KGH Interpretation Spanish-English Medical & Mental Health Interpretation

Terminology Reference Books

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Everyone always asks me, “Kelly, what books do you use to reference terminology?” I’ll admit, I’m amassing a bit of a collection! The following are the books I have, along with a short description and a summary of what I use it for, as well as benefits and disadvantages of each resource.

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Spanish-English English-Spanish Medical Dictionary: Diccionario Médico Español-Inglés Inglés-Español
By Onyria Herrera McElroy PhD (Author), Lola L. Grabb MA (Author)

This book was actually a required material for my medical interpreting program in college. I’ve used it so much the book is practically falling apart! I really like that it has translations for most health terms you can think of, as well as acronyms, their equivalents, and their translations into Spanish. There are also lots of great diagrams and overall it’s just a solid reference material. The only word of caution I have about this material is that the translations for terms relating to disabilities can be a bit outdated and ableist.


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Thinking Spanish Translation: A Course in Translation Method: Spanish to English
By Louise Haywood, Michael Thompson, and Sándor Hervey

This is yet another book that was required for my interpretation and translation program in college. You’d think that because it’s about translation, that it wouldn’t have a lot to do with interpretation, but you’d be incorrect! I regularly incorporate a lot of the principles from this book into my interpreting practices. It’s an absolute must-read to really think holistically about accuracy when interpreting between English and Spanish.


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English to Spanish Glossary of Educational Terminology
By Rodolfo Valentán

Now that I’m interpreting for quite a bit of developmental-behavioral pediatrics in which I am often discussing the happenings of IEP meetings with parents and their child’s speech and/or occupational therapist(s), I thought this would be a good resource. I really like that this resource cuts straight to the chase and provides multiple options for each term without a lot of bulk. I haven’t used it extensively enough to give substantial feedback on the reliability of the educational term translations, but as with all glossaries, I plan to cross-reference. That being said, I do have some issues with how the medical terminology (e.g. nurse practitioner) are translated.


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The Red-Hot Book of Spanish Slang: 5,000 Expressions to Spice Up Your Spainsh
By Mary McVey Gill (Author), Brenda Wegmann (Author)

I was actually able to find this book for a really low price at a thrift store and I just couldn’t pass it up. I’ll admit, I haven’t had a chance to really use it yet, but I’m anxiously awaiting the next opportunity to do so!


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CCHCP English-Spanish Medical Glossary
By Cristina Paget and Herbert Henion

This book (plastic spiral-bound paperback) was sold to me by a trainer with Bridging the Gap. This is one of Cross-Cultural Healthcare Program’s medical glossaries (you can find more of their glossaries for purchase here). This was one of two reference books (the first being the first item in this list) that sat at my desk when I worked as a bilingual patient advocate at a local safety net clinic. If my first dictionary didn’t have it, I’d always check here!

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KGH Interpretation Spanish-English Medical & Mental Health Interpretation

Kelly (Grzech) Henriquez

I am a Certified Medical/Healthcare Interpreter (CMI-Spanish, CHI-Spanish) and a medical interpreter trainer. I work as an independent contractor in the greater Richmond, Virginia area as a Spanish-English medical interpreter. Click here to read more about me.

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