VOA慢速英语2012 Health Report - The Risks of Language for Health Translators

 

 

Health Report - The Risks of Language for Health Translators

健康报道 - 卫生翻译人员的翻译风险

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

Translators Without Borders is an American nonprofit group. It provides language services to nongovernmental organizations such as, yes, Doctors Without Borders. The group recently trained some new translators in Nairobi in how to put health information into local languages for Kenyans.

“无国界翻译人员”是一家美国非盈利性组织。它为其它非政府组织提供语言服务，例如“无国界医生”组织。该组织最近在内罗毕培训了一些新的翻译人员，将卫生信息翻译为肯尼亚当地语言。

For health translators, finding the rights words is not just about language but also culture.

对卫生翻译人员来说，找到合适的词语不仅仅和语言有关，还和文化有关。

Muthoni Gichohi is a manager for Family Health Options Kenya, the group that organized the training. She says she has no problem expressing the names of body parts in English. But as a Kikuyu she says there are some words in her first language that may be "provocative¹" if she said them in public.

Muthoni Gichohi是“肯尼亚家庭卫生方案”组织的一名经理。该组织发起了这次培训。她表示，她用英文表述身体各个部位的名称没有问题。但作为基库尤人，如果在公共场合用她的母语说其中一些名称可能是挑衅。

"So I have got to really put it in another way that it is still delivering the same message, but the words will be different."

“因此我必须用另一种方式表述，意思没变，但用词不同。”

Trainer Paul Warambo says the same issue arises with Kenya's national language.

教员Paul Warambo表示，肯尼亚官方语言中也有同样的问题出现。

"Sometimes you are also forced to use euphemisms² -- use a language that is more acceptable to the people. For example, in Swahili, we will not call a body part -- the vagina, for example -- we will not call it by its name. We use kitu chake --- her thing. You do not just mention it by the name, you say 'her thing.'"

“有时候你也被迫用词委婉。例如在斯瓦希里语中，有些身体部位我们不能直呼其名，例如阴道。我们用kitu chake（斯瓦希里语），意思是她的东西。你不能直接提到它的名字，你用‘她的东西’代替。”

The culture of a community will largely decide how words and expressions are translated into socially acceptable language.

社会文化很大程度上决定了词语和句子如何翻译成能够被社会接受的语言。

In some cases, the way people in a culture think about an activity or object becomes the translated name for that activity or object.

在某些情况中，该文化背景下的人们思考一个活动或物品的方式会成为它们的翻译名称。

Paul Warambo explains how the term "sexual intercourse³" is commonly translated from English into Ki'Swahili.

Paul Warambo解释了英文的性交一词通常如何被翻译成斯瓦希里语。

"We always say, in Ki'Swahili, 'kutenda kitendo kibaya' -- to do something bad. So, imagine sex was associated with something bad, emanating⁴ from the African cultural context."

“用斯瓦希里语我们通常称其为'kutenda kitendo kibaya'，意思是干坏事。非洲的文化背景下认为性是一件坏事。”

Whether or not a community will accept or even listen to a message is especially important in health care.

公众是否接受，甚至是否愿意听，对卫生保健来说非常重要。

Lori Thicke co-founded Translators Without Borders in nineteen ninety-three. She says, in general, a lot of development organizations have often overlooked the importance of language in changing health behavior.

Lori Thicke于1993年联合创办了无国界翻译人员组织。她表示，在一般情况下，很多发展组织往往忽视了语言在改变卫生行为中的重要性。

"It is true that people do not think of translation. It is absolutely not on the radar⁵, but it is so critical if you think about it, for people to get information, whether it is how to take their medication, whether it is where to find supplies in a crisis situation."

“事实是人们不会考虑翻译问题。翻译通常不被关注，但如果你想想看，它对人们获取信息非常关键，无论是如何服药，还是危机中在何处找到供给。”

Muthoni Gichohi and her team recently opened a health information center in a Maasai community. She learned that young Maasai cannot say certain things in the presence of elders. Also, men are usually the ones who speak at public gatherings⁶, so people might not accept a message given by a woman.

Muthoni Gichohi及其团队最近在一个马赛族社区开办了一家卫生信息中心。她了解到，马塞族的年轻人在长辈面前不能说一些事情。此外，男性通常是在公共场合发言的那个人，因此人们可能不会接受女性提供的信息。

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. I'm Faith Lapidus.

___

Contributing: Cathy Majtenyi

 

1 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

2 euphemisms   

n.委婉语，委婉说法( euphemism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• No point is in mincing words or hiding behind euphemisms. 没有必要闪烁其词或者羞羞答答。 来自辞典例句
• No point in mincing words or hiding behind euphemisms. 没必要闪烁其词或者羞羞答答。 来自辞典例句

3 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

4 emanating   

v.从…处传出，传出( emanate的现在分词 )；产生，表现，显示

参考例句：

• Even so, there is a slight odour of potpourri emanating from Longfellow. 纵然如此，也还是可以闻到来自朗费罗的一种轻微的杂烩的味道。 来自辞典例句
• Many surface waters, particularly those emanating from swampy areas, are often colored to the extent. 许多地表水，特别是由沼泽地区流出的地表水常常染上一定程度的颜色。 来自辞典例句

5 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

6 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。