Certified translator to translate covid test manual? Thread poster: Ronja Helder
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Ronja Helder
Norway
Local time: 23:23
English to Norwegian
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Hi!
I have been asked if I can translate a manual for rapid antigen test for covid, but I am not sure if I am qualified to do translations of this kind, as I am not a certified translator.
I've googled around a bit, but can't find any satisfactory answers, so maybe someone here would know?
| | | | Natalie 
Poland
Local time: 23:23
Member (2002)
English to Russian
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Moderator of this forum SITE LOCALIZER
The first thing to do would be discussing this with the client because here at the forum you will get various answers, but only the client knows what do they require and why.
Natalia
| | | | | Certified translator to translate covid test manual | Nov 26, 2022 |
Please others qualified translators who have good experience in Medical translation in order to help you translate this file
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It depends on what you mean by certified…
1. Do you mean certified as a sworn translator? Did your client really ask for a certified translation? This is not very common, though over the years I did it more than once. In this case, clear this up with the client…
Or
2. Do you mean that this is an area you are not specialized in and so you don’t feel very comfortable doing it? In this case, ask the client to have a good look at the document.
... See more It depends on what you mean by certified…
1. Do you mean certified as a sworn translator? Did your client really ask for a certified translation? This is not very common, though over the years I did it more than once. In this case, clear this up with the client…
Or
2. Do you mean that this is an area you are not specialized in and so you don’t feel very comfortable doing it? In this case, ask the client to have a good look at the document.
In any case, good luck! ▲ Collapse
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IrinaN
United States
Local time: 16:23
English to Russian
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| Qualified by knowledge or some framed paper? | Nov 26, 2022 |
Only you know the answer to the first option. In fact, it should be all that counts. As for the second one, only your client knows what he means by such request, if any was presented.
If you are worried that you might get complaints due to poor quality/errors (forgive me, this is hypothetical but medical is not even your working field) and will not be able to defend your work by proving your formal qualifications and/or relevant experience, then steer clear.
| | | | Joseph Tein
United States
Local time: 14:23
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
+ ...
| It's the translator, not the certificate | Nov 26, 2022 |
Good question. Having a translation certificate does not automatically make one qualified to translate anything ... real qualification depends on experience and knowledge of a particular field. Only you can know whether you are familiar, experienced and comfortable with the material; a certificate does not tell you that. Your profile does not mention Medical among your lengthy list of specialties (no human can "specialize" in 10 different fields, by the way), and you haven't answered any KudoZ... See more Good question. Having a translation certificate does not automatically make one qualified to translate anything ... real qualification depends on experience and knowledge of a particular field. Only you can know whether you are familiar, experienced and comfortable with the material; a certificate does not tell you that. Your profile does not mention Medical among your lengthy list of specialties (no human can "specialize" in 10 different fields, by the way), and you haven't answered any KudoZ questions in the medical field to show your in-depth knowledge ... so I would say you are not qualified to take on a project like this. Your client needs to look for an experienced translator who really does specialize in medical translation. A certificate is not essential; it depends on the client whether they want to add that requirement. (I have worked as an evaluator of medical translation tests ... it takes knowledge, experience and attention to detail to work with important medical documents that can make a crucial difference in people's lives.)
[Edited at 2022-11-26 20:44 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-11-26 20:45 GMT]
[Edited at 2022-11-27 19:04 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ronja Helder
Norway
Local time: 23:23
English to Norwegian
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TOPIC STARTER | Thanks for the replies! | Nov 27, 2022 |
Thank you for the replies everyone!
The main reason why I asked was because some translations require proof of translation by a sworn translator, so I guess I should have changed my wording to be more clear.
I decided to decline the translation because I don't feel qualified to do this properly. Since I mainly translate sales copies, I have no experience translating medical jargon, so I'm glad to see people here also recommending to not take on a translation I don't fe... See more Thank you for the replies everyone!
The main reason why I asked was because some translations require proof of translation by a sworn translator, so I guess I should have changed my wording to be more clear.
I decided to decline the translation because I don't feel qualified to do this properly. Since I mainly translate sales copies, I have no experience translating medical jargon, so I'm glad to see people here also recommending to not take on a translation I don't feel qualified to do. ▲ Collapse
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Congratulations for your honesty and best luck next time!
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jyuan_us
United States
Local time: 17:23
Member (2005)
English to Chinese
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| Is that really that medical? | Nov 27, 2022 |
I don't think such a manual would involve more than high school level biological knowledge, so anybody with strong linguistic skills would be able to do it.
I don't understand why they required a certified translator.
[Edited at 2022-11-27 14:32 GMT]
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 17:23
Japanese to English
+ ...
| certified translator? | Nov 27, 2022 |
Last spring I translated a book from Russian that was to be used in COVID research. I provided the client with medical translation samples before starting and there seemed to be no problems.
| | | | Joakim Braun
Sweden
Local time: 23:23
German to Swedish
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| Doesn't mean anything | Nov 27, 2022 |
A certification doesn't mean very much as far as competence goes (certified translator speaking here).
The issue is: Are you skilled enough to do this translation, or is the text such that you can acquire the required knowledge through a few hours' research without any misunderstandings that might endanger people's health?
I regularly refuse medical translations that I might conceivably do well, but where patient health is at stake.
| | | | Joseph Tein
United States
Local time: 14:23
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
+ ...
I thought about my earlier answer and want to change it a bit ... I shouldn't have automatically stated that you're not qualified! It depends on the specific text you're dealing with. If it consists of general language that could come from any everyday setting, with few or no specialized terms, then your experience would be enough to do an adequate job. If it's a long, technical file, then you would not be a good candidate for this because we want to be extremely careful and correct in transla... See more I thought about my earlier answer and want to change it a bit ... I shouldn't have automatically stated that you're not qualified! It depends on the specific text you're dealing with. If it consists of general language that could come from any everyday setting, with few or no specialized terms, then your experience would be enough to do an adequate job. If it's a long, technical file, then you would not be a good candidate for this because we want to be extremely careful and correct in translating medical information. Again, this is separate from whether someone has some sort of certification or not: it's the experience and competence that really matter.
[Edited at 2022-11-27 19:44 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| Such a translation requires a translator specialising in medical diagnostics ... | Apr 12, 2023 |
... not a certified translator (though a certified medical translator would be fine, of course, but no certification of the translation itself is necessary).
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