Science at the multilingual crossroads

With Medical Writing's third issue, this seems to be a good time to recall why this journal features a section on multilingual aspects – and why this section is called what it's called.

Medical writing, particularly the regulatory side of it, is an essentially English-language affair. Yet, in a Europe with some 30 official languages, transfer between and among them is a challenge. This section is about such challenges. At the same time, looking at the world through a bi- or multilingual lens multiplies our perceptions of it. Translation may involve an extra effort, but it's one that is not expended in vain. And this is what this section is also about.

In this issue, Monika Schöll shares some thoughts on what life is like working as a translator at university hospital in Germany. Then there's a brief piece on the different meanings of meaning and the frequent lack of equivalence in meaning between words in different languages.

Gabriele Berghammer

gabi@the-text-clinic.com