When translating a text, it’s important that it is aligned with the community for which it is intended. And if there is field where you really don’t want something ‘to get lost in translation’ it’s pharmaceutical translations. This is why, when ensuring critical messages are understood by the audience, localisation and translation go hand in hand.
A fascinating example of pharmaceutical localization in practice relates to instructions about storage temperature on medicine packs. It is well known that the USA continues to use imperial measurements (i.e. gallons and ounces) and household measurements (i.e. teaspoons and cups), rather than the metric system. However, the global standard for medicine is metric so when it comes to drug dosage, the US uses metric units rather than imperial or household.
However, an exception to this is temperature. There is a convention in the US that on public-facing medicine packs and information, storage temperature will appear in both Fahrenheit and Celsius. Celsius may be the global scientific standard, but Fahrenheit is the everyday temperature scale used by Americans. The inclusion of Fahrenheit on American packaging is a pragmatic measure to ensure that medicine is stored correctly in the home.
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