The Linguist

34 The Linguist Vol/63 No/3 thelinguist.uberflip.com OPINION & COMMENT Emily Boaler Emily Boaler is a passionate linguist who is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian and French, and has studied and worked in four countries. Since graduating in 2013, she has always ensured that she uses her languages skills in her work, including in roles at Disneyland Paris and Oracle. See p.26 Rosa-Maria Cives-Enriquez Rosa-Maria Cives- Enriquez FCIL is a Senior Mental Health Practitioner/Therapist (NHS) and has a passion for supporting and amplifying the voices of neurodivergent people. Having received a late diagnosis (ADHD), she is not only a health coach but an 'expert by experience', delivering consultancy and presentations. See p.24 Kashif Khalid Kashif Khalid MCIL is a seasoned linguist with over five years of experience in the localisation industry. Specialising in English to Urdu, Punjabi and Hindi, he is passionate about languages and AI technologies, and continuously explores innovative solutions in the translation industry. He is committed to bringing texts to life for diverse clients. See p.20 Sue Leschen Lawyer-linguist Sue Leschen FCIL CL is the Director of Avocate, a legal and commercial French interpreting and translation company (www.avocate.co.uk). She is also a business mentor and trainer, and a member of the CIOL Interpreting Division Steering Group. See p.22 Brenda Narice Dr Brenda Narice MCIL is an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology with an interest in maternal-fetal medicine at the University of Sheffield. A translator and interpreter specialising in medicine, she is also the patient information Spanish lead for the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. She previously translated for Translators Without Borders and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. See p.16 Artemis Sakorafa Artemis Sakorafa MCIL is a translator and conference interpreter working in English, Greek and German. Based in Boston, USA, she is an in-house interpreter in healthcare settings across the United States and is registered as a certified translator with the Greek Consulate in Boston. She is a member of several professional organisations, including the American Translators Association and the Panhellenic Association of Translators. See p.18 Anam Zafar Anam Zafar MCIL is an award-winning translator from Arabic and French to English. Her work includes Yoghurt and Jam (Or How My Mother Became Lebanese), a graphic memoir by Lena Merhej, co- translated with Nadiyah Abdullatif, and Josephine Baker's memoir Fearless and Free, co-translated with Sophie Lewis (out in 2025). Apart from literature, her other translation specialisms are environment, international development and tourism. She is a member of The Linguist Editorial Board. See p.14 CONTRIBUTORS provided", indicating that "the ability of the family to explain any worries or concerns they had and to understand advice" may have been compromised. While the use of MT was not determined to have caused the child's death, it does raise questions about why a professional interpreter wasn't used. A similar case came to light in the BBC's File on 4: Lost in Translation radio series. In 2022, Syrian refugee Rula (a pseudonym) suffered a life-threatening bleed following the birth of her child in the UK. When she woke from an emergency caesarean performed under general anaesthetic, hospital staff used Google Translate to advise her that she would need to go back to theatre with the possibility of a hysterectomy, a treatment to which she did not consent. A telephone interpreter was subsequently found "for a couple of minutes only", though this interaction was beset by communication difficulties: "I was extremely unhappy and I told the interpreter, I don't want them to do this." Still under the effects of the anaesthetic, she "begged them, please don't remove my uterus". Despite this, the hysterectomy went ahead and only afterwards was a face-to-face interpreter used to deliver the news. Given that consent was not granted, this raises the question, if staff had relied solely on Google Translate where would liability have ultimately rested? Whether or not cases of miscommunication should occur, the reality is that they do occur. The reasons why free machine translation is used in such high-risk contexts, and what can be done to mitigate the risks involved, merit further investigation. 5 When it comes to safe and effective care delivery, health professionals and patients deserve more than 'better than nothing' solutions. Notes 1 Moberly, T (2018) 'Doctors Choose Google Translate to Communicate with Patients Because of Easy Access'. In BMJ, 362 2 Bell, S et al (2020) 'Responding to Measles Outbreaks in Underserved Roma and Romanian Populations in England: The critical role of community understanding and engagement'. In Epidemiology & Infection, 148, CUP 3 Gomez, E and Chilvers, R (2017) 'Stepping up to Public Health: A new maternity model for women and families, midwives and maternity support workers', RCM; https://cutt.ly/setXQz3N 4 'Guidance for Commissioners: Interpreting and translation services in primary care', NHS England; https://cutt.ly/VetXQNuD 5 Taylor-Stilgoe, E, do Carmo, F and Orasan, C (2023) 'An Exploration of Risk in the Use of MT in Healthcare Settings with Abbreviations as a Use Case'. Conference paper at HiT-IT; https://cutt.ly/betXWgU6 Eleanor Taylor-Stilgoe is a postgraduate research student, Dr Félix do Carmo is a Senior Lecture in Translation and Dr Sabine Braun is a Professor of Translation Studies, all at the University of Surrey. TL

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