The prevalence of English in medical translations

In the modern world, the international exchange of experience in the field of healthcare and medicine, as well as active cooperation, is of great importance. Therefore, a special place among the various types of translation activities is occupied by the implementation of high-quality translation of medical and pharmaceutical documentation, in particular, English medical translation. This activity is very responsible and requires not just a good command of a foreign language, but also a base of special medical knowledge.

Why is medical translation into English the most common?

The development of medicine provides demand for translations into many languages of the world, but the most popular is English. This is due to its prevalence – in more than fifty countries, English is considered the official language. In addition, it is the language of international business communication. It ranks second place in the world in terms of the number of people who speak it – more than 410 million people speak it as their native language, and it is spoken by about 1 billion of the world's population.

The pharmaceutical industry in the UK plays an important role and has a large global production share. English drugs are widely used all over the world. These factors provide no less demand for the translation of medical texts from English.

Foreign clinics are ready to accept foreign patients who have a competent medical translation of documentation, tests and examination results into English.

High-quality translation of scientific papers, with the observance of terminology, stable phrases and speech turns, will help medical professionals to make the way of communication with foreign colleagues a little easier, and provide an opportunity to participate in international conferences, providing the results of their research papers.

In what cases is it necessary to translate medical documents into English?

  • Translation of medical reports, epicrisis, extracts from medical records, research protocols, and medical certificates;
  • translation of pharmaceutical documentation, appointments for examination, medical prescriptions, drug package inserts;
  • translation of instructions for setting up or operating medical equipment or devices;
  • translation of articles for medical publications, research papers, textbooks, dissertations, or medical reference books.


The performance of these tasks requires form the translators to know the subtleties of this topic and pay special attention to their duties.

Features to consider when translating medical texts into English

This field is characterized by medical terminology, acronyms and abbreviations. It is not uncommon to find poorly legible handwritten text in documents. Every year, new terms appear in the medical vocabulary, and previously used expressions and words acquire a new meaning.

A particularly significant number of terms appear to refer to new diagnostic techniques and methods of treating patients. Specialized fields of medicine - immunology, radiology, oncology and X-ray radiography - are actively expanding the vocabulary.

An English translator in the medical field should take into account the target audience when translating the text. For popular science literature, it is necessary to choose a lighter language transmission that will be understandable to a wide range of people. With the abundance of medical terms, the text will become difficult to understand, heavy. In addition, the translation, the target audience of which will be narrow specialists, on the contrary, should differ in the use of terminology and professional language.

Doubtful and difficult illnesses or cases are also an additional difficulty for the translator. Therefore, here the main emphasis is on attentiveness and conscientious attitude to their work. Translator must be able to translate vague or evasive medical expressions with maximum accuracy, without losing the semantic load, the internal logic of the presentation. If the knowledge is not sufficient for a particular case, then the best solution is to consult a doctor who is a specialist in this field, study other sources or read other publications.

Handwritten documents occupy a special place among the difficulties in translating medical records. Sometimes the translator or the patient has to contact the author-doctor at the specified phone number or e-mail to clarify the information. Therefore, if you plan to translate the document, it is better to ask the doctor in advance to write a medical certificate more legibly. In this case, the relevance of the professional skills of the translator comes to the fore. Only experienced specialists who have a certain amount of experience and knowledge in the field of pharmacy and medicine can cope with this task and at the same time provide the client with the most accurate result.



Another difficulty for the translator is the abbreviations in the original language and acronyms. In scientific works, a transcript is often given, and in texts for patients at this point, doctors do not pay attention. Sometimes the translator is faced with choosing the right option from several possible options. You have to follow the context or find a similar document with the given explanation of abbreviations and acronyms. After all, the translation of medical documentation into English should be carried out with maximum accuracy and unambiguity.

Why is it important to translate medical certificates into English as accurately as possible?

Among the other types of scientific and technical translation, medical translation has a special place, since it is directly related to human health and life. The assumption of a large number of inaccuracies will lead to the wrong diagnosis and the appointment of unreliable treatment, which can have a disastrous result for the patient, up to a fatal outcome.

Modern medicine at the level of many countries opens up more and more new opportunities every year, and patients and doctors need to ensure mutual information exchange, high-quality and accurate translations.

In many cases, the continuation of treatment at the place of residence after foreign clinics, with the exact observance of all recommendations, can be the key to a positive result. And the translation of accompanying documents and extracts, performed by a competent specialist with the appropriate qualification category and education, will be a guarantee of the continuation of the proper treatment process.

Professional translation of medical documents into/from English may be necessary for many people. It is used by manufacturers of equipment and medicines, patients traveling abroad for treatment, preparing statements, medical records, images or tests for clinics. But you can get a competent translation and be sure of its quality only by contacting the translation agency Jur Klee, where practice are skilfully combined with the competence of employees and high technological capabilities.

Why would contacting Jur Klee be the right decision?

Any translation that has a narrow industry specificity requires the services of professionals who are focused on working with this particular field, have an excellent command of terminology and are able to navigate in various semantic variants. Therefore, only a specialist in the field of medical translations can perform a high-quality translation of medical articles from/into English. This is the great advantage of contacting the company Jur Klee. You can use the services of a professional native speaker, rather than a novice specialist.

Order a callback
Send