Objective To explore the lexical features of medical English. Methods To find out the lexical features of medical English through induction and analysis. Results Medical English, as a special purpose English, has different lexical features from general English in terms of vocabulary sources, amphibious vocabulary, compound vocabulary, non-predicate verbs and written vocabulary. Conclusion Understanding the lexical features of medical English is helpful to improve the teaching level of medical English.
Medical English; Lexical features; Amphibian vocabulary; nonfinite verb
Abstract: Objective To explore the morphological characteristics of medical English. Methods Through induction and analysis, the lexical features of medical English were found out. Results Medical English, as a special course? Objective English is different from ordinary English in etymology, amphibious words and non-English. Finite verbs, etc. Conclusion Understanding the characteristics of medical English is helpful to improve medical English teaching.
[Keywords:] Medical English; Morphological characteristics; Amphibious words; No? finite verb
Medical English is an interdisciplinary subject between medicine and English linguistics. As a branch of EST, it belongs to ESP. After the accumulation and evolution of long-term medical practice by British and American medical workers, medical English has gradually formed its own unique expression and vocabulary norms, which has many characteristics different from ordinary English, mainly in morphology, syntax, style and text structure. Here, the lexical features of medical English are discussed from several aspects.
1 Medical English uses a large number of medical terms from Greek and Latin.
English is a language that contains and absorbs many foreign words. Due to historical reasons, English has absorbed a large number of Latin and Greek words in the long process of development and evolution. Because the culture of ancient Greece and Rome has a great influence on the development of medicine, while Greek and Latin are rich in vocabulary, simple in lexical meaning, simple in word-formation principle and strong in word-formation ability, most of the medical English terms we see today are synthesized by Greek morphemes and Latin morphemes [1]. Medical English terms derived from Greek and Latin have the following two characteristics: ① Medical professional terms directly derived from Greek and Latin still retain their prototypes, such as words derived from Latin: brain, uterus, coma, etc. Words from Greek: thorax (chest), pharynx (pharynx), stagnation, etc. ② Greek and Latin morphemes (roots or affixes) synthesize medical terms through derived phrases, which are the most common in medical English vocabulary, such as electrocardiogram (ECG, electricity? Electricity, heart? Heart? Ketu), bactericidal ide (bactericide, bacteriocin? Bacteria? Cide kill), hypertension (hypertension, hyper? Tall? Tension), uterine geography (hysterography, uterus? The uterus? Photography) and so on. According to statistics, 75% of medical English vocabulary contains Greek and Latin elements [2].
Amphibious words are often used in medical English vocabulary.
Another source of medical English vocabulary is to borrow words from general English. There are many common words in medical articles that have different medical meanings when used as medical terms. These words are abbreviated as amphibious words. There are about 800 ~ 900 amphibious words, which are frequently used in medical English and occupy an important position. Amphibian vocabulary can be roughly divided into two types. The first is extended vocabulary, which has a direct relationship between medical meaning and ordinary meaning, and is an extension or transformation of ordinary meaning, which is easy to understand and master, such as delivery? Delivery), Appendix (Appendix? Appendix), attack (attack? Seizures) and so on. The other is an independent vocabulary, whose medical meaning has no obvious connection with ordinary meaning [3], and is not an extension of ordinary meaning, so its medical meaning cannot be inferred from ordinary meaning, for example, culture? Training), pupils (pupils? Pupils), shit? Feces) and so on.
3 Medical English uses more words transformed from abbreviations and proper nouns.
Abbreviation in English is to abbreviate a word or phrase and express its meaning with letters. Medical English abbreviations are one of the most active areas in English abbreviations, which are widely used in medical articles, doctor's prescriptions, advertisements for drugs and devices. From the perspective of composition, medical abbreviations mainly have the following forms: ① They are formed by capitalizing the first letter of each word that constitutes an abbreviation forward or backward, such as AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome); (2) It consists of lowercase initials and dots, such as t.i.d (Latin prescription word, three times a day); (3) It consists of uppercase or lowercase letters in words, such as ECG and flu. The use of abbreviations saves time and space and makes medical English words and phrases concise and easy to remember.
There are also many names of diseases, medical technologies or medical devices named after discoverers or inventors in medical English. After continuous use, these proper nouns have gradually evolved into medical words with fixed and clear meanings, such as pasteurization and pasteurization, which are widely used in microbiology and originated from Louise Pasteur. French scientist who invented this disinfection method. Neisseria infection originated from the surname of ALBERT L.NEISSER, who was the first German doctor to discover gonococcus.
Nouns derived from verbs are widely used in medical English.
In medical English, nominalized words often appear when describing disease symptoms. These nouns usually come from verbs or adjectives. In English, nouns represent things, while medical articles describe objective facts such as diseases, symptoms, signs and course of disease. The focus of sentences is to express objectivity rather than subjectivity. Therefore, medical English uses nouns derived from verbs to express the content expressed by verbs in ordinary English, and hides the original meaning of verbs in the deep structure of sentences, which can emphasize the objective color, greatly simplify the language structure and narrative level, avoid using sentences or clauses, and be more written. For example, esophageal hiatal hernia in patients with peptic esophagitis may need to consider two diagnoses. The diagnosis of two diseases must be considered when patients with esophageal hiatal hernia have peptic ulcer. The noun "occurrence" in the sentence replaces the meaning expressed by the verb "occurrence" and the noun "consideration" in the sentence replaces the meaning expressed by the verb "consideration". Recurrence after initial improvement is a common signal of this event. The nouns "relax" and "improvement" in the sentence replace the corresponding verbs.