General Guidelines

Accuracy

It is essential that the translators should have the necessary responsibilities to carry out the requirements of the medical/pharmaceutical translation with absolute accuracy, taking into account a full understanding of the source document to be translated and conveying this to the target language. Sometimes we have to sacrifice fluency for the sake of accuracy.

Examples:

1) Risk factors for cardiovascular disease include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, diabetes, poor diet, and lack of physical activity.

Original Translation：心血管疾病的风险因素包括高血压、高胆固醇、抽烟、肥胖、糖尿病、营养不良以及缺乏体育锻炼。

Translation for Reference：心血管疾病的风险因素包括高血压、高胆固醇、抽烟、肥胖、糖尿病、不良的饮食习惯以及缺乏体育锻炼。

2) High blood pressure is associated with coronary heart disease including angina and acute myocardial infarction (commonly called heart attack) as well as stroke.

Original Translation：高血压通常帶有冠心病，包括心绞痛和急性心肌梗塞（通常称为心脏病发作）以及中风。

Translation for Reference：高血压通常与冠心病有关，包括心绞痛和急性心肌梗塞（通常称为心脏病发作）以及中风。

Never translate literally or word for word. Moreover, the translation should be complete with nothing missing.

Consistency

Consistency in translation is very important and each term should be translated same way throughout the file and the project. Therefore, a glossary should be created for each assigned project. Along with the TM, the glossary should be given to the translator, editor and anyone in charge of the translation in case where any follow-up translation of the same project is required. Besides terminology, the proper names should be translated in the same way, including consistency in whether translated or not. For example, some proper names such as name of a person, magazine name can be kept in English, but please bear in mind that never translate some of them and keep the other in English, i.e. DO NOT TRANSLATE LIST should be kept consistent throughout the file and project.

Read Also: Some Common Sentence Pattern in Medical Translation (1)　

Wording

Never make the translation in an unnatural, awkward way. The translation should sound as native and professional as possible.

It is generally acknowledged that medical articles are difficult to understand. Nevertheless, on the basis of accuracy, the translation should be both fluent and easy to read.

For Example:

You are being asked to consider participating in a clinical research study because you have been diagnosed with coronary artery disease. This means that one or more of the blood vessels that supply your heart with blood, called coronary arteries, have narrowed.

Original Translation: 由于经诊断您患有冠状动脉疾病，所以邀请您考虑参加本临床研究。这表明 一支或几支向您心脏供血的血管（冠状动脉）已经狭窄。

Translation for Reference: 经诊断您患有冠状动脉疾病，特邀请您参加本临床研究。这表明向您心脏供血血管（冠状动脉）中的一支或几支变得狭窄。

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