ABSTRACT
The ability to spot and solve translation problems is at the core of a professional translator’s practice (5.1). Translation styles and assignments will determine how close the final text should be to the source text (5.2). Some of the most challenging problems to be solved are ambiguity (5.3), metaphors (5.4) and the expression of cultural perceptions (5.5). As the latter also colour medical texts, an operative definition of culture is suggested here. In the same line, as translations should adapt to the cultural conventions of the target community, both in format and content, appropriate translation procedures are explored. Then, we present a technique to help you improve your decision skills by verbalizing the problem-solving process you follow, so that you can explain your choices to your client in a professional way: Written Protocols (5.6). All this is directly related to the exploratory list of potential medical translation problems, strategies, procedures and solutions which you will find in Appendix 1. The final translation stage, writing, will be dealt with, albeit briefly (5.7), as this topic has been dealt with extensively in chapter 4. Finally, we have included tasks for you to continue practising (5.8) and references for you to carry out further reading (5.9).
