Shalajeva A.V.
Bukovina State Medical University, Ukraine
STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS
OF MODERN MEDICAL
TERMINOLOGY
Terminology is a powerful channel of
intellectual communication which provides specialists with the direct
comprehension of activity and its transformation in compliance with public
requirements. The terms are the words
or word-combinations for special purposes which are created for the exact
designation of specific conceptions and objects. Formation of terms is a very
important and interesting subject of study in modern linguistics. It deals with
the patterns on which a language builds up new words. There are various
patterns of building up new words, some of them have been often resorted to. Formative
stems realize the word-formation potentialities after the models peculiar to
the certain language: prefixation,
suffixation, composition, reduction, conversion. The role of these or other
word-formation facilities in creation of new words is not identical in
different languages, furthermore their role in the same language is not
identical in different periods of its development and in relation to different
lexical-stylistic layers.
In
semantization of unknown modern
medical terms the meaning of
new words is derived from their inner structure.
Study of the specific
character of word-formation processes within the limits of modern terminology
is based on the stem-focused approach . Formative basis of verb with that a
word-formation process is set in and that is a lexical-semantic nucleus in
formation of derivative bases is taken as initial unit.
Among derivative bases of medical
terms nouns make up the larger half of them, that testifies to the
characteristic for medical terminology tendency to nomination. Such a
phenomenon is caused by the peculiarities of the noun category which has the
highest ability for nomination. It is very important because nomination is one
of the main characteristics of a term.
However medical terms can be presented by all notional parts of speech,
as any modern system of terms must
conform not only to the requirements of nomination of specific objects and
concepts but also to provide possibility of expression of all variety of mutual
relations and connections between them,
surrounding activities and language community.
The most widespread means of word
formation are suffixes. As derivative elements suffixes perform the function of
affix morpheme located between a root and an ending and are a part of the stem. Not used independently, a suffix, however,
has the semantic load that has an effect on new word formation. It results in
numerous classifications of suffixes in relation to their origin, formed with
their help parts of speech, productivity or unproductiveness, frequency of use
and general values.
Nowadays with a rapid development of
medical science multicomponent terms acquire more important significance.
Terminology of any field of science is not a free set of words and
word-combinations, it is a definite terminological system. Any terminological system has certain
organization, id est structure of this system. The analysis of composed terms
reveals that prepositive attributive terminological word-combinations prevail.
They are formed by combining of a number of components and sometimes cause
difficulties for translation because of a great number of semantic connections
between components. To get over difficulties of translation of such terms
formed by word-combinations it is important to know the means for their
translation in the native language.
From the great amount of terms
composed of word-combinations we can distinguish two types: two-component terms (tooth enamel, family physician)
and multicomponent ones (practice
based needs, dental drilling enginе).
Two-component terms are the most
common. They form a considerable amount of term-forming types. They can be
subdivided into two groups.
The first group includes terms formed
after the patterns:
N + N – tooth tissue , needle-holder , health authorities;
N + Prep + N – occlusion of teeth, physician-to-population;
N’s + N – dentist’s surgery;
Abbr + N – AIDS prevention, TB screening.
The second group includes terms formed after the patterns:
A + N – general practitioner, tertiary hospitals,
personal care, dental caries,
professional groups,
pharmaceutical products, basic sanitation;
Participle І + N – training programmes, increasing supply,
working conditions, nursing homes;
Participle
ІІ + N – worsened access, filled tooth, fractured tooth, recognized
speciality, improved nutrition.
Models of these two groups are
similar both semantically and structurally. The first group comprises the terms
in which both components are nouns , in the second group adjectives or participles are used as attributive components .
In terms formed after the model N + N nouns are usually used in common case. The first component of this word combination
is
an aspectual sign of notion expressed by the second component.
In accordance with the types of links
between the components multicomponent terms can be divided into three groups:
1. The terms formed by combination of words with successive
subordination in which the components are linked with each other by
subordination and each subsequent component is basic for the previous one, for
example: stomatological education system,
water supplying device, medical education system, Family Doctor Scheme, human
resource planning, safe water supply.
2. The terms formed by
combination of words with the direct subordination and which include
components with no
interdependency but all of them relate directly to a
certain word – basic component of terminological word-combination, for example: a well-developed primary care system,
proven cost-effective public health,
World Health Organization.
3. The terms formed by combination of
words with the mixed type of links between components, for example: socially responsible health care system, professional health care providers.
There exist a
regular correlation between the number of components in a terminological
word-combination and type of links between the components: the more is a number of components in a terminological word-combination, the more is a part of
formations with the mixed type of links
between components. Terminological word-combinations that consist of five or
more components are organized in one unit according to the mixed type only.
Within multicomponent terminological
word combinations three-component ones appeared to be most common. Among them
we can find terms organized after the following models:
(N + N) + N – Schwarz double plate , village health workers , family medicine practice, child mortality rates;
(A + N) + N – primary care physician, good quality doctors, public
health measures;
(N + Participle II) + N – hospital-based care , double-rooted tooth, population-based
research, tobacco-related death;
(N + Participle I) + N – Family
planning services;
(Numeral + N) + N – five-star doctor .
In four-component and five-component
terminological word-combinations possibilities of combining of different
components are much greater: health care system requirements, high quality primary health care.
Increase in the number of components
in terms composed of word- combinations is accompanied by
involving of other parts of speech on the one hand, and the integration of
components in the attribute groups, which are characterized by semantic unity
on the other hand: community-oriented primary care practice , out-of-pocket
payment, WHO Collaborating Centers.
Terminology forms greater part of the vocabulary of modern
scientific language.
Scientific
and medical terminology represent a considerable layer of the vocabulary which
is intensely developing. The analysis
of every composed term contributes to
its memorizing and is the basis for a comprehension and perception of
the whole category of multicomponent terms.
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