So reads the Welsh mistranslation for a road sign in Swansea, UK.
Apart from providing an opportunity to utilize my Celtic Studies degree (including Welsh grammar), it also offers a cautionary tale for medical device manufacturers producing mulit-lingual documentation (see several other, riotous examples of Welsh mistranslations - thanks to Laurel D in our Boston office)
Errors like the one above are not really mistranslations. They are process-related: the result of someone who doesn’t speak the language copy-and-pasting content that they thought was correct. As part of our Encompass Audit & Review service (and the Crimson Life Sciences quality system) we keep process statistics on errors like this. We know that DTP-related, copy-paste errors are among the most common..and hazardous. In fact, about half of the serious translation errors we find (may result in patient harm) are the result of DTP processes.
This is one big reason why XML publishing is such a benefit for medical device manufacturers. XML publishing with a component content management system (like Vasont or Astoria) is the simplest way to reduce your DTP-related error risk. By virtually eliminating DTP tasks, XML processes not only reduce cost, they also enhance patient safety.
You can learn more about cost and risk reduction using XML processes by sending email to XMLpublishing@encompass.transperfect.com
