translating health enhanced english for interpreters fujian normal university fnu language...

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**


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.


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.


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.


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.


Quick Vocabulary Generation

Name as many body parts and internal organs as you can in English in 3 minutes

(You can use electronic dictionaries)


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.


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


Navigating healthcare in the United States for Chinese

American Seniors

Asian Health Services,

Oakland, California


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


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


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



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?


translating health enhanced english for interpreters fujian normal university fnu language...

Documents