1. WHO The World Health Survey Translation
Classification, Assessment and Surveys

2. Issues in Translation WHS being implemented in > 70 countries
Some languages do not have written scripts
Some key strategies of cross-population comparability require uniformity of stimulus

3. Aims of Translation Ensure ‘conceptual’ equivalence
Ensure uniform comprehension by respondents
Ensure applicability to the widest audience
Not a ‘literal’ or ‘etymological’ equivalence
Avoid jargon, colloquialisms, technical terms, idioms, language that may be offensive

4. Translation procedure
Bilingual multi-disciplinary group
Familiarisation with instrument structure and content
Translation into target language from one of 6 languages
Discussion by mono-lingual group
Independent back translation of selected terms
Comparison for conceptual equivalence
Systematic reporting on translation process

5. Evaluation of translation
Review of back translated terms locally and at WHO
Review of translated instrument by panel of experts
Review of linguistic evaluation data sheets
Building of a ‘translation memory’ to compare use of terms and generate future versions

6. Illustrations of translation problems
Lack of similar concepts
Idiomatic use of language
Subtle changes in meaning
Wrong use of terms