Medical English translation mainly includes two parts: the correct understanding of the original text and the accurate conveyance of the information in the original text. Specifically, the translation process of medical English can be divided into four stages: preparation, preliminary translation, retranslation, and verification.
The preparation work includes three aspects:
(1) Understanding the purpose of medical translation, the original text, the target readers of the translation, and any special requirements for the translation;
(2) Reading the original work thoroughly to briefly understand the content, style, and stylistic characteristics of the article;
(3) Consulting authoritative materials in related fields and referencing English materials, which helps the translator understand the content and structure of the original work, while Chinese materials assist the translator in understanding the meanings of terms involved in the sentences, analyzing the stylistic and formal characteristics of the translation theme, in order to gain a deeper understanding of the original text and express the translation more professionally.
The previous type of translation involves translating the entire article sentence by sentence after having a general concept of it. This is a process of understanding and expression, and it is an important component of translation. Sentence translation can be divided into two stages: the understanding stage focuses on tightening the subject, analyzing word meanings, analyzing sentence patterns, and clarifying context; the expression stage focuses on adjusting collocations and refining words. There are many long and complex sentences in medical English. It is essential to carefully analyze sentence structures, clarify logical relationships, choose word meanings, and express them according to the style and professional habits of the original text. For complex new words, technical terms, and sentences, we can highlight them and use dictionaries and reference books to analyze grammar, further understanding the content and logical relationships of the original text. If there are still difficulties, we can also temporarily set it aside and then focus on retranslation.
In retranslation, analyze whether the main content expressed by the text unit is consistent with the theme of the article, whether the connection between paragraphs and sentences is natural, whether the structure is clear, and whether the language is fluent. If there are issues, they should be reviewed and corrected in a timely manner. Additionally, for difficult sentences that were not translated in the initial translation, a more accurate judgment of the sentence's meaning should be made in conjunction with the context, reference books, and related materials.
Verification is an important process for further understanding the original text, checking for omissions, making up for deficiencies, and considering language, including checking content and polishing the text. Content verification includes checking whether the viewpoints in the translation are consistent with the original text, whether the meanings are clear; checking for errors or omissions in names, symptoms, drug names, dosages, treatment methods, medical experimental results, statistical data, etc.; checking the meanings of uncertain words, especially amphibious words in the text, and whether the handling of complex sentences according to context is appropriate, while overseeing the entire text, focusing on the consistency of medical terminology, and the organization names and other expressions in the previous and next articles. Furthermore, the translator should examine the entire text from the perspective of the target readers and make repeated comparisons to ensure that the translation conforms to the expression style of Chinese people.
