Introduction to Healthcare for Chinese-speaking Interpreters

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Introduction to
Healthcare for
Chinese-speaking
Interpreters and
Translators

Ineke H.M. Crezee

Auckland University of Technology

Eva N.S. Ng
The University of Hong Kong

John Benjamins Publishing Company

Amsterdam / Philadelphia
 TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
8

the American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence

of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ansi z39.48-1984.

doi 10.1075/z.202
Cataloging-in-Publication Data available from Library of Congress:
lccn 2016017987 (print) / 2016022097 (e-book)
isbn 978 90 272 1235 1 (Hb) / isbn 978 90 272 1236 8 (Pb)
isbn 978 90 272 6684 2 (e-book)

© 2016 – John Benjamins B.V.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other
means, without written permission from the publisher.
John Benjamins Publishing Co. · https://benjamins.com
 Table of contents

Table of illustrations xv

List of tables xvii

Authors’ notes xix

Acknowledgments xxiii

Foreword xxv

Foreword to this edition xxvii

Part I. Interpreting

chapter 1
Introduction 3
1. How to use this book 3
2. Development of the interpreting profession 4
3. The demand for interpreters around the world 4
4. Health interpreting studies 6
5. Teaching healthcare interpreting 7

chapter 2
Interpreting in healthcare settings 11
1. Interpreting in healthcare settings 11
2. Different healthcare systems 13
3. Accuracy 14
4. Understanding common responses to bad news 17
5. Culture broker 18
6. Interpreter codes of ethics 19
7. Duty of care 21
8. Triangle of communication 21
9. Note-taking 22
10. Terminology 22
vi Introduction to Healthcare for Chinese-speaking Interpreters and Translators

chapter 3
A word about culture 25
1. Culture 25
2. Cultural influence on spoken communication 25
3. Implications for interpreting 28
4. Culture and health 29
5. Cultural beliefs pertaining to health and their implications for
the interpreter 32
5.1 Sickness and disease (or medical condition) 33
5.2 Patient behavior 34
5.3 Cultural attitudes towards pain 34
5.4 Causes of sickness 34
5.5 Diets in sickness and health 35
5.6 Taboos 36
5.7 The role of the interpreter as a culture broker 36

chapter 4
Medical terminology 39
1. Introduction 39
2. History of medical terminology in the Western world 39
3. Chinese medicine and medical terminology 40
4. Spelling and pronunciation 41
5. Latin and Greek elements in medical terms 41
5.1 Common combinations 42
5.2 Common word roots 42
5.3 Common procedure nouns and verbs 42
5.4 Common prefixes 43
5.5 Suffixes 46

Part II. Interpreting in healthcare settings

chapter 5
Primary care physicians and General Practitioners 51
1. Primary care providers 51
2. History taking 53
3. Pain 53
4. New patients 54
5. Physical examination 57
6. Tests or diagnostic studies 58
 Table of contents vii

7. Immunization schedule 59
8. Health education 59
9. Referrals 59
10. Some notes for interpreters and translators 60

chapter 6
Specialty clinics and Outpatient Clinics 63
1. Specialty clinics 63
2. Staff at specialty clinics 65
3. Procedure at specialty clinics 65
4. Some notes for interpreters and translators 66

chapter 7
Hospitals 67
1. The isolation of the sick 67
2. The biomedical approach 68
3. The patient-oriented approach 68
4. Hospital staff 69
5. Nursing staff 69
6. Medical staff 70
7. Specialists 71
8. Other hospital staff 71
9. Other healthcare staff 72
10. Hospital procedures 73
11. Admissions 73
11.1 Types – emergency and scheduled 73
12. Admission process 74
13. Most important rooms (from the patient’s perspective) 74
14. Discharge 75
15. Rehabilitation 75
16. Health professionals 76
17. Physical therapy 76
18. Occupational therapy 77
19. Some notes for interpreters and translators 77
20. English-Chinese glossary 78

chapter 8
Emergency Departments or ERs 81
1. Emergency Department staff 82
2. Emergency Department areas 83
viii Introduction to Healthcare for Chinese-speaking Interpreters and Translators

3. Emergency Department admission 84

4. Some common reasons for admission to ED 84
4.1 Common medical problems 84
4.2 Trauma 93
4.3 Surgical problems 96
5. English-Chinese glossary 98

chapter 9
Informed consent 103
1. Issues which might arise for interpreters during the informed
consent process 104

chapter 10
Pre-operative and post-operative procedures 107
1. Pre- and post-operative procedures 107
2. English-Chinese glossary 115

chapter 11
Intensive care 117
1. Staff 121
2. Some notes for interpreters and translators 121
3. English–Chinese glossary 122

chapter 12
Obstetrics 125
1. Prenatal care 125
2. Follow-up visits 127
3. Term of pregnancy 128
4. Labor and childbirth 129
5. Common terminology 130
6. Postnatal checks 131
7. Postnatal care 132
8. English-Chinese glossary 133

chapter 13
Child health 137
1. Neonatal Care 137
1.1 Levels of Care 137
1.2 Asphyxia 138
1.3 Premature delivery 139
 Table of contents ix

1.4 Problems of prematurity 140

1.5 Admission process 144
1.6 Some common diagnostic tests 145
2. Pediatrics 146
2.1 Child health professionals 146
2.2 Immunization 147
2.3 Possible childhood health problems 147
3. English-Chinese glossary 158

chapter 14
Speech-language therapy 165
1. Common terminology 165
2. Communication disorders 166
3. Assessment 166
4. Therapy 167
5. Some notes for interpreters and translators 167
6. English-Chinese glossary 169

chapter 15
Mental health 171
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 172
2. Briefing and debriefing 172
3. Behaviors and their implications for the interpreter 173
4. Mental health professionals 174
5. Some common therapeutic approaches 174
6. Common reasons for counseling 175
7. Some commonly used pharmaceutical drugs 175
8. Mental illness 175
9. Some mental health disorders 176
10. English-Chinese glossary 180

chapter 16
Oncology 183
1. Cancer 183
2. Diagnosis 184
3. Typing and staging 185
4. Treatment 186
5. Common forms of cancer 187
6. Some notes for interpreters and translators 192
7. English-Chinese glossary 193
x Introduction to Healthcare for Chinese-speaking Interpreters and Translators

Part III. Healthcare specialties

chapter 17
Neurology: Nerves and the nervous system 199
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 199
2. Anatomy of the CNS 200
2.1 The brain 200
2.2 The spinal cord 200
3. Function of the CNS 201
4. Health professionals 202
5. Disorders of the nervous system 202
6. Some common medications 209
7. Some common tests 210
8. English-Chinese glossary 210

chapter 18
Cardiology: Heart and the circulatory system 215
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 215
2. Anatomy of the heart 216
3. Function of the heart 217
4. Health professionals 219
5. Disorders of the heart 219
6. Some common disorders of the heart 220
7. Some common medications 225
8. Some common tests 226
9. English-Chinese glossary 228

chapter 19
Pulmonology: The respiratory system 233
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 233
2. Other important terms 234
3. Anatomy of the respiratory system 234
4. Function of the respiratory system 234
5. Health professionals 236
6. Disorders of the respiratory system 236
7. Some common medications 243
8. Some common diagnostic tests 243
9. English-Chinese glossary 244
 Table of contents xi

chapter 20
Hematology: Blood and blood disorders 249
1. Blood 249
1.1 Terms with Latin and Greek roots 249
1.2 Anatomy of blood 250
1.3 Function of blood 250
1.4 Health professionals 251
1.5 Disorders of the blood 251
1.6 Some common medications 254
1.7 Some common diagnostic tests 254
2. Blood vessels 255
2.1 Terms with Latin and Greek roots 255
2.2 Anatomy of blood vessels 256
2.3 A word about cholesterol 256
2.4 Disorders of the blood vessels 256
3. English-Chinese glossary 259

chapter 21
Orthopedics: The skeletal system 263
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 263
2. Anatomy of the skeletal system 265
2.1 Head 265
2.2 Torso 265
2.3 Arms 265
2.4 Legs 265
3. Function of the bones 266
4. Health professionals 266
5. Disorders of the bones and joints 266
6. English-Chinese glossary 270

chapter 22
Muscles and the motor system 273
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 273
2. General terminology in relation to muscles 274
3. Anatomy of the muscles 275
4. Function of the muscles 275
5. Health professionals 275
6. Disorders of the motor system 275
7. Disorders of the muscles 277
xii Introduction to Healthcare for Chinese-speaking Interpreters and Translators

8. Common treatment methods for muscle injuries 278

9. English-Chinese glossary 279

chapter 23
The sensory system 281
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 281
2. The eye 282
3. Anatomy of the eye 282
4. Different parts of the eye 283
5. Health professionals 283
6. Disorders of the eye 283
7. The ears 286
8. Anatomy of the ear 286
9. Health professionals 287
10. Conditions of the ear and balance organ 288
11. Medications (for eyes and ears) 289
12. Touch 289
13. Disorders of touch 290
14. English-Chinese glossary 290

chapter 24
Immunology: The immune and lymphatic systems 295
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 295
2. Anatomy of the immune and lymphatic systems 297
3. Lymphatic organs 297
4. Function of the immune and lymphatic systems 298
5. Health professionals 298
6. Disorders of the immune and lymphatic systems 298
7. English-Chinese glossary 302

chapter 25
Endocrinology: The endocrine system 305
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 305
2. Overview of the endocrine system 306
3. Health professionals 307
4. Disorders of the endocrine system 308
5. Pituitary gland 308
6. Thyroid gland 309
7. Parathyroid gland 310
8. Adrenal glands 310
9. Pancreas 311
 Table of contents xiii

10. The glycemic index (GI) 313

11. English-Chinese glossary 314

chapter 26
Gastroenterology: The digestive system 317
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 317
2. Anatomy and function of the digestive system 318
3. Peritoneum 321
4. Health professionals 321
5. Disorders of the digestive system 322
6. Some common medications 327
7. Some common diagnostic tests 327
8. Additional comments 327
9. English-Chinese glossary 329

chapter 27
Urology and nephrology: The urinary system 333
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 333
2. Anatomy of the urinary system 334
3. The kidneys 334
4. The urinary tract 335
5. Function of the urinary system 336
6. Health professionals 336
7. Disorders of the urinary system 336
8. Some common medications 340
9. English-Chinese glossary 340

chapter 28
Urology and gynecology: The reproductive systems 343
1. Terms with Latin and Greek roots 343
2. Male and female reproductive systems 343
2.1 Anatomy of the male reproductive system 343
2.2 Disorders of the male reproductive system 344
2.3 Health professionals 346
2.4 Anatomy of the female reproductive system 346
2.5 Health professionals 347
2.6 Disorders of the female reproductive system 348
3. Fertility and infertility 349
3.1 Infertility 349
3.2 Men 350
3.3 Women 350
xiv Introduction to Healthcare for Chinese-speaking Interpreters and Translators

3.4 Artificial reproduction 351

3.5 Contraception 352
4. Pregnancy 354
4.1 Terms with Latin and Greek roots 354
4.2 Health professionals 355
4.3 Complications of pregnancy 355
4.4 Some common diagnostic tests 364
5. Sexual health 364
5.1 Most common STDs 365
6. English-Chinese glossary 366

Appendix 371

References 375

Useful websites 391

Index 393
 Table of illustrations

Figure 11.1 In the Intensive Care Unit 118

Figure 11.2 Pulse oximeter 120
Figure 14.1 Speech language therapy 167
Figure 17.1 Spinal nerves 201
Figure 17.2 Myelin sheath 206
Figure 17.3 Parkinson’s disease schematic 207
Figure 18.1 Schematic representation of the heart 217
Figure 18.2 Schematic representation of the heart valves 218
Figure 18.3 Heart and coronary arteries 219
Figure 18.4 Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) 224
Figure 18.5 Stent in coronary artery 224
Figure 19.1 Cross-section of the airways 234
Figure 19.2 Alveoli and gas exchange close-up 235
Figure 19.3 Some forms of asthma medication 237
Figure 19.4 Bronchi during an asthma attack 238
Figure 19.5 Nebulizer spray 239
Figure 19.6 Swelling and inflammation of the alveoli 242
Figure 20.1 Varicose veins 258
Figure 21.1 Skeleton front and back view 264
Figure 22.1 Schematic overview of the motor system 273
Figure 23.1 Cross-section of the eye 282
Figure 23.2 Schematic representation of glaucoma 284
Figure 23.3 Cross-section of the ear 287
Figure 24.1 Lymph circulation system 296
Figure 25.1 Endocrine system 307
Figure 25.2 Insulin resistance 312
Figure 26.1 Digestive system 318
Figure 26.2 Pyloric stenosis and projectile vomiting 320
Figure 26.3 Villi in the lining of the bowel 320
Figure 26.4 Gallstones 324
Figure 26.5 Stoma pouches and stoma sites 328
Figure 27.1 Nephron and glomerulus in the kidney 334
Figure 27.2 Position of kidneys in the body 335
Figure 27.3 Hemodialysis 338
Figure 27.4 CAPD 338
Figure 28.1 Male reproductive system 344
xvi Introduction to Healthcare for Chinese-speaking Interpreters and Translators

Figure 28.2 Enlarged prostate 345

Figure 28.3 Female reproductive system 347
Figure 28.4 Pregnant woman at 40 weeks (baby in head down position) 359
Figure 28.5 Pregnant woman at 40 weeks (baby in breech birth position) 360
Figure 28.6 Cardiotocography 362
 List of tables

Table 4.1 Some examples of combining form in medical terminology 42

Table 4.2 Common nouns denoting body parts 43
Table 4.3 Nouns and verbs describing conditions or procedures 44
Table 4.4 Prefixes relating to position in the body 44
Table 4.5 Prefixes relating to size, state, number or color 45
Table 4.6 Some common roots denoting illness – usually appearing in word final
position 46
Table 20.1 Recommended cholesterol levels 256
Table 26.1 The GI Tract 319
Table 26.2 The many functions of the liver 321
 Authors’ notes

This book is based on the previous, more internationally oriented (2013) version and
is intended mainly for interpreters working between the English and Chinese lan-
guages. English-Chinese glossaries have been added to chapters and terminology has
been localized to align with usage in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China. The
chapter on medical terminology touches on traditional Chinese medical terms, which
are very easy to understand for native speakers of Chinese. This chapter will explain
the Latin and Greek roots which make up the majority of medical terms in English,
since even native speakers of English may find these difficult to understand.
First and foremost, this book is meant to be a guide for all those who are working
or wishing to work as interpreters or translators in healthcare settings but who have
not had any formal training as health professionals. Healthcare interpreter trainers
may also find this book useful as a course text for programs aimed at preparing inter-
preters for work in the healthcare setting. There is no point in simply learning medi-
cal terminology lists or surfing the internet without a good basic ­understanding of
health and healthcare. The workings of the body are very complicated but will be
explained only in very broad terms in relevant chapters, so as to enable the inter-
preter to have a good general understanding of what doctors and other health pro-
fessionals are talking about when they explain a patient’s condition to the patient or
the patient’s family. This publication is intended to give healthcare interpreters who
do not have a professional healthcare background some very basic insights into the
health system, as well as anatomy, physiology and common disorders. The field of
medicine is ever evolving: researchers keep unpeeling more and more layers of previ-
ously unknown details, however the aim of this book is, first and foremost, to enable
healthcare interpreters to do their job with a better knowledge of the subject area.
Secondly, the book aims to provide interpreters with a good basis for ongoing self-
and professional development. For this reason, language has been kept fairly plain
throughout the book and information has been restricted to main points, to avoid
losing readers in a jungle of details.
The blueprint for this book was based on feedback from students in one of the
lead author’s healthcare interpreting courses. Students said they wanted a three-part
book that would firstly give a brief introduction to health interpreting, followed by
an overview of various settings and finishing with a number of chapters dedicated
to medical specialties. They wanted the overview of the various settings to incorpo-
rate questions commonly asked by health professionals. Students requested that the
final part of the book be organized by medical specialty. Students asked that each
chapter in the final part be named by specialty (e.g. Orthopedics) and organized so
xx Introduction to Healthcare for Chinese-speaking Interpreters and Translators

as to optimize preparation for assignments. Accordingly, each chapter in Part III of

this book will start with an overview of anatomy and physiology of a particular body
system. This will be followed by a brief look at the Latin and Greek roots which are
the building blocks of much of the terminology to do with particular body systems.
Healthcare interpreters will be able to go to relevant chapters prior to an interpreting
assignment to re-familiarize themselves with anatomy, physiology, Latin and Greek
roots and most common conditions, tests and treatment options.
This work will be equally useful to medical translators, since both interpreters
and translators need to be thoroughly familiar with a setting in order to ‘interpret’ it.
Translators working on medical reports will be able to find commonly used abbrevia-
tions. Translators who have been asked to translate health information material into
community languages will be able to gain a good basic overview of related background
information. Court interpreters, who often have to interpret evidence of medical doc-
tors testifying as expert witnesses or to sight-translate medical reports in court cases
such as wounding or murder, will find this book extremely useful as well.
This book will not discuss general aspects of interpreting or translation in great
detail. Interested readers are referred to the excellent publications by Scimone & Ginori
(1995); Pöchhacker & Shlesinger (2007); Gile (1995); Gentile, Ozolins and Vasalikakos
(1996), and Hale (2004, 2007) for thorough studies on the main issues in community
and legal interpreting and the need for pre-service training (Hale 2007). Pöchhacker &
Shlesinger (2007) address discourse in healthcare interpreting, while issues in healthcare
interpreting settings across countries are discussed in Valero-Garcés & Martin (2008).
Care has been taken to provide information which may prove useful to inter-
preters working between the English and Chinese languages in a range of countries.
Those interpreting for new immigrants or refugees are referred to the excellent work
on specific health risks in different regions of the world by Walker & Barnett (2007)
and on traditional cultural values and cross-cultural communication by Jackson
(2006), Camplin-Welch (2007) and particularly Holmes (2013).
The authors are under no illusion that this book will be so comprehensive as to
cover the entire range of areas interpreters may come across when working in health-
care settings. With the continuing developments in the fields of technology, biophysics,
biochemistry and integrative medicine, healthcare delivery will see the introduction
of ever changing procedures, tests, and approaches to treatment. There is no doubt
that publications like the current one will need to be updated fairly regularly to keep
abreast of new procedures and changes in the use of terminology.
The authors also wish to stress that the present publication contains some anec-
dotal evidence relating to ethical conflicts in healthcare settings. Such anecdotes were
commonly shared by experienced interpreters who wished to remain anonymous.
US spelling has been followed throughout. This means that words originating from
the Greek words containing ‘αι’, which are spelled with ‘ae’ in the UK tradition, have
   Authors’ notes xxi

been spelled with ‘e’ instead. Where possible alternative spellings have been included
in the index because these may come up in reference works.
The authors have attempted to avoid jargon. As an example, the term diagnostic
studies has been used throughout rather than the word workup, and, similarly, the
term ‘blood tests’ has been used rather than blood work.
The authors welcome any suggestions or comments!

Ineke Crezee and Eva Ng

Affiliations: Auckland University of Technology, Faculty of Culture and Society, Auck-
land, New Zealand.
The University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Arts, Hong Kong.

Notes relating to the format of English-Chinese glossaries

English words and phrases appear in alphabetical order in the glossary for each chapter.
English words, phrases and explanatory notes are written in standard, non-­italicized
format, e.g.: nurse; Chinese translations appear in both traditional and simplified
characters. All Chinese translations have been checked by three different reviewers.
Where readers have other suggestions, the authors would welcome their feedback.

Disclaimer

Nothing in this book should be construed as personal advice or diagnosis and must
not be used in this manner. The information provided about conditions is general in
nature. This information does not cover all possible uses, actions, precautions, side-
effects, or interactions of medicines, or medical procedures. The information in this
book should not be considered as complete and does not cover all diseases, ailments,
physical conditions, or their treatment. Any decision regarding treatment and medi-
cation for medical conditions should be made with the advice and consultation of a
qualified healthcare professional.
 Acknowledgments

I wish to thank Dr Ineke Crezee for inviting me to co-author this book with her. I was
thrilled to be asked and to accept her invitation, because I have always had a huge
interest in interpreter education and I believed this book to be a major contribution,
not simply to the field of healthcare interpreting, but also to legal interpreting, as
interpreters in legal settings often have to interpret medical evidence or sight-translate
medical reports in court. I am indebted to Ineke for the opportunity to embark on this
exciting project. As a former staff court interpreter and now an interpreter educator
and researcher, I believe this practical book, completed with the wide range of medi-
cal terms and their Chinese translations, will prove an indispensable toolkit, not just
for healthcare interpreters, but also to legal interpreters working between English and
Chinese in their day to day work. During the process of this new endeavor, I have
learned a lot from Ineke, who has long been an expert in the education of healthcare
interpreting. It has been a great experience working with her as she is such a wonder-
ful person, always inspiring and reassuring. All I see in her is nothing but positive
energy, which I believe is what has enabled her to cope with her super hectic schedule
of teaching and research activities.
I would also like to join Ineke in thanking all the scholars and friends (named
below) for their contributions to this book, which could not have come into existence
without their kind assistance and support.
 Eva Ng, February 2016

First and foremost, I need to thank experienced interpreter and translator educator Dr
Eva Ng for agreeing to work on this book with me. Eva gave the book her full atten-
tion, somehow finding the time alongside her many research and teaching activities:
She edited chapters, liaised with reviewers and found the most excellent Steven Wing
Kit Chan willing to dedicate a lot of his time to working on proofing the book and the
glossaries, adding references and ensuring a polished product overall.
Peter Zen, who was born in Hong Kong, (college) educated in Canada and who
spent many years living in Mainland China, put this wonderfully international back-
ground and meticulous attention to detail to good use when researching and translat-
ing all terms for the glossaries.
A huge thanks must also go to Dana Lui, Nurse Specialist – Neonatal Advanced
Practice and NAATI accredited Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking interpreter and
translator, for freely giving many hours of her time in extensively reviewing the glos-
saries. There is no doubt that Chinese-speaking interpreters and translators will find
these glossaries extremely helpful.