Specialised translation: contracts, medical records, and litigation files — 12 answers

Question 1

In a bilingual contract, which language prevails?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the prevailing-language clause. Absent one, either side can dispute the moment the two texts diverge. The safe route is to state the controlling language and let the translator work knowing which version governs, so the secondary text tracks it instead of creating a second meaning.

Question 2

Why build a glossary before a large contract set?

Accepted Answer

Because the same term rendered differently across documents in one deal invites an argument that the parties meant different things. Fixing key terms first — consideration, liquidated damages, termination — keeps the bundle internally consistent and shortens legal review.

Question 3

Do medical records need a physician's endorsement?

Accepted Answer

Translation is the translator's work, but many receiving bodies want both a hospital-issued original and the treating doctor's signature on that original, not on the rendering. Ask which layer they certify: obtaining a physician signature retroactively takes longer than the translation itself.

Question 4

How are abbreviations and drug orders handled?

Accepted Answer

Keep the original form and expand it in brackets at first occurrence, preserving units and dosages character for character. Never convert units or round figures: the reader is a clinician comparing against the source, not a lay audience.

Question 5

What does a translation filed with a Thai court require?

Accepted Answer

It must come with the translator's certification of accuracy and completeness, and courts often require the original or a certified copy alongside. If the other side challenges the rendering, the court may appoint a neutral translator or call yours to testify, so choose one prepared to stand behind the file in the hearing.

Question 6

Sworn translator versus a translator's certificate — what differs?

Accepted Answer

Several European systems appoint sworn translators who hold their own seal, so the rendering carries weight by itself. Thailand has no such register, so the equivalent is a translator's certificate plus layered signature certification and endorsement. Comparable outcome, different paper trail.

Question 7

Can engineering drawings and technical specs be translated?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but it splits into two jobs: the wording in tables and notes, and the normative figures that must stay untouched, such as standard codes and tolerances. We deliver layout-preserving files so each cell can be checked against the source rather than collapsed into prose.

Question 8

Must figures be restated to the destination's standards?

Accepted Answer

No. Translation is not restatement; figures stay as in the audited accounts. If the destination wants its own framework, that is a separate accounting engagement carried out under a professional accountant's responsibility, not part of the translation.

Question 9

How is confidential material handled?

Accepted Answer

We sign confidentiality undertakings covering both the firm and the individual linguists assigned, restrict access to that file's team, deliver through permissioned channels, and purge working copies on the agreed schedule. For sensitive deals we can work with party names redacted in drafts.

Question 10

Can machine output with human review be used?

Accepted Answer

For certifiable, binding documents we do not build on machine output: its failures cluster exactly where cost is highest — liability carve-outs and time limits read fluently while saying the wrong thing. Internal reference material that needs no certification is a separate conversation.

Question 11

How is specialised translation priced?

Accepted Answer

From actual word count, terminology density, source condition — live text versus scanned images — and the certification layers needed. We quote a band after seeing a few sample pages, and flag upfront where the source is illegible and a cleaner copy is required.

Question 12

What if we disagree with a term the translator chose?

Accepted Answer

Send term-level comments. A revision round is included: we explain the reasoning and offer alternatives. Where you already have house terminology we adopt it and record it in the project glossary so later batches stay aligned.

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Apostille ตามอนุสัญญาเฮก 1961

นิติกรณ์เอกสารรายประเทศปลายทาง

หนังสือมอบอำนาจ เขียนให้ใช้ได้จริงกับที่ดิน ธนาคาร ศาล และหน่วยราชการ

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