Perceptions and management of risk in the translation of a Norwegian-language health app into English

Abstract

Health texts are a type of text where non-optimal translation can have serious consequences. In the eHealth/mHealth case study presented here, we explore how different categories of translational agents perceive risk and manage it in the process of translating texts from a Norwegian health app into English. Based on the notion of risk in translation (e.g., Pym 2005) and conceptual analysis, we developed a model — The Risk Scenario — which we used to analyze interview, observational, and think-aloud data gathered during the translation process. We found that while the LSP and translator/quality checker in our study expressed the most concern over the risk of non-optimal target texts, the author and client were more focused on the risk of harming the health of end-users. Such differences likely arise from the proximal versus distal positioning (see Gile 2012) of different agents in relation to the act of translation. Additionally, we discovered that the type of text found in this kind of app — oral and informal — does not effectively communicate its risks, reaffirming the need for detailed translation briefs and suggesting that risk should be a compulsory category for source texts in high-risk domains.