Translating Health
Enhanced English for Interpreters
Fujian Normal University
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Discussion and Homework
•What are the advantages and disadvantages of the custom of having retired parents living with grown children? For parents? For children? For society?
(Use your own experiences and stories)
•What would be the advantages and disadvantages to a society of having a system of retirement homes, and relying heavily on this system to care for old people?
**250-300 word summary**
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Living with grown childrenAdvantages• Professional care• Social network for elderly• Regular routine• Avoid conflict• Preserving their self-esteem
Disadvantages• lack of family life• Feelings of abandonment• Financial burden
Living in a retirement homeAdvantages• don’t need to hire help• Convenient for us to see them• Parents feel safe at own home• Bring a lot of joy to have the family together• Save money
Disadvantages• many people = more conflict• Generation gap• No space• Limited freedom (time) for all• No one home 24/7 - if they need round the clock care
“a”,“o” and “u” PronunciationLong vowelsfāke “fei-ji” 飞机nōte “bo-cai” 菠菜clūe “lu” 路
Short vowelshăt no equal pinyinhŏt no equal pinyinbŭn “men” 门
rat rot rutbat bought butpacket pocket puck(g)nat ( 蝇 ) knot nutcap cop cupbag bog ( 沼泽 ) bug
Tongue Twister
Betty Botter bought a bit of bitter butter
Which made her batter bitter
But a bit of better butter
Makes better batter
So Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter
Making her bitter batter better.
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Phrasal Verbs1. To get an illness from someone is to:
a.To pick up
b.To rule out
c.To take it away
My daughter picked up a bug from school and now we are sick.
2. To try and prevent getting ill is to:
a.To wrap up
b.To run over
c.To fight off
I’ve been fighting off this cold since the weekend, but I think that I’m
feeling worse.
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Phrasal Verbs3. If a part of your body gets bigger and rounder because of injury or illness it:
a.To come out
b.To kick in
c.To swell up
His ankle swelled up after he fell during the game.
4. Another expression for vomiting is to:
a.To throw up
b.To bring up
c.To pass out
He brought up/threw up his dinner an hour after he got home.
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Phrasal Verbs5. To become unconscious is to:
a. To fall down
b. To black out
c. To pass out
He blacked out/passed out after the ball hit him in the head.
6. To recover from an illness is to:
a. To get over it
b. To take up
c. To fall over
She got over a bad case of the flu.
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Quick Vocabulary Generation
Name as many body parts and internal organs as you can in English in 3 minutes
(You can use electronic dictionaries)
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Body Parts, Internal Organs• Lung• Liver• Spleen• Heart• Kidney• Stomach• Intestine• Bladder• Pancreas• Artery• Brain• Uterus• Prostate• Bronchial airway• Esophagus• rectum
• Head• Neck• Shoulder• Knee/toes/ankles/thigh• Breast• Leg• Hand/arm/wrist/finger• Eyes• Elbow• Skin• Ears• Back• Abdomen• Chest• Muscle• Hip/pelvis
Put Yourself in Their ShoesGoFluently.com
Interpreters and Translators Inc.
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Make a list of common English words that might be useful in this hospital setting.
Symptoms vs Disease
Swelling, inflammationDizzinessItchy (rash)Aches/pain/strain/sore- headache,stomach,backCold/sneezeHot/feverCut/woundVomiting/nauseaSweatingDiarrhea/constipationBlurry vision
Cold/cough/fluArthritisStrokeDiabetesAsthmaHeart attackCancerAIDS/HIVParkinson’s/DementiaHigh blood pressureTuberculosis (TB)Pneumonia
症 状What is happening at the
moment
病症Name of the illness
causing the symptoms
Medical Interpreters• Every healthcare organization in the USA must provide an
interpreter to patients who speak limited English• $25-50 US an hour salary, depending on state• Requirements: fluent in a second language
knowledge of medical terminology
good memory recall
understand ethics
culturally sensitive
accurate and precise in interpreting and translating medical information
An interpreter CANNOT omit or filter information between a doctor and a patient
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Navigating healthcare in the United States for Chinese
American Seniors
Asian Health Services,
Oakland, California
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Medical Dictionary References• 医学用语 Medical Terms Dictionary (on iTunes)
• Ktdict C-E (on iTunes)
• Pleco Medical dictionary (Android and Apple users)
• Dr. Dict http://www.drdict.com/
• 網上英漢漢英醫學辭典 (Hong Kong based)
Medical dictionary On-Line for Chinese
http://www.hk-doctor.com/html/dict.php
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Why Medical Translators?Case Study: Ling
Location: Asian Health Services, Oakland, California
Purpose of visit: prenatal care, 4 months pregnant
Background: rural farming village where traditional herbal medicine was practiced and prenatal care was non-existent.
Medical Tasks
1st visit: protocol of drawing multiple tubes of blood
asking very personal questions about sexuality
undress completely for a pelvic exam on the first visit
2nd visit: positive result for a sexually transmitted disease
need for chest X-ray for positive TB test
3rd visit: domestic violence (strangling) due to birth of a girl
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
Discussion• Identify the cultural barriers that prevent Ling from
receiving effective healthcare in the U.S.– Preventative healthcare vs reactive healthcare– Embarrassed to talk about sexuality– Embarrassed about undressing– Afraid of being a public health risk or being shamed (lose face)
• Interpret to the American doctor, why Ling may be resistant to discuss or perform any of the tests.– Loss of face– Poor health care in Chinese villages, so not aware of test rationale– No access to prenatal care in the Chinese villages– Don’t publicly talk about domestic violence or sexuality in China
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013
The prenatal checkup, Shanxi province
Can you identify what a foreigner might find
odd about this photograph?
Homework
• Read the article “A Year in Community Health Work” regarding the Taiyuan Community Health Center in Shanxi province.
Considerations:• Briefly summarize the barriers the team faced
delivering health care to the community. • How did they overcome the barriers?
FNU Language Enhancement 2012-2013