Encyclopedia of Epidemiology assessed
31 May 2012 12:00
A session was held at the House of the Literati in examination of the Encyclopedia of Epidemiology.
IBNA: The session was held in the presence of Kiumars Naseri, author and translator of the encyclopedia in Persian, Davar Siadat, Azam Akbarzadeh (both critics) and Ali Asghar Alizadeh (Manager of Gap Publications) at the House of the Literati of the Book House Institute on Monday, May 28, 2012.
In his address, Naseri asserted that finding the best equivalents for the technical terms is the most crucial responsibility of a translator when translating a dictionary or an encyclopedia.
“Specialized groups should be formed in the society to monitor to use of scientific equivalents of the terms so that user-friendly terms will be spread,” he stated.
In the session, most of the criticisms were targeted at the Persian equivalents of the terms and the work’s structure which were responded by the translator in his address.
In his speech, Azim Akbarzadeh, critic, praised the book as a valuable work. He posited that penning books is a difficult task which should be mingled with love. “I think that peopled like Mr. Naseri should motivate the youngsters to pursue research works,” he added.
He further complained the lack of enthusiasm among experts for authoring new references and said, “Knowledge brings no money; it only brings about eternity and dignity for the people. Every university lecturer should try to remain at least a single permanent work.”
Later in the session, Davar Siadat, critic, thanked Naseri for his work and added that it had been better if the original English title of the encyclopedia were mentioned on the cover of the book so that the readers would no longer have to read the book’s inside.
The book is meant to become a resource for studies on epidemiology by experts and students of the field, asserted Naserin in his speech.
He delivered a brief background of his research activities and said, “I believe that language is a means for communication which should be kept clear and understandable.”
He went on to say that he received a pamphlet on epidemiology in 1967 when he was studying the subject at Tehran University which became the initiating idea of the book.
He stated that the greatest issue in compiling encyclopedias is finding equivalents for the technical terms.
He said he did not expect to make any revolutions in the use of technical epidemiological terms in Persian by the subject’s students and masters, but it would be proper for him to see that the use of the terms will grow in the next ten years.
