Synonyms in Medical Terminology: Confusion for Inexperienced Translators?
Ewa Kujawska-Lis
Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski, OlsztynAbstract
English-language medical terminology can be occasionally confusing for
translators as simultaneously both English-based and Latin-based (sometimes
Greek-based) terms referring to the same disease are used. Additionally, synonymous
English terms relating to the same phenomena can be employed. This
may be potentially challenging, especially for inexperienced translators who are
not sure which term should be selected in particular contexts. Such situations
can be illustrated by the synonymous co-occurring and coexisting in relation to
disorders and diseases, tumour and neoplasm, and cancer and neoplastic disease.
Examining terminology mainly from the area of cardiology and nephrology,
I would like to indicate that depending on various factors and the translator’s
skopos, different terminology can be applied and also draw attention to the fact
that medical language, like any natural language, develops; hence the change
in terminology and preferences for specific terms.
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Uniwersytet Warmińsko-Mazurski, Olsztyn
