Lessons in Translation: Watch the Suffixes

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I learn from my translation experiences everyday. No one is perfect. Last was the value of suffixes in medical documents. Link in bio! #translator #translation #xl8n #medicalscience #pharma #clinicaltrials #language #bilingual #dowhatyoulove #science

A post shared by Brooke A. Cochran (@bcochranhuman) on Jun 26, 2019 at 6:54am PDT

It began with a lengthy French scientific article, in which the authors bounced back and forth between the terms "lupus nephritis" and "glomerulonephritis." Then, 2/3 of the way through, they devoted a section to discussing glomerulonephropathy. Did you catch that? The suffix changed from -itis to -pathy.
 
I submitted my translation and, shortly after, the editor contacted me to discuss the interchangeability of these terms. To ensure the final translation was accurate, we went “down the rabbit hole” of kidney diseases and their relationships with lupus. Fast forward... We learned that lupus nephritis is a form of glomerulonephritis caused by lupus (SLE), and glomerulonephropathy is its own entity.

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This situation drew my attention to the value of paying attention to word endings when translating medical documents. In this specific case, the lesson was that -itis is a suffix meaning inflammation, and -pathy is a suffix referring to a disease or disorder. Therefore, when a term ended with -itis in the source document, then later ended with -pathy, that should have set off an alarm in my translator brain to dig deeper for the sake of accuracy.
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There are many other cases of suffixes and prefixes that help you understand the word you are translating, be it in your native language (mine is English) or your second language (French for me).

Remember, my language-loving friends: you can’t just rely on your termbase or TM, sometimes you have to stop and look further into a subject to get the most accurate translation. (wink, wink, this is one reason computers can’t take over our jobs, by the way).
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For more info, this link concisely explains the difference between glomerulonephritis and glomerulonephropathy: https://www.luriechildrens.org/en/specialties-conditions/glomerulonephropathy-glomerulonephritis/
 
Also, here is a link to the Merck manual’s overview of lupus nephritis: https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/genitourinary-disorders/glomerular-disorders/lupus-nephritis