Medical translation is essential for everything from information to medical products like face masks

Why Medical Translation is Crucial in the Coronavirus Crisis

Medical translation has become a central part of the academic and medical response to global pandemics. This began in 1918, in the aftermath of the Spanish flu epidemic, which swept across the globe killing an estimated 50 million people. In total, some 500 million people were infected, which was around a quarter of the global population at the time. It is thought that one of the primary reasons for the devastating impact of Spanish flu was the lack of professional medical translation. This prevented countries from sharing information about the disease and tips about how to best counter it.

The lessons learned from Spanish flu

There were many lessons to be learned from the catastrophic consequences of Spanish influenza and the way it was handled by governments around the world. Central institutions and policies were subsequently put in place and global organisations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), were created to research, analyse and share information about serious medical conditions. The aim was to create a rapid and global medical response that could mitigate the human, economic and social impact of future outbreaks.

The role of certified medical translation

The services of certified and medical translators have since become an integral part of the global response to any pandemic or natural disaster. The use of machine translation has increased dramatically over the last few years, but when it comes to communicating the latest information about outbreaks such as COVID-19 and the SARS outbreak of 2003, only trained and certified translation professionals are used. While machine translation can produce accurate literal translations, in a field as full of nuance and technical terminology as medicine, human translators provide the unwavering accuracy required.

A global shortage of translation professionals

In the current coronavirus pandemic, information is being routinely shared between nations and dispensed by the World Health Organization to countries around the world. Unfortunately, a worldwide shortage of certified medical translators and interpreters is threatening to delay the global crisis response. According to official figures, the requirement for interpreters and translators is projected to grow by 19% from 2018 to 2028, far outstripping many other occupations.

In the coronavirus outbreak, the number of cases introduced by foreign nationals has created the need for medical translators and interpreters at a local level. Having interpreters at medical centres around the world is an effective way to disseminate accurate information in a language those suffering from the virus and in high-risk categories can understand. That’s why professional medical translation is so crucial to the global response and management of this crisis.

Medical translation you can rely on

At Linguistica International, we have a team of mother-tongue medical translators with translation qualifications and professional medical experience. The result is medical translation that you can trust, even in the most testing times. Call 02392 987 765 or email info@linguistica-international.com to discuss your requirements with our team.

 

Multilingual content on YouTube

How to Create ‘Sticky’ Multilingual Content on YouTube

YouTube is the world’s second most popular search engine after Google, making it a resource that many companies already use very successfully, and a platform that many more would love to break into.

The potential reach of a YouTube video is enormous, and if the multilingual content you produce ‘goes viral’, it could completely change the fortunes of your business. Even if you don’t use YouTube videos to directly sell your products and services, a YouTube channel that’s popular among your target market could become a valuable revenue stream in itself.

But before you reach for the camera and start brainstorming content ideas, it’s well worth taking some time to think about how you can build and engage your audience. 300 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute, so how on earth are you going to make your multilingual content standout?

Create content in your customers’ languages

You’ll certainly know better than us where your target market lives and what languages they speak, and YouTube gives you a very cost-effective way to target them all. YouTube operates in 80 different languages, from widespread languages like English and Spanish to lesser-spoken languages such as Azerbaijani and Armenian. Creating content in the native language of your customers, even if many of them speak a more common second language, will really help to engage your audience.

An example of this native language bias can be seen in India, where 95% of online content is consumed in local languages and dialects. Initially, the bulk of YouTube content was in Hindi, but over time, many more speakers of India’s minority languages have come online and want to watch content that has been created specifically for them.

Tick all the necessary search engine optimisation (SEO) boxes

Like any search engine, YouTube uses an algorithm to determine which videos it will show in response to particular viewer searches. So, to make your multilingual content as visible as possible, you need to make your content easy for YouTube to index. To do that, there are a number of fairly basic SEO rules you need to follow. These include:

  • Renaming your video file using a target keyword
  • Inserting your keyword into the video title
  • Optimising your video description
  • Tagging your video with popular keywords that relate to your topic
  • Categorising your video
  • Uploading a custom thumbnail image for your video’s result link
  • Using an SRT file to add subtitles and closed captions

You can read more about each of these YouTube SEO tips over at HubSpot.

When creating optimised content for your videos, such as titles, descriptions and tags, they must be consistent with the language you’re using and localised for every market you want the video to be available in. You should also include outbound links in your video description to your website and to other content you’ve created that’s relevant to the video.

Make a cohesive channel

As well as making sure that each video is on point, you should also consider the overall presence of your channel. Your channel should be branded so that the link between your business’s website, offline presence and YouTube channel is clear. You should also make sure that all content in your channel is joined by a well-thought-out link strategy and the keywords you use for every video are relevant to the topic area and market you’re trying to target.

If you produce a video that you’re really proud of and think deserves a little more attention than it would typically receive, then you also have the option to pay for reach on YouTube. This will increase your content’s visibility in the short-term and potentially give your channel better organic reach later on.

Multilingual content creation assistance from Linguistica International

Do you need help translating YouTube video transcriptions or localising content for a particular language and market? If so, then get in touch with the team at Linguistica International. Just call 02392 987 or email info@linguistica-international.com today.