Interpreter/Translator

[Sweet_Tears]

Yeej mag caught lawm mas!

I thought that was your son on your avatar until I saw the tattoo.

[LadyThao]

overall, "medical" hmong interpreters need better training in medical terminology, professionalis m, and communication. I've encountered many hmong interpreters interpreting for my mom and let me tell you, i did not like them. Whenever my mom went into the hospital, they always had to call an interpreter. If i was there, i would just refuse it. The way i see it,, they don't know how to talk to my mom so the communication is not there. Some of them don't even look professional. My mom had one where this hmong lady walked into her room dressed like she was going to the clubs complete with the blonde hair and all! Then their medical terminology is just terrible! 80% of the time, they don't even know what they're talking about! it irritated me! the bad thing was, i showed it, too! Funny thing about the docs that were treating my mom, they saw how displeased I was with the interpreters so I would end up just doing the interpreting. Even if it was against hospital policy, they let me do it. at least then i knew what was going on with my mom and can make decisions for her.


I work with a bunch of older Hmong women who do not speak or understand english really well. the other day they were talking about hmong interpreters. I told them that even though the clinic or hospital requests for an interpreter, it's best to also bring one of their grown children with them to ask or talk with the doc.

my SIL who doesn't speak/understand much english had an Hmong interpreter who told her not to take her meds. My SIL stopped taking her meds until i yelled at her. I schooled her on the importance of taking her meds as prescribed by the doctor. After that day, my SIL refused any service from hmong interpreters.T he other day, she asked me if I could go with her to the next appt.


Translating Agencies out there do need to do a better job selecting their interpreters. Just because they know the language doesn't mean they know what they're interpreting.

[Reporter]

True. And better communications in Hmong language, too.

I've had old Hmong ladies telling me that they understood things better if the interpreters hadn't interpreted for them. What they knew to be the real meanings of the English statements turned into some other foreign languages totally unclear to them.

overall, "medical" hmong interpreters need better training in medical terminology, professionalis m, and communication. I've encountered many hmong interpreters interpreting for my mom and let me tell you, i did not like them. Whenever my mom went into the hospital, they always had to call an interpreter. If i was there, i would just refuse it. The way i see it,, they don't know how to talk to my mom so the communication is not there. Some of them don't even look professional. My mom had one where this hmong lady walked into her room dressed like she was going to the clubs complete with the blonde hair and all! Then their medical terminology is just terrible! 80% of the time, they don't even know what they're talking about! it irritated me! the bad thing was, i showed it, too! Funny thing about the docs that were treating my mom, they saw how displeased I was with the interpreters so I would end up just doing the interpreting. Even if it was against hospital policy, they let me do it. at least then i knew what was going on with my mom and can make decisions for her.


I work with a bunch of older Hmong women who do not speak or understand english really well. the other day they were talking about hmong interpreters. I told them that even though the clinic or hospital requests for an interpreter, it's best to also bring one of their grown children with them to ask or talk with the doc.

my SIL who doesn't speak/understand much english had an Hmong interpreter who told her not to take her meds. My SIL stopped taking her meds until i yelled at her. I schooled her on the importance of taking her meds as prescribed by the doctor. After that day, my SIL refused any service from hmong interpreters.T he other day, she asked me if I could go with her to the next appt.


Translating Agencies out there do need to do a better job selecting their interpreters. Just because they know the language doesn't mean they know what they're interpreting.

[hmongtown]

very true!

Translating is very hard because Hmong do not have a lot of medical terminologies and in order to explain something in Hmong, you will have to describe the procedure or the medical situation.

I remember one time, I had to explain to this Hmong family that their baby has really bad reflux and since she was having feeding issues the next option would be surgery for a fundoplication and placement of a gastric tube or "mickey button".  I was lost in words.  How do you even say reflux in Hmong?

But if you're a professional interpreter you definitely need training in it.

There is probably no exact word for it, but you can explain it in a series of words. Reflux in Hmong, I think the closest would be "qais" or "kua qais".

[hmongtown]

The only thing that you can translate more effectively is that you must be on the same field as you are translating.

You got to know the language of insurance before you translating for insurance clients, etc.

How many people do you think are qualified as interpreter? My family has been in/out of the hospital a few times and what I've learned and witnessed is that a lot of the these people are not really good at interpreting. I'm not saying that I am good but I would think that becoming a interpreter would required training/knowledge/experiences. While I was waiting patiently for the interpreter to do her job, she was not making sense at all which even caused more confusion for my mom. The Doctor asked her something and she would say something else. I had no choice but to step in and do my own interpreting so that my mom can understand.

My main concern is that "How do you trust that someone will interpret it correctly to your family member if you're not there". What if someone interpreted some wording incorrectly that can cause harm to your family member?

NOTE: This is not to hate/descriminate those that interpret as a profession. I'm just stating my own personal experiences and what i've witnessed. It does not mean that they are all the same.

[Reporter]

There is probably no exact word for it, but you can explain it in a series of words. Reflux in Hmong, I think the closest would be "qais" or "kua qais".

 

[Reporter]

The only thing that you can translate more effectively is that you must be on the same field as you are translating.

You got to know the language of insurance before you translating for insurance clients, etc.

Being in the field helps a lot, if they can be fluent in both languages as well.

[hmongtown]

Being in the field helps a lot, if they can be fluent in both languages as well.