|Dear Colleagues,
I do think we have to be careful here in this e-mail correspondence in just
assuming that translation is 'just about words' - although that may be the
self-evident way in which the issue is normally seen. Many studies on the
cross-cultural translation of research instruments for example demonstrate
that underlying sets of cross-cultural assumptions, including the context
within which language is used is crucial to understanding meaning. We must
also just be a bit cautious about assuming that we are talking about bad
language, we may just be talking about different languages - frustrating
though that may be when there are hopes for an easy way of producing a
universally understood language of 'evidence based health care'. There is a
lot of prior experience (even evidence) here to draw on which would help in
assessing the nature of the problem and what might be done about it.
Ian Robinson
Ian Robinson
Director
Centre for the Study of Health
Brunel University, West London
Uxbridge
Middlesex UB8 3PH
U.K.
Tel: +44 (0)1895-203306
Fax: +44 (0)1895-203078
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