In the US, patients with Limited English proficiency have a right to receive equal healthcare. A few legal sources protect this right, including an executive order from Bill Clinton about Title VI in 2000, as well as the findings for Lau v. Nicols in 1974. Even with a legally-protected right, a shocking number of LEP patients are forced to go without interpreting or translation services when they’re at the hospital or doctor’s office. (This is especially egregious considering how many great medical translation and interpretation classes are out there.) Many times, going without a medical interpreting can be dangerous, if not life-threatening. Having a certified medical interpreter ensures that the misunderstandings and mispronunciations (which could potentially be dangerous!) are easily cleared up. When they’re caught early, these miscommunications aren’t just nonthreatening– they can be downright funny. Read on for some examples.
Medical Interpreting and ‘Peanut Butter Balls’
Some words or phrases are notorious for being mispronounced or totally misunderstood by patients. This often happens for a few reasons. Firstly, gaps in understanding can come because a patient may be in too much pain or emotional duress (or both) to think and communicate clearly. It’s easy to see this happening when a patient is trying to speak in their second (or third, etc) language. A second reason is that patients may have little or no exposure to Western medical knowledge. Without this knowledge, it’s natural that LEP patients completely make up a term or mispronounce it. Luckily, it’s easy to rectify any issues from these two factors when somebody provides medical consecutive interpreting or simultaneous interpreting services because they’ been trained in medical terminology. Here are a few examples that come up often in medical interpreting.
- A patient may talk about their stomach, or abdominal pain as ‘abominable pain.’
- Medical professionals find that LEP patients sometimes refer to the Chicken Pox as ‘Chicken Pops.’ (Which sounds like a delicious summer treat!)
- Sick LEP patients might protest they don’t spend any time at all with dogs when they’re diagnosed with ‘Woofing Cough.’
- Good interpreters and translators help distinguish between their patient’s eye issues, i.e. ‘cataracts,’ and their cars, or ‘Cadillacs.’
- OBGYN’s may need interpreters to ensure patients don’t think they’ve entered ‘many paws,’ but menopause.
- Aspirin is sometimes called ‘Assburn’ by an LEP patient.
- Pregnant patients might wonder if their OBGYN’s think they’re especially happy when they’re give birth. To some LEP patients, ‘dilated’ sounds like ‘delighted.’
- Speaking of treats patients may need interpreting to understand that they’re not about to receive ‘peanut butter balls.’ They’ll actually get a dose of phenobarbital.
About Language Connections:
Language Connections is one of the top language service companies in the US. Over the last 30 years, we’ve focused on providing the best business translation services, interpreting services, as well as interpreter training and customized language training programs. In addition to top-tier corporate language training, we offer certified corporate interpreters and professional business translation services in 200+ languages. Our network includes linguists with backgrounds in all major industries. They’re ready to meet your needs, whether they’re for technical translation services, legal translation, government translation services, international development translation services, education translation services, life sciences translation, or something else. Reach out to us today for a free quote on our cost-efficient and timely translation services, interpreters, or other linguistic services.
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Boston, MA 02135
Phone: +1-617-731-3510
Email: service@languageconnections.com
