Филологические
науки/6. Актуальные проблемы перевода
Nataliia Hotsa
Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National
Pedagogical University,
Peculiarities of English-Ukrainian Translation of
Eponyms in Clinical Terminology
Clinical terminology includes the names of diseases, methods of
prevention, examination, diagnosis and treatment, clinical specialties and
specialists. Clinical terminology has several peculiarities: firstly, it is
based not on the Latin but on the Greek vocabulary; secondly, the main structural-semantic
unit is the term element, and thirdly, when studying the clinical terms, one
needs either to explain its meaning, or to construct the term with a given
value that puts forward not grammar but semantics (the meaning of the word) in
the foreground.
Structurally, the eponym is most often represented by two-component
terminological combinations in which, along with its own name, there is a
thematic and structural core with a generalizing meaning (in clinical
terminology – disease, symptom, syndrome, fracture, dislocation, reaction,
operation, method, method, stain, reflex, etc.
In the presented study, we analyzed 150 terms-eponyms and determined
that the terminology of this type is usually translated by means of calque.
Therefore, it should be noted that for an unprepared reader this will be a
problem. The
solution to this problem can be the replacement of the English term with its
Ukrainian equivalent (where it is possible), or the explanation or
clarification of the peculiarities in parentheses.
In the course of the study, we grouped and analyzed the eponyms
according to the sources of their origin. The largest of them are eponyms-mythologisms – 15% (23 terms), eponyms-bibleisms
– 15% (22 terms), eponyms, which include the names of literary characters – 20%
(30 terms), eponyms, including the names of scientists and doctors – 50% (75
terms)
1. Eponym-mythologisms.
Most of these eponyms entered the medical terminology during the Renaissance.
These terms often use the names of gods and goddesses. Most often they are
translated by means of calque. For example:
(a)
cornu Ammonis (hippocampus) –
амонію ріг (гіпокамп); (b) mons Veneris – міст Венери (лонний горбик, венерин горбик); (c) umbilicus Veneris – пуп Венери; (d) tendo Achillis (t. Calcaneus) – Ахіллове сухожилля.
In preparing the international
anatomical nomenclature in
1955, it was decided to completely
eliminate the eponym, replacing them with systematic
terms. For example, перший
шийний хребець has the mythological name Atlas (Атлант) and the systematic – vertebra cervicalis prima (I). But in derivative
terms the eponym is preserved,
so we encounter
such cases of use: atlanto-occipitalis – атланто-потиличний,
achillotomia – ахіллотомія, achillotenoplastica – ахіллотенопластіка.
Other cases of the use
and translation of such eponyms
are:
(a) psychiatria – психіатрія (derives from the name
of Psyche) –personification of the human soul;
(b) hygiena – гігієна (derives from
the name of Asclepius’ daughter Hygeia); (c) сaput Medusae – голова Медузи (a symptom that is
often observed in cirrhosis of the
liver and is characterized by an enlargement of the subcutaneous veins on the
abdominal skin, a rich vascular network,
a large number of branches);
(d) сorona Veneris – корона Венери (syphilitic rash on
the forehead); (e) Oedipus complex – Едипів комплекс (One
of the main
concepts of classical psychoanalysis to indicate the
child’s ambivalent attitude to his/her parents).
In clinical terminology eponyms-mythologisms are
especially common in the names of
symptoms and syndromes. For example: (a) Io syndrome –
синдром Іо (a kind of chronic
tachykinesia, that is, a state of
increased motor activity).
2. Eponyms-bibleisms were included in the medical terminology
during the Middle
Ages, when the names of
certain diseases were associated with the names
of the saints.
In clinical terminology eponyms can be found
more often in the names of
symptoms and syndromes. Most often they are translated by means
of calque. For example:
(a) Job syndrome – синдром Йова (hereditary disease with defect of
humoral immunity);
(b) Lazarus complex – синдром
Лазаря (restoration of heartbeat after
its long stop); (c) St. Vitus’ dance (chorea sancti viti) – танець
святого Віта (disorder of the central nervous system, characterized by involuntary movements of the body,
limbs, head, facial muscles).
3. Eponyms including
the names of literary characters.
Some medical, more often clinical
terms, come from the names
of fictional literary characters. The dominant method of their translation is calque. For example:
(a) syphilis – сифіліс
(chronic venereal disease),
which name derivews form the name of the
shepherd of Sifilus taken from the poem Girolamo
Fracastoro “Syphilis, or Pro Galli
disease”); (b)
Werther syndrome – синдром Вертера (pre-suicidal condition, named after the
protagonist of the novel I.V. Goethe “The Suffering of Young
Werther”); (c)
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome – синдром Аліси в країні чудес (illusory perception of space
and time, phenomena of depersonalization); (d)
Munchausen syndrome – синдром Мюнхаузена (лапаротомофілія), which was named
after the protagonist of the fairy tale
“Adventures of Baron Munchausen” E. Raspe – a mental disorder); (e)
Peter Pan Syndrome – синдром Пітера Пена (peculiar psychological
phenomenon of an abnormally long childishness, named after
the name of Peter Pen).
4. Eponyms, including the names of scientists
and doctors who first discovered
and described a particular phenomenon, constitute the largest group in terms of number.
Often the eponym refers to
only one person and most
often consists of two components,
one of which
is the name
of the scientist
and the other
is disease, disease, or syndrome.
They are translated by means of cdalque, but in almost all
cases have the corresponding Ukrainian equivalents:
(a) Alström syndrome – синдром
Альстрема (progressive loss of
vision, hearing and obesity); (b) Barlow disease – хвороба Барлова (scurvy
of young children); (c) Alport syndrome – синдром
Альпорта (або спадковий нефрит); (d)
Alvarez' syndrome – Синдром Альвареса (or псевдогравідарний синдром); (e) Andersen disease – хвороба Андерсена (або глікогеном) genetic liver damage).
In some cases, the
second component of the term is the lexemes
for specifying the type of
disease, namely, tumour (пухлина), anemia (анемія), ulcer (виразка), thyroiditis (тиреоїдит), dystrophy (дистрофія), anomaly (аномалія):
(a) Brenner
tumour – пухлина Бреннера (або аденофіброма, фолікулярна оофорома, доброякісна муцинозна
фиброэпителиома); (b) Cooley's anemia – анемія Кулі (або таласемія);
(c) Cushing's ulcer – виразка
Кушинга; (d) de Quervain thyroiditis – тиреоїдит де Кервена
(або гигантоклеточний
тиреоїдит, гранулематозний тиреоїдит).
Very rarely,
the term eponym of this
group contains only the name
of the disease:
(a) Carney triad – тріада Карні. And also rarely
eponyms of this group are single-component terms: (a) Brucellosis – бруцельоз (або хвороба Банга,
мальтійська гарячка, середземноморська гарячка, гібралтарська гарячка, гарячка Кіпру, кримська гарячка, ундулююча/хвилеподібна гарячка, трясуча гарячка).
In some cases, the term contains the names of
two or more people. This is the case when the disease was discovered and
described by two scientists, independently of each other. For example: (a) Bernard–Soulier syndrome – синдром
Бернарда-Рота; (b) Bernard–Soulier syndrome –
синдром Бернара-Сульє (or макроцитарна
тромбоцітодістрофія, синдром гігантських тромбоцитів); (c) Christ–Siemens–Touraine syndrome – синдром Криста-Сименса-Турен.
This study
showed that the isolated groups of clinical terms-eponyms contain the names of
people. Two-component and multi-component structures that reflect the work of
many people over the problem dominate. Using the term-eponym among narrow
specialists provides a quick understanding of the situation of the picture,
transmits the continuity of knowledge, reflects the main stages of development
of science, the struggle of thoughts and views, the formation of a scientific
outlook of a human. The eponyms are convenient in translation, since they are
translated into the Ukrainian language mainly by means of calque and equivalent.