Sources of information
Information on sources of information can be found in the Editorial Guide on the following webpages:
In addition, NRCs should create and maintain a document that specifies which sources are authoritative and should accompany the translation process so that all translators involved have a common basis for determining which sources are acceptable. Translators and other professionals involved in the translation process should also have access to a range of reliable and recognised sources of information in their own language. Both external and internal sources can be used. For example, the Dutch NRC uses the following external sources:
Pinkhof Geneeskundig woordenboek (Pinkhof medical dictionary)
the same thesauri for organisms as given by SNOMED International in the Editorial Guide
The following internal sources are used:
a self-created Java API that suggests possible translations based on the concept definition (only for concepts that meet certain criteria, e.g. are fully defined)
a spell checker that incorporates the Pinkhof Geneeskundig woordenboek (Pinkhof medical dictionary)
indexed comments logged for each previous translation
For reasons of lack of quality, the Dutch translation of ICD-10 or ICPC is deliberately not used.
In addition to sources in the local language, English sources can also be useful in determining the exact nature and meaning of a term.
Wherever possible, selected internal working documents, textbooks, reference works, etc. should be directly accessible in electronic form for anyone to find information on a particular concept by means of text examples, definitions or expressions containing a particular word or phrase.
Machine translation systems such as Google Translate and DeepL or online translation tools such as eTranslation () can be a potential help, but should be used with caution. Currently, the accuracy of translation is not yet sufficient to translate clinical content with the exactness required from a clinical risk perspective. However, MT can be helpful in providing an initial translation that can then be reviewed; or it can be limited to template concepts.
In the following sections relevant existing electronic information sources and internet references (Section ) are listed, followed by an overview of sources that can be created by means of corpus tools or automated suggestions (Section ). It is advisable to check the validity and quality of each source, especially the national editions of international sources.
Section 4.4.2.1 Organism names (bacteria, viruses, plants, animals, etc.) already contains a list of specific resources for bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.. The following additional sources may also be helpful:
Ready access to already approved, translated terms
It should be possible for translators and other persons involved in the translation process to refer to previously approved terms containing similar constructions and/or word combinations.
Online dictionaries and databases
Dictionnaire médical de l'Académie de Médecine – version 2022 ()
Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary (10de edition). (2020). Oxford University Press. ()
IATE (Interactive Terminology for Europe) ()
National corpora
Internal working documents such as:
national guidelines for translation
overview of the principle decisions of the Editorial Board or a similar competent body
lists of examples of translated terms and/or corrected terms representing specific semantic or morphosyntactic features
Textbooks on the different areas of clinical practice
Reference files or books such as:
national versions of medical dictionaries or lexicons
national version of the chemistry nomenclature
national version of Nomina Anatomica, Terminologia Anatomica or other nomenclatures
Explorative resources
These sources should be used with care and serve as inspiration, but not as an authoritative source as they contain, for example, synonyms that are not entirely interchangeable or outdated terminology and the like. Examples are:
Medical publications
electronic versions of articles from renowned national medical journals (these can be valuable references for the use of specific terms and abbreviations of foreign and local origin. It should be noted, however, that the expressions chosen in these journals may not always be linguistically correct or consistent if they are foreign language expressions. One should also consider the publication date, as terminology may have changed following new discoveries or techniques).
clinical guidelines and quality assessment documents
Recommended internet references
A list of valid internet references with useful information should also be established. The recommended resources can be found in the Editorial Guide (see list of webpages at the beginning of chapter 5). Some relevant taxonomies or nomenclatures in English may be available in the target language.
Online tools
Automated suggestions
a self-created Java API that suggests possible translations based on the concept definition (only for concepts that meet certain criteria, e.g. are fully defined)
spell checkers that incorporate national medical dictionaries
indexed comments logged for each previous translation in an online translation environment