蘇老師專欄

[ 2020-07-21 ]

〈談文論譯〉「時陰時陽」、「復陽」、「三採陰」英文怎麼說? 蘇正隆

國際間確診者解除隔離出院後又復陽 (tested positive again after being discharged) 的案例頻傳,國內四月下旬也出現首例三次採檢陰性出院後,又因胸口不適採檢復陽個案。

中央流行疫情指揮中心專家諮詢小組召集人張上淳表示,以往台灣依照世界標準,確診者二次檢測陰性就出院,但國際間二採陰性出院後又復陽狀況頻傳,因此進一步增加為「三次採檢均為陰性」 (three consecutive negative tests),才能「解除隔離」(released from hospital isolation)。

People are retesting positive for COVID-19 again; doctors suggest three consecutive negative results before discharging….Taiwan has implemented stricter requirements when releasing patients, now requiring three consecutive negative tests instead of just two. (March 9, 2020, The Online Citizen)

4月21日 敦睦3官兵二採確診,張上淳說,武漢肺炎發病後第一週病毒量較高,較易採檢到陽性;若發病時間較長,可能「時陰時陽」,會謹慎多採幾次。

時陰時陽」英文怎麼說?之前我想不到合適的翻譯,所以幾天前我向國家教育研究院「雙語詞彙審譯會」召集人李振清教授提議,5/18下午開會時將「時陰時陽」等詞彙列入審譯,大家集思廣益,找出恰當的英譯。昨晚忽然心血來潮,浮現 tested positive and negative on and off,趕緊上網查,發現有這樣或類似的講法。 如:“I am currently infected with Covid-19 in Brisbane, Australia. ... for 17 days and testing positive and negative on and off.”; “fluctuates between positive and negative”。
註:5/18我們在國家教育研究院「雙語詞彙審譯會」討論的結果則是把「時陰時陽」譯為 inconsistent test results。

介於陰陽之間」英文怎麼說?
《聯合報》三陰復陽國內4例 張上淳:幾乎沒有傳染力 (2020-05-06)
張上淳說,我國438例確診者,目前除了一名個案三採陰出院後轉陽,還有三名個案出院後,再回院採檢結果介於陰陽之間,「類似當時軍艦有官兵採驗陰性後,又出現陽性結果,介於陰陽之間不容易判讀。」

 (採檢結果) 介於陰陽之間,昨天我找到的例子是 tests with ambiguous results,但 5/18 在雙語詞彙審譯會上,英國律師 Peter Whittle 提出更簡潔、更好的譯法: inconclusive test result。 

美國退伍軍人部 (Department of Veterans Affairs) 網站上對 inconclusive test result 有清楚的解釋:
An "inconclusive" result might mean "insufficient" or "indeterminate." "Insufficient" simply means that there was a problem with the sample you provided that prevented it from being tested at all. "Indeterminate" means that the test didn't provide a clear negative or positive result. (Jerome Su, May 17, 2020, Revised May 19, 20)