Original Article

Research genres

Receiver

Researcher or specialist

Subject

Scabies

Specialty

Dermatology

Source Text in English

Scabies, a skin condition that is recognized by the World Health Organization as a disease of public health importance, is a substantial contributor to global morbidity and mortality. Scabies is caused by a microscopic mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis) and is transmitted primarily through person-to-person contact. Infestation can result in debilitating itchiness, with associated sleep disturbance, reduced ability to concentrate, social stigmatization, and ongoing health care expenses.

In many developing countries, scabies-related scratching is an important cause of impetigo, which is most often due to Streptococcus pyogenes or Staphylococcus aureus infection and can lead to septicemia, glomerulonephritis, and rheumatic heart disease.

Target Text in Spanish

La sarna es una dermatosis considerada como enfermedad de importancia para la salud pública por la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Es uno de los principales contribuyentes a la carga mundial de morbimortalidad. El agente etiológico es un ácaro microscópico (Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis) y la principal vía de transmisión es el contacto personal. La infestación causa prurito incapacitante acompañado de trastornos del sueño, dificultades para concentrarse, estigma social y gastos sanitarios continuos.

El rascado escabiótico es uno de los principales causantes de impétigo en los países en vías de desarrollo. En la mayoría de los casos, el impétigo se produce a causa de una infección por Streptococcus pyogenes o Staphylococcus aureus y puede derivar en septicemia, glomerulonefritis y cardiopatía reumática.

Informative function

When the function of the text is to inform, the translator must prioritise the clarity of the discourse over the original style. Effective message delivery often requires changes such as modifying sentence length, rearranging phrase parts or removing relative clauses.

Specialised language

In research texts, communication effectiveness is largely defined by the conceptual accuracy of specialised terms such as “dermatosis”, “prurito” or “cardiopatía”. When addressing a reader with prior knowledge, the threshold of terminological opacity is much higher than in lay genres.

Disambiguation

Terminological repetition is a desirable mechanism in an informative genre when used for the sake of clarity. Repeating the term “impétigo” in the fragment “En la mayoría de los casos, el impétigo se produce [...]” removes an ambiguity that would force the reader to interpret what’s the antecedent of “infection” (“rascado” or “impétigo”).

Research genres