Sadra Medical Journal

An Analysis of Translation Problems in Cosmetic Product Catalogs and Their Impact on Medical Education: A Study Based on Nord’s Model

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Afshin Soori 1
Laleh Khojasteh 2

1 Department of English Language and Literature, Larestan branch, Islamic Azad University, Larestan, Iran

2 Department of English Language, School of Paramedical Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30476/smsj.2025.104499.1571
Abstract
Introduction: In today’s global market, the accurate translation of product information is crucial for consumer safety, particularly in sensitive industries such as cosmetics. This study, conducted in 2023, aimed to investigate the translation of cosmetic product catalogs from English into Persian, utilizing Nord’s functional translation model as an analytical framework.
Methods: This research employed a qualitative content analysis approach. The corpus consisted of several English-language cosmetic product catalogs available on the market and their corresponding Persian translations. Data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively over four months. NVivo software was used for qualitative analysis, and SPSS software (version 26) was used for statistical analysis.
Results: The analysis revealed that linguistic and text-specific translation problems were the most prevalent. Of the 111 identified instances, linguistic problems accounted for 102 cases (91.89%), primarily involving lexical and syntactic errors. Text-specific problems constituted 9 (8.11%) cases, largely relating to the mistranslation of figurative expressions. No instances of pragmatic or cultural translation problems were observed.
Conclusion: Translation errors could lead to serious misunderstandings regarding the proper use of cosmetic products. For instance, inaccurate or incomplete translation of ingredient lists or usage instructions might result in adverse effects. Furthermore, the findings suggested that similar translation errors in medical education could impede the accurate transfer of pharmaceutical or therapeutic knowledge to students and professionals. This study highlighted the critical role of translation quality in high-stakes domains such as the cosmetics industry and medical education.

Keywords

Cosmetics
Product Labeling
Education-Medical
Consumer Product Safety
  1. Agrahari V, Agrahari V. Facilitating the translation of nanomedicines to a clinical product: challenges and opportunities. Drug Discov Today. 2018;23(5):974-91.
  2. Karwacka W. Medical translation. In: Ways to translation. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego; p. 271-98.
  3. Karwacka W. Quality assurance in medical translation. J Spec Transl. 2014;21(1):19-33.
  4. Zimina L, Gudkova N, editors. The problem of translation and interpretation of the pharmaceutical terms. In: Innovatyka v osviti, naukovi ta biznesi: vyzvuly ta mozhlyvosti. Kyiv: Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design; Ukrainian.
  5. Ehsani F, Zohrabi K. Assessing translation of advertising text (English-Persian) based on House’s functional-pragmatic model of TQA. Procedia Soc Behav Sci. 2014;98:420-4.
  6. Vinay JP, Darbelnet J. Comparative stylistics of French and English. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing;
  7. Jakobsen AL. The development and current state of translation process research. In: The known unknowns of translation studies. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing; p. 65-88.
  8. Nida EA. Principles of correspondence. In: Toward a science of translating. Leiden: Brill; p. 156-92.
  9. Hubscher-Davidson S. Translation and emotion: a psychological perspective. London: Routledge;
  10. Williams M. Translation quality assessment. Mutatis Mutandis Rev Latinoam Traduct. 2009;2(1):3-23.
  11. Nord C. Text analysis in translation: theory, methodology, and didactic application of a model for translation-oriented text analysis. Amsterdam: Rodopi;
  12. Woodward-Smith E, Eynullaeva E. A cross-cultural study of the translation and adaptation of advertisements for beauty products. Perspect Stud Translatol. 2009;17(2):121-36.
  13. Shehab NHA. Translating brochures advertising personal care products from English into Arabic: strategies and linguistic inaccuracy. [Unpublished manuscript]. 2011.
  14. Piecychna B, editor. Cosmetic translation competence—a theoretical model and implications for translator training. In: Forum Filologiczne Ateneum. Gdansk: Akademia Ateneum w Gdansku;
  15. Meilhac A. A closer look at the cosmetics industry and the role of marketing translation. ATA Chron. 2010;39(3):22.
  16. Nord C. Translating as a purposeful activity: functionalist approaches explained. London: Routledge;
  17. Forman J, Damschroder L. Qualitative content analysis. In: Empirical methods for bioethics: a primer. Oxford: Elsevier; p. 39-62. (Advances in Bioethics; vol. 11).
  18. Elo S, Kyngas H. The qualitative content analysis process. J Adv Nurs. 2008;62(1):107-15.
  19. Patrick DL, Burke LB, Powers JH, Scott JA, Rock EP, Dawisha S, et al. Patient-reported outcomes to support medical product labeling claims: FDA perspective. Value Health. 2007;10 Suppl 1:S125-37.
  20. Karwacka W. Quality, accessibility and readability in medical translation. In: The Routledge handbook of translation and health. London: Routledge; p. 80-95.
  21. Davis TC, Wolf MS, Bass PF, Thompson JA, Tilson HH, Neuberger M, et al. Literacy and misunderstanding prescription drug labels. Ann Intern Med. 2006;145(12):887-94.
  22. Hernandez LM. Standardizing medication labels: confusing patients less: workshop summary. Washington: National Academies Press;
  23. Byrne J. Caveat translator: understanding the legal consequences of errors in professional translation. J Spec Transl. 2007;(7):2-24.
Sadra Medical Journal
Volume 13, Issue 4
Autumn 2025
Pages 709-721

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Guide for Reviewers

Contact Us