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0. Introduction
Logically, pragmatics and translation are closely intertwined. The translator uses
at least five different types of knowledge in his work (Arnold apud Moreno 1997):
(iv) Knowledge of the subject of the text, both general and specific.
2
(v) Knowledge of the cultural context, social conventions, and speech acts
of the speakers of both languages. This includes “knowledge of the
knowledge” of the speakers and the relation that they can have with each
element in the communicative context.
This last type of knowledge (which is the domain of pragmatics) is what permits the
translator to act as a real mediator and thus be sure that the target text has the same
effect on the receiver as the source text. To a certain extent, it assures the transmission
of the message, adjusting it to the communicative context and culture of the receiver.
[Not surprisingly, this type of knowledge is the most difficult to codify in MT.]
As has been mentioned, many studies in pragmatics are centered around the
communication of texts, both written and oral. However, I am going to speak of
something here that has not been studied as yet: the role that specialized language or
terminology plays in the activation of pragmatic meaning in scientific translation.
More specifically, we are going to examine, how it is related to the receivers’
3
understanding of the source text. (It should not be forgotten that one of the receivers
of the source text is also the translator.)
(ii) syntactic analysis: transformation of the string in structures that show the
way in which the words are related
Naturally this analysis does not happen in such a clear sequence. Our minds more or
less follow this process. However, they do not only go in one direction by continually
go back and forth to verify and adjust data. Although in order to speak of
comprehension, we would have to take all of the modules into account, we are going
to restrict ourselves to the last one, that of pragmatic analysis. This type of meaning
adjustment is carried out in function to context, which includes, among other
elements, the participants in the discourse.
In order to reconstruct the meaning of the source text with the means provided
by the target language, the translator must not only know the extent of his own
4
knowledge, but also what the other participants know (or are capable of knowing).
Perhaps this type of reconstruction is easier to study because it is in direct relation
with the result (the translation). However, the understanding of the source text is also
an important part of the translation process and also entails reconstruction, but in this
case, a reconstruction of conceptual systems.
()
Collect terms and concepts from global Identify terms occurring in isolated
field texts
Construct a concept system of systems Create starter term entries
Craft well-structured definitions Document available contexts
Create term entries Research greater context, within time
restrictions
Link entries to conceptual structure, If time and opportunity allow it,
reflecting the concept system(s) reconstruct the concept system based
on available fragments.
It is even advisable that translators themselves be the ones to carry out this work
because structuring concepts helps them to assimilate the thematic content of the text
as well as to dominate the relevant linguistic means to express that content, both in the
SL and the TL. Although translators often cannot dedicate a great deal of time to
terminology simply because there are deadlines to be met, the elaboration of
terminographic entries which systematize related concepts can only facilitate the
translation process.
In ideal conditions, terminology management is carried out by extracting a list of
terms taken from representative publications in the field in question, developing
systems of concepts, and thus establishing relations of correspondence between two or
more languages. Reality, however, is often quite different. In actual practice, the
analysis and organization of terminology is often motivated purely by the text that
must be translated, and this is done parallel to the translation process. The translator
takes the text as a model of the world, and uses it to elaborate a partial reconstruction
of the underlying conceptual systems within the text.
We are going to examine the translation process insomuch as the existing
relation between the translator and the source text. The two texts that I am going to
use to exemplify this relation belong to an inventory of texts on CancerNet that
provide information in English and Spanish for physicians as well as patients about
6
()
knowledge
linguistic form
intentions
expectations
The motivation of the sender is translated into an intention that in some way becomes
an explicit or implicit part of the meaning of the text. In any act of scientific
communication, the global intention is to inform. The effect of the message can be
limited to modifying, adding to, or confirming what the receiver already knows.
7
()
knowledge
(1) = sender
(2) < sender
linguistic form
(1)impersonal, technical,
(2) personal, basic
intentions
(1) (2) informative
expectations
(1) receiver = physician, not
directly affected by the
illness
(2) receiver = person directly
affected by the illness
8
In the first text, the sender and receiver (both health professionals) possess the same
level of knowledge. As shall be seen, this is evident in the extensive use of specialized
medical terms, the absence of definitions, and even of any explicative contexts.
In the second text, there is obviously not the same equality, since the sender is
a health professional and the receiver, a patient. In the text directed to patients, there
are no terminology problems because the sender takes into account the receiver’s lack
of expert knowledge. The difference in receiver is also evident in the fact that
everything is much more personal from the use of the second person to the detailed
description of the diagnostic tests, not only in reference to their effectiveness, but also
the extent to which they affect the well-being of the patient.
In the first text, this type of information is superfluous because the
physician/health professional is familiar with these tests and knows what they consist
of. The fact that they are more or less personally uncomfortable for the patient is not
relevant to the specialist, who is logically more concerned with the effectiveness of
the results.
Apart from the obvious difference in expert knowledge, another important
difference resides in the role that the illness plays in the communicative context. In the
first text, , the physician (receiver) wishes to obtain information so that he can make a
more informed decision about the treatments that he can give to his patients.
Obviously, he is not directly affected by the illness:
()
channel
sender receiver
message
(illness)
In the second text, the receiver is directly implicated because the topic of discourse is
the illness affecting him. This is a crucial factor in the structure and content of the
text.
() channel
sender receiver
9
message
(illness)
Throughout the text for patients, there is a very optimistic orientation, and the
virtually non-existent possibilities of long-term survival are never mentioned. The
author of the text even goes so far as to triumphantly announce the existence of
treatments.
() There are treatments for all patients with small-cell lung cancer.
()
surgery (taking out the cancer)
radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill
cancer cells)
chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells)
The use of predicates such as take out and kill make one think, at least subliminally,
that the three types of treatment are effective and really do what they are supposed to.
For example, something bad which is taken out, normally is not put back in again. In
the same way, our common sense tells us that something that is killed, disappears
more or less definitively. The text never specifies the extent to which this is actually
the case, or if in this context, there is any deviation from the default values.
This is in direct contrast with the text for physicians in which the truth is stated
very baldly:
() Without treatment, small cell carcinoma of the lung has the most aggressive
clinical course of any type of pulmonary tumor, with median survival from
diagnosis of only 2-4 months
10
() In small cell lung cancer, the majority of patients die of their tumor despite
state-of-the-art treatment.
In fact, these texts transmit information in such a radically different way that a patient
who happened to click on the wrong web page would probably think that he had
landed on another planet, or at the very least, would think that a totally different
illness was being described.
In the text for physicians, the patient is also mentioned very generally as an
anonymous collectivity. The patients are present, not as people that can experience
pain, but strictly in function with their possibilities of survival, percentage-wise. In
contrast, in the text for patients, the sender not only takes into account the receiver’s
level of knowledge, but also his position in the medical event, both in the
configuration and structure of the text. For example, instead of describing the
subtypes, and recent research results, it catalogues symptoms, diagnostic tests, and
treatment options, all of which directly affect the patient. The description of a
bronchoscopy is the following:
() If you have symptoms, your doctor may want to look into the bronchi
through a special instrument, called a bronchoscope, that slides down the
throat and into the bronchi. This test, called bronchoscopy, is usually done
in the hospital. Before the test, you will be given a local anesthetic (a drug
that makes you lose feeling for a short period of time) in the back of your
throat. You may feel some pressure, but you usually do not feel pain.
The fact that the patient in his role of affected entity is the main focus in the text is
evident in the predicates throughout the text and the propositional information they
encode, which points to the patient as possessor.
11
()
symptoms cough
chest pain
wheezing
shortness of breath
coughing up blood
hoarseness
swelling in face and neck
throat
bronchial examination
pressure pain
When this information is structured in the form of a conceptual network like the
above, it is easier to carry out the transfer of meaning from one language to another
through the substitution of conceptual designations in one language to those of
another. Even at this very basic level, it also permits us to see which conceptual
systems have been activated within the text.
12
()
síntomas tos
dolor en el tórax
silbido en la respiración
falta de aliento
tos con sangre
ronquera
hinchazón en la cara y el cuello
garganta
In the text for physicians, this type of basic information is not given, simply
because it is not necessary. However, in the case of the patient, it does respond to the
needs of the receiver who connects to CancerNet to get information, and thus modify
his knowledge, adding this information to that which he already has. As we shall see,
this means a modification of conceptual structures at different levels.
The translator as the first receiver and second sender in the translation process
should take these factors into account when he reformulates the meaning of the source
text in the TL, according to the evaluation standards of specialized communication:
economy, precision, and adequacy. The precision and adequacy can present a problem
because the translator must elaborate a TLT from the perspective of an expert
informing other experts, when most of the time he lacks expert knowledge.
determines the text’s domain, and also what gives it its technical content. The
selection of a terminology base with an appropriate structure plays an important role
in the selection of contents, as well as in the transmission of the message.
()
14
Relation Example
CAUSE-EFFECT smoking—malignant tumor
ACTIVITY-PLACE treatment—hospital
OBJECT-FORM cancer cell—oat cell
PROCESS-METHOD diagnostic test—bronchoscopy
METHOD-INSTRUMENT bronchoscopy—bronchoscope
()
Systems activated: texts for physicians Systems activated: text for patients
The systems activated are different in both texts. Even when the systems have the
same label, they are different insofar as the level of knowledgeencoded. For example,
in the text for physicians, system 1(phys) is activated by the term carcinoma, and
refers to the different types of cancer according to their body location. Further on in
the text, this hierarchy expands to more specific levels: it takes the classification of
malignant tumors in general as a starting point and works down to those in the lungs.
The following diagram shows the section of the hierarchy activated in the text for
physicians:
()
cancer
bones, muscles, cells forming the epidermis blood, bone, bone, lymphatic system
tissue on the skin, throat, lungs, marrow, spleen
and certain organs
text
()
cancer
The knowledge necessary for the comprehension of the text for patients is very basic
since the receiver is not an expert. However, in both texts, the process of
comprehension is similar because both activate knowledge structures through the use
of terms.
It is necessary to distinguish between the term as part of a specialized text and the
term as a terminographic entry. Dubuc and Lauriston (1997: 80) call this the
distinction between the term en vitro y en vivo.
[DRAE]
18
cáncer m. Pat. Tumor maligno, duro o ulceroso, que invade y destruye los tejidos orgánicos animales
y es casi siempre incurable. |2. n. p. m. Astron. Cuarto signo del Zodiaco, de 30º de amplitud, que el Sol
recorre aparentemente al comenzar el verano. | 3. Astron. Constelación zodiacal que en otro tiempo
debió de coincidir con el signo de este nombre, pero que actualmente, por resultado del movimiento
retrógrado de los puntos equinocciales, se halla delante del mismo signo y un poco hacia el Oriente. |
4. adj. Referido a personas, las nacidas bajo este signo del Zodiaco.
[VOX]
cáncer 1 m. Masa de tejido anormal que se forma en determinadas partes del organismo y que se
puede extender a otras partes del cuerpo hasta causar la muerte. 2. fig. Vicio o elemento que destruye
una sociedad.
Both types of definitions, each in its own way, is an attempt at representing the set of
basic characteristics, parameters, and knowledge relations. The entries in the
specialized dictionaries logically include more characteristics (composition, process,
result, types) because the knowledge base of the receiver is greater. For example, both
the English and Spanish specialized definitions refer to the process of uncontrolled
cellular growth, as well as the conceptual structure of types of cancer that includes
carcinoma and sarcoma. These definitions also presuppose a knowledge of the
distinction between malignant and benign tumor.
19
() [TRANSPARENCY]
MALIGNANT BENIGN
TUMOR TUMOR
encapsulation -- +
anaplasia + --
mitosis + --
invasive + --
metastasis + --
growth (-control) + --
differentiation -- +
Although both the terminographic and the lexicographic definitions have basically the
same genus (the nucleus of the definition) that signals the membership of the concept
in the domain of MALIGNANT TUMOR, the similarity ends there. The definitions of the
DRAE and VOX describe the possible meanings that the word can have in general
language. As can be observed, different lexicographers can have very different visions
of the meaning of the same word. The definition that appears in the Dictionary of the
Real Academia is undoubtedly the worst of the lot. It tells us that its author has a vivid
interest in Astronomy and has somewhat antique standards concerning whether we are
talking about two different words or different meanings of the same world. I am
referring to cancer has a disease, or cancer as a constellation/zodiac sign. Worse yet,
is the value judgement in the medical meaning, “casi siempre incurable”. In this
respect, the value judgements of the English dictionaries are a little less dramatic,
though still too negative for modern times.
This divergence of definitional criteria, which is so frequent in Lexicography, is
unacceptable in Terminology because ideally, a good terminographic definition only
refers to a single concept.
If we look at terms within the text, we find that contexts are important because
in the same way that terms are members of concept systems implicit in the text, they
also are also related to other units explicitated in the text:
()
Because of the frequent presence of occult metastatic DISEASE, chemotherapy is the
Regarding the relations of elements within the same sentence, treatment is the generic
term for chemotherapy, which at the same time presupposes the implicit presence of
treatments which are also possible choices.
()
TREATMENTS
liver stomach breast lung prostate brain bladder .... .... ....
In the same way that disease is the generic term for small cell lung cancer, its
specification occult metastatic implies another type of non-hierarchical conceptual
relation, that of process and result.
21
() Cancer as a process
pre-cancerous stage
(up to 30 years)
benign (non-cancerous)
tumor
malignant (cancerous)
Even in the structure of the text, systematic representations are important for the
transmission of the message. Table () compares the sections in both texts regarding
treatments. In the text for patients, this section is clearly explicative. Its structure is in
direct contrast to the corresponding section in the text for specialists.
()
Evidently the text for specialists does not begin with the same type of
presupposition because it would not be informative as physicians are already aware of
the existence of these treatments. The new information, which constitutes the starting
point of the message, is the existence of clinical texts that consist in the
administration/use of experimental drugs, new doses of standard ones and/or
combinations of drugs already in use, and finally, the combination of more than one
treatment in order to improve the patient’s possibility of survival. As a result, the texts
for physicians begins where the text for patients ends because in the text for patients,
there is scarcely any mention of clinical tests, which are more advanced variations of
the basic treatments described. In the same way, the configuration of the specialist text
reflects the fact that there is no need to signal the change of topic so clearly.
In the translation, such cognitive structures of knowledge are important. A good
translator is capable of going beyond syntactic structures, which are specific of each
language, and of acquiring a multi-dimensional version of the text. This implies the
capacity to process textual information from various perspectives due to the double
role that the translator plays in the act of communication.
be familiar with these different text frames. (The texts that I am going to give as an
example are both medical texts with different levels of specialization.)
These texts are divided into the following sections:
()
PHYSICIANS PATIENTS
Both texts have similar superstructures, which differ in sections 1, 2 and 3. In the text
for patients, there is no section which corresponds to cellular classification. It is also
significant that in section 1, the title has been changed to description instead of
prognosis, given that the content of this section is too depressing to be included. In
section 3, the knowledge of the receivers is taken into account, and explanation has
been substituted for information. The basic differences between the two texts in
English and Spanish are due to the difference in the ideal reader. Although in both
cases, the basic function is to inform (explaining signifies informing, but at a more
elementary level), this function is always in consonance with two distinct
communicative contexts.
As we have already seen, understanding the text is not only a matter of
understanding the words in it, but also of understanding the various types of
conceptual structures that it makes reference to. In the same way that texts have a
frame that helps the receiver to classify them as one type of text or another, there is
also a kind propositional macrostructure that at the same time designates a pattern of
knowledge of the world. In this case, I am referring to the frame of the medical event
which both texts activate through their terms. This type of event would have the
following canonical schema:
24
()
INSTRUMENT
The terms in each text give us the key for and helps the reader to understand the type
of perspective that each represents. The codification of medical terminology activates
various types of representational schemas, all of which can be derived from the
description of the same micro-cosmos. Within the subdomain of oncology, concepts
can be subdivided into the following groups: cosmos.
1. SYMPTOMS
2. SURGICAL PROCEDURES
3. DRUGS
4. SIDE EFFECTS
5. RISK FACTORS
6. DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
7. BODY PARTS
8. TUMORS
9. TREATMENTS
Although this type of classification is used in Oncology, it is also fits perfectly into the
frame of the general medical event.
5. Conclusion
Although translations generally reflect the content of the source text, perhaps one of
the most frequent problems is when the translator is too influenced by the form.
Copying form is not a good idea even when the languages come from similar cultural
contexts. It is true that it is more comfortable to proceed with the automatic pilot, but
this way the translator risks translating without truly understanding the text. Even in
fairly simple texts, important mistakes can occur. For example, in the following text
extract, it is obvious that the translator has made exactly such a mistake.
()
Treatment for small cell lung cancer El tratamiento para cáncer de pulmón de
depends on the stage of the disease, células pequeñas dependerá de la etapa de la
your age, and your overall condition. enfermedad, su edad y estado de salud en
You may receive treatment that is general. Usted podría recibir un tratamiento
considered standard based on its considerado estándar que se basa en su
effectiveness in a number of patients efectividad en varios pacientes en estudios
in past studies, or you may choose to anteriores o usted podría optar por formar
go into a clinical trial. Most patients parte de una prueba clínica. No todos los
are not cured with standard pacientes se curan con terapia estándar y
therapy and some standard algunos tratamientos estándar podrían
treatments may have more side tener más efectos secundarios de los
effects than are desired. For these deseados. Por estas razones, las pruebas
reasons, clinical trials are designed clínicas están diseñadas para encontrar
to find better ways to treat cancer mejores maneras de tratar a los pacientes
patients and are based on the most con cáncer y se basan en la información más
26
Existen tratamientos para todos los pacientes con cáncer de pulmón de En cáncer de pulmón de células
células pequeñas. Se emplean tres clases de tratamiento: pequeñas, la mayoría de los pacientes
muere de su tumor a pesar de recibir los
(i) cirugía (extracción del cáncer) tratamientos más adelantados. La
(ii) radioterapia (uso de rayos X de alta energía u otros rayos de alta mayoría de las mejoras en supervivencia
energía para eliminar células cancerosas) en cáncer de pulmón de células
(iii) quimioterapia (uso de medicamentos para eliminar las células pequeñas se atribuye a las pruebas
cancerosas). clínicas que han intentado perfeccionar
la mejor terapia disponible y aceptada.
La quimioterapia es el tratamiento más común para todas las etapas de El ingreso de estos pacientes en dichos
cáncer de pulmón de células pequeñas. La quimioterapia puede tomarse estudios es sumamente deseable.
en forma oral o puede administrarse en el cuerpo con un aguja en una
vena o músculo. La quimioterapia se considera un tratamiento sistémico Las áreas de evaluación clínica activa en
ya que el medicamento se introduce al torrente sanguíneo, viaja a través cáncer de pulmón de células pequeñas
del cuerpo y puede eliminar las células cancerosas fuera de los incluyen nuevos regímenes de fármacos
pulmones, incluyendo las células cancerosas que se han diseminado al compuestos de agentes estándar y
cerebro. nuevos, variación de las dosis de los
fármacos en los regímenes actuales y el
La radioterapia consiste en el uso de rayos X de alta energía u otros estudio de los posibles beneficios que se
rayos de alta energía para eliminar células cancerosas y reducir tumores. pueden lograr agregando a
La radioterapia para el cáncer de pulmón de células pequeñas por lo quimioterapia de combinación la
general proviene de una máquina fuera del cuerpo (radioterapia de haz resección quirúrgica del tumor
externo). Puede emplearse para eliminar las células cancerosas en los primario o radioterapia al tórax y a
pulmones o en otras partes del cuerpo donde el cáncer se haya otros sitios. Existe controversia en
diseminado. La radioterapia también se puede emplear para prevenir el cuanto a si el aumentar las tasas de
crecimiento de cáncer en el cerebro. Este procedimiento se llama dosificación de los regímenes de
radioterapia craneal profiláctica (PCI). Debido a que PCI puede afectar vanguardia comúnmente usados arriba
las funciones del cerebro, el médico le ayudará a decidir sobre esta clase de los niveles que producen una
de radioterapia. La radioterapia puede emplearse sola o con cirugía y/o modesta cantidad de toxicidad producirá
quimioterapia. una mejor supervivencia. Los estudios
retrospectivos están llenos de
Puede emplearse cirugía si el cáncer se encuentra solamente en un dificultades metodológicas y muestran
pulmón y en los ganglios linfáticos cercanos. Debido a que este tipo de resultados inconsistentes.[1] Esta
cáncer de pulmón generalmente no se encuentra en un pulmón situación se establece mejor en pruebas
solamente, la cirugía sola no se usa a menudo. Ocasionalmente, la clínicas aleatorias. Un estudio aleatorio
cirugía puede usarse para ayudar a determinar exactamente que tipo de prospectivo de la enfermedad en etapa
cáncer de pulmón tiene usted. Si en definitiva a Ud. se le somete a una extensa no sugiere ninguna ventaja en
cirugía, el médico puede extraer el cáncer usando alguna de las aumentar las dosis estándar de etopósido
siguientes operaciones: más cisplatino.[2] Ni se ha mostrado
claramente que la quimioterapia con la
Resección por cuña en la que se extrae sólo una parte pequeña del intensidad empleada en regímenes de
pulmón. trasplante autólogo de médula ósea
Lobectomía en la que se extrae una sección completa (lóbulo) del mejore la supervivencia en pacientes
pulmón. con cáncer de pulmón de células
Neumonectomía en la que se extrae todo el pulmón. pequeñas.[3,4]
How small cell lung cancer is treated In small cell lung cancer, the majority of
patients die of their tumor despite state-of-
There are treatments for all patients with small cell lung cancer. Three kinds of the-art treatment. Most of the improvements
treatment are used: in survival in small cell lung cancer are
attributable to clinical trials which have
(i) surgery (taking out the cancer) attempted to improve upon the best
(ii) radiation therapy (using high-dose x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill available, accepted therapy. Patient entry
cancer cells) into such studies is highly desirable.
(iii) chemotherapy (using drugs to kill cancer cells).
Areas of active clinical evaluation in small
Chemotherapy is the most common treatment for all stages of small cell lung cell lung cancer include new drug regimens
cancer. Chemotherapy may be taken by pill, or it may be put into the body by a composed of standard and new agents,
needle in the vein or muscle. Chemotherapy is called a systemic treatment variation of drug doses in current regimens,
because the drug enters the bloodstream, travels through the body, and can kill and study of the possible benefits of adding
cancer cells outside the lungs, including cancer cells that have spread to the surgical resection of the primary tumor or
brain. radiotherapy to the chest and other sites to
combination chemotherapy. Controversy
Radiation therapy uses x-rays or other high-energy rays to kill cancer cells andexists over the issue of whether increasing
shrink tumors. Radiation therapy for small cell lung cancer usually comes from athe dose rate of commonly used front-line
machine outside the body (external beam radiation therapy). It may be used to killregimens above levels that produce modest
cancer cells in the lungs or in other parts of the body where the cancer has spread.toxicity will produce improved survival.
Radiation therapy may also be used to prevent the cancer from growing in the brain.Retrospective studies are plagued by
This is called prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI). Because PCI may affect yourmethodologic difficulties and show
brain functions, your doctor will help you decide whether to have this kind ofinconsistent results.[1] The issue is best
radiation therapy. Radiation therapy can be used alone or in addition to surgerysettled by randomized trials. A prospective
and/or chemotherapy. randomized study in extensive stage disease
does not suggest any advantage to increasing
Surgery may be used if the cancer is found only in one lung and in nearby the standard doses of etoposide plus
lymph nodes. Because this type of lung cancer is usually not found in only one cisplatin.[2] Even chemotherapy of the
lung, surgery alone is not often used. Occasionally, surgery may be used to help intensity used in autologous bone marrow
determine exactly which type of lung cancer you have. If you do have surgery, transplant regimens has not clearly been
your doctor may take out the cancer in one of the following operations: shown to improve survival in patients with
small cell lung cancer.[3,4]
Wedge resection removes only a small part of the lung.
Lobectomy removes an entire section (lobe) of the lung.
Pneumonectomy removes the entire lung.
During surgery, your doctor will also take out lymph nodes to see if they contain
cancer.