ATA Specialized Translation Domains Flashcards
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Which terminology resources are most commonly used as references in medical translation into English?
Answer: Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) from the National Library of Medicine and other peer-reviewed medical resources
Medical translators rely on authoritative resources such as NLM's MeSH, clinical guidelines, peer-reviewed journals, and pharmacopoeias to ensure terminological accuracy.
What is a 'sworn translation' and in which countries is it commonly required?
Answer: A sworn translation is one officially certified by a government-authorized or court-appointed translator, required in many civil law countries
Sworn translation is a legal institution in many civil law countries where authorized translators are appointed by courts or government to certify official document translations.
In legal translation, what is the significance of maintaining formal equivalence in contract translation?
Answer: Legal contracts must convey precise obligations and rights; terms must be rendered with their correct legal function, not just their surface meaning
In legal translation, precision is paramount -- terms must be rendered with their correct legal function because imprecise translation can change the legal meaning and enforceability of a contract.
What challenge arises when translating legal documents between legal systems based on different legal traditions?
Answer: Concepts that exist in one legal system may have no direct equivalent in the other, requiring functional description or explanatory translation
Common law and civil law concepts often do not correspond directly; translators must find functional equivalents or descriptive translations rather than false cognates that sound equivalent but have different legal meanings.
Why must financial translators understand the accounting standards applicable to both the source and target markets?
Answer: Because financial terminology and reporting concepts differ between standards such as IFRS and US GAAP, and mistranslation can create serious misunderstandings for investors and regulators
Different accounting standards (IFRS vs. US GAAP) use different terminology and concepts; a translator must understand both to render financial reports accurately and meaningfully.
What does patent translation require beyond general technical translation skills?
Answer: Patent translators need both technical domain knowledge and familiarity with patent claim language conventions, which follow highly formalized structures
Patent documents use a highly formalized, precise language for claims that defines the scope of intellectual property protection; translators must render this precisely to avoid inadvertently narrowing or broadening the protected scope.