再谈Expiration date的翻译问题

Re-discussion on the translation of expiration date

目的:国内学界对于Expiration date是译为"失效期"还是译为"有效期"素有质疑和分歧。为此,本文再次探讨了Expiration date的正确译法。方法:采用文献分析法对国际上权威标准和指南中Expiration date的定义和解释进行分析,与我国失效期、有效期等相关概念的定义进行对比分析。结果:根据国际上的定义,在Expiration date当天,药品仍是符合标准的。这与目前我国对药品失效期的定义和解释并不一致,将其翻译为"失效期"是不准确的。另外,Expiration date和有效期在法律上分别属于"期日"和"期间"的概念,将Expiration date简单译为"有效期"也是不准确的。结论:Expiration date是有效期的最后一天,作为辅助期日起到了确定有效期(期间)终点的作用。Expiration date也是用于药品容器标签上的有效期的标注方法,可将其直译为"有效期终止日期"等,也可根据《药品说明书和标签管理规定》中规定的有效期的标注方法将其译为"有效期至"。

Objective :There have long been queries and debates on whether “expiration date” should be translated as “shixiaoqi” or “shelf life” in Chinese .Therefore ,correct translation of the term was put forward for discussion in the paper . Methods :By literature analysis ,various definitions of expiration date in international authoritative standards and guidelines were screened and analyzed .And in the meantime ,the definitions of related terms ,such as shixiaoqi and shelf life in China were analyzed and compared .Results :According to the international definitions ,on the day of expiration ,a certain medicinal product still remains within specifications ,which evidently does not conform to the explanation of shixiaoqi in China .There fore ,it is not correct to translate expiration date as “shixiaoqi”.In addition ,expiration date is a juristic concept of “date” and shelf life is a juristic concept of “period”.Therefore ,it is not accurate to translate expiration date simply as “shelf life”.Con clusion :Expiration date is the last day of shelf life ,which is used on the container label of a drug product to indicate the end of shelf life .Therefore ,it can be literally translated as the “ending date of shelf life”,or translated as “valid until a certain date”.