert medical knowledge, and most medical professionals do not possess good enough knowledge of some foreign language. So working on such translations should be a team work – at least my experience says so.
To be a good translator, you have to have a perfect knowledge of your own language, its grammar and orthography. If you are, for example, an art historian, then you do your best to learn from the colleagues you work with, copy-editors, proofreaders, and such. In my country, at least, they have a degree in linguistics. I’ve been learning from them from my first translation...
I always say that to be a translator is to be „cursed“ with a little knowledge of almost everything. For example, one protagonist of the novel I’m currently translating is an astronomer. And in the novel before that, the protagonist was learning, at one point of his life, to become a military pilot; it took me ten days to translate that chapter (30 pages, give or take). I translate encyclopaedias, too. Obviously, you can’t be an expert on every subject, nor can you always have a team of experts to help you - so, yes, Internet is very useful.
Times have changed. There was a time when a translator devoted his or her life to some capital literary work. Today a publisher sends you a PDF file, and wants you to translate it in four, five, or six weeks. That’s the publishing industry of the 21st century...
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Arabic & More
 
Arabic & More
Arabic & More  Identity Verified
Jordan
Arabic to English
+ ...
Qualifications Nov 7, 2018

1) How would you describe an unqualified translator?

Someone who is unable to translate to a professional standard.

2) Do you think that it is necessary for a translator to have a degree (BA hons or MA) in translation?

No.

3) Do you think that a translator should have a degree in translation and medicine in order to translate medical documents?

No, not necessarily. But a translator must have knowledge of the material (or a viable w
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1) How would you describe an unqualified translator?

Someone who is unable to translate to a professional standard.

2) Do you think that it is necessary for a translator to have a degree (BA hons or MA) in translation?

No.

3) Do you think that a translator should have a degree in translation and medicine in order to translate medical documents?

No, not necessarily. But a translator must have knowledge of the material (or a viable way to research it). How this knowledge is gained may vary from person to person. For example, I am personally acquainted with many people working in the medical field (doctors, nurses, lab technicians, etc.) and can consult with them when needed. There are also many excellent sources of information on the Internet.

4) Do you think a translator can translate medical documents without any medical experience?

There are different types of medical documents. Some are quite general, while others are very difficult to understand and translate without deep knowledge of the topic. Translating medical questionnaires, for example, is often very straightforward and does not require a degree in medicine. But I would stay away from pharmaceutical translations and anything that I don't have enough knowledge about in my target language. If something is "iffy" (like a handwritten prescription), I will show it to a pharmacist or doctor if necessary to make sure that I have interpreted it correctly.

5) Do you think the internet and books are better tools than having a degree?

They are not "better" in the sense of either/or, but they are resources that I assume most translators use, even if they are qualified medical professionals.

I agree with Njanja, however, that the best results are achieved when there is a team working together, ideally comprised of different people having the requisite linguistic and medical knowledge. But just having a doctor or medical professional on such a team may not be sufficient, as even medical professionals may have different perspectives on what is correct. In my experience, the better translation agencies will allow any differences to be aired and discussed by all parties so that a consensus can be reached.
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DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
valid answers -vs- correct responses -vs- expected (adopted/approved) replies Nov 7, 2018

1) How would you describe an unqualified translator?
One, who neither wants to, nor can (1) use his native or (2) a foreign language properly, or (3) has no relevant background in the field. Nowadays, it's also about so-called formal-theoretical "green" education, no hands-on exp.

2) Do you think that it is necessary for a translator to have a degree (BA hons or MA) in translation?
Not exactly in translation, yet some high degree may prove he has covered a
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1) How would you describe an unqualified translator?
One, who neither wants to, nor can (1) use his native or (2) a foreign language properly, or (3) has no relevant background in the field. Nowadays, it's also about so-called formal-theoretical "green" education, no hands-on exp.

2) Do you think that it is necessary for a translator to have a degree (BA hons or MA) in translation?
Not exactly in translation, yet some high degree may prove he has covered an industry-wide basis and can comply with the standards, including communication skills.

3) Do you think that a translator should have a degree in translation and medicine in order to translate medical documents?
If he is really concerned about better and stable income diversification, he will surely consider getting a medical profession [as a major], enhancing it with decent foreign language skills [as a minor].

4) Do you think a translator can translate medical documents without any medical experience?
Even Google-Translate can "translate" documents, but may them? It's about accuracy and readability idea conveying, what requires a qualified doctor as a reader.

5) Do you think the internet and books are better tools than having a degree?
Taking into account commercialization, globalization, diploma mills, costs, efforts, and time, ideally there weren't such thing as "mere/pure translators", but good specialists with foreign language skills. However, the educational system doesn't seem to work as it should: the goal of education is self-education!
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Daryo
Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 05:33
Serbian to English
+ ...
50 shades of (in)competent Nov 9, 2018

1) How would you describe an unqualified translator?

I can only describe what is an unqualified translator in relation to one specific Source Text - a translator that is not capable of understanding the Source Text, either due to poor command of the language or of the subject matter OR is incapable of reproducing the same meaning in the target language in a way adapted to the target audience, register etc ...

IOW the same translator could be couldn't be m
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1) How would you describe an unqualified translator?

I can only describe what is an unqualified translator in relation to one specific Source Text - a translator that is not capable of understanding the Source Text, either due to poor command of the language or of the subject matter OR is incapable of reproducing the same meaning in the target language in a way adapted to the target audience, register etc ...

IOW the same translator could be couldn't be more qualified for translating one text, and then be hopelessly unqualified for translating some other text - and a whole diapason in-between.


2) Do you think that it is necessary for a translator to have a degree (BA hons or MA) in translation?

Yes, but only if it's the formal qualification required by potential employers or HR departments enamoured of ticking boxes , otherwise not.

How many prize-winning writers have a degree in literature?

A degree (BA hons or MA) in translation might be interesting to study, but is of limited practical usefulness.

3) Do you think that a translator should have a degree in translation and medicine in order to translate medical documents?

You can think whatever you want, in real life it simply won't happen - or VERY rarely. And even on rare occasions when the translator happens to have a degree both in translation and in medicine, it still wouldn't be a reliable predictor that the output will be the best possible translation - too many other factors at play.

4) Do you think a translator can translate medical documents without any medical experience?

What is "medical experience"? Practising medicine few years before doing your first medical translation? How often it's going to happen ... ? Maybe once in a blue moon.

It's perfectly possible to translate medical documents without any medical experience - more precisely without any medical experience of your own - if you are part of a team including medical experts (practising MD or researchers ...) - "phone a friend" is quite a good tool you seem to have forgotten.

5) Do you think the internet and books are better tools than having a degree?

False dichotomy - it's like asking if it's better to look at the road or to hold the steering wheel.

Books and especially the World Wide Web / Websites can be very useful, BUT without some prior general knowledge (acquired through a degree or some other form of learning), are about as useful as a sniper given to a Neanderthal.

If you don't have any idea what to look for - nor how and where - the huge amount of information available on the Web can easily turn into nothing more than a huge missed opportunity - without some prior knowledge, it's very easy to miss the really relevant information, or even worst stumble on the relevant information and then misinterpret it.

A propos the "$71-million-dollar word", medicine is far from being the only field where mistakes can be extremely costly - or even deadly.

There was a case in Serbia - about 30-35 years ago - where wrongly translated instructions - [just one mistake: one screw being wrongly specified in the translation as being smaller/weaker than it should be] resulted in the roof of factory under construction collapsing - as luck would have it, that one was holding the roof together. The only reason there wasn't tens of workers crushed under the debris was that it happened in the middle of the night.

Thinking of it, an aspect of translating far more important than degrees or no degrees is the awareness that a translation is not "just words".

[Edited at 2018-11-09 18:08 GMT]
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Njanja
 
IrinaN
IrinaN
United States
Local time: 00:33
English to Russian
+ ...
A very "European" question Nov 11, 2018

It's unfathomable in the US to go after years (decades) and tens (hundreds) of thousands of dollars required for medical education only to become a translator. Maybe there is a doctor or two turned translators but I've never met them.

Christopher Schröder
Tradupro17
Gina Centanni
Njanja
 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
no "pure" translators Nov 11, 2018

I also doubt a decent doctor or a nurse would consider changing the trade; just as a diversification, perhaps. However, I know rather many translators and interpreters who did take some emergency or doctor's assistant courses. Of course, they often turn to nursing, because even giving injections pays some $5+ per shot, taking some five minutes. The point is such specialists are very welcome and called for even without foreign language skills.

Actually, it often happens with many
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I also doubt a decent doctor or a nurse would consider changing the trade; just as a diversification, perhaps. However, I know rather many translators and interpreters who did take some emergency or doctor's assistant courses. Of course, they often turn to nursing, because even giving injections pays some $5+ per shot, taking some five minutes. The point is such specialists are very welcome and called for even without foreign language skills.

Actually, it often happens with many non-linguist fields: painters, engineers, designers, bakers, cookers, programmers, builders, welders, hairdressers, and so on.

Once our teacher said: "Ok, your English is good, but even a down-and-out in the USA can speak it much better, so what?"
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IrinaN
IrinaN
United States
Local time: 00:33
English to Russian
+ ...
The other way around Nov 12, 2018

Evaluation of Soviet or Russian medical degrees is not enough in the US to become a doctor right away. "It's a long way to Tipperary." I have known a few people who sustained themselves as translators or medical interpreters but only until obtaining proper US credentials in their medical fields - anything from doctors to X-ray/ultrasound technicians. I'm sure they were very handy interpreting at the hospitals but not all of them were brilliant translators, even medical translators.

 
Yaroslava Pryjmak
Yaroslava Pryjmak
Ukraine
Local time: 07:33
English to Ukrainian
+ ...
My answers Nov 17, 2018

1) How would you describe an unqualified translator? - A translator missing skills and knowledge for accomplishing a translation job.

2) Do you think that it is necessary for a translator to have a degree (BA hons or MA) in translation? – It’s preferable but not necessary. Some people without relevant degrees might be better translators than those having BA hons or MA in translation.

3) Do you think that a translator should have a degree in translation and medicine
... See more
1) How would you describe an unqualified translator? - A translator missing skills and knowledge for accomplishing a translation job.

2) Do you think that it is necessary for a translator to have a degree (BA hons or MA) in translation? – It’s preferable but not necessary. Some people without relevant degrees might be better translators than those having BA hons or MA in translation.

3) Do you think that a translator should have a degree in translation and medicine in order to translate medical documents? – A degree in medicine is not necessary for the successful translation of medical documents. Translation skills and accuracy are important here.

4) Do you think a translator can translate medical documents without any medical experience? – It depends on the subject matter and what is meant under “medical experience”. I have no medical degree but have experience in translating medical documents. Translator has just to “translate” properly paying attention to the details and not to go deeply into the matter.

5) Do you think the internet and books are better tools than having a degree? – No. I think internet/books are helpful and necessary but are incomparable with having a degree.
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Victoria Fushchich
 
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Are degrees in translation and specialist areas such as medicine necessary for a translator to have?







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