TTLA: Research on disease terminology in English and how to translate it into Vietnamese

INFORMATION ABOUT DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name of the researcher:Nguyen Thi Hoai              

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: March 28, 1973

4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Decision on recognition of PhD students No. 3216/QD-XHNV-SDH, dated December 31, 2014 of the Director of Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in training process: No

7. Thesis topic name:Research on disease terminology in English and how to translate it into Vietnamese.

8. Major: Comparative Linguistics Code: 62.22.02.41

9. Scientific instructor:Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh

10. Summary of new results of the thesis:

Firstly, through a survey of 1949 disease terms, the thesis determined: (1) In terms of structure, disease terms include two types: words and phrases. However, due to differences in language types, the ratio of terms that are words and phrases is significantly different between English and Vietnamese. Of the 1949 terminological units surveyed, the results obtained in English showed that 1341 (68.80%) terminological units were words and 608 (31.20%) terminological units were phrases, while in Vietnamese there were only 115 (5.90%) terminological units that were words and 1089 (94.10%) terminological units were phrases. (2) In terms of structural models, the thesis determined that there are 8 structural models in English and 11 structural models in Vietnamese. In both languages, disease terms have in common the tendency to be short, in which 2-component terms account for the largest proportion, and gradually decrease for 3- and 4-component terms.

Second, the thesis studies the identifying characteristics of disease terms, the results obtained: basic disease terms are divided into two semantic content categories, which are disease characteristics and human body characteristics. In which, disease characteristics include 5 semantic fields: disease state, color disorder, quantity, time and location. Human body characteristics are divided into 18 semantic fields based on anatomical characteristics of the human body.

Third, in terms of translation, the thesis obtained 4 levels of equivalence. That is, an English disease term can have from 1 to 4 equivalents in Vietnamese. Of which, 1:1 equivalence accounts for the majority (85.12%). For disease terms that are abbreviations in English, they are translated into Vietnamese mainly by keeping the original form or copying. From there, the thesis makes a general assessment of the current situation of translation of disease terms, and at the same time applies the standardization theory to propose the correction of some terms that do not meet the requirements in Vietnamese.

11. Practical application

The results obtained contribute to teaching - learning and researching medical English, as well as processing English medical documents, compiling and editing teaching materials.

12. Further studies:

The thesis mainly surveys and studies disease terminology within the scope of dictionaries. Therefore, further research will focus on terminology used in medical texts and in communication between medical staff.

13. Published works related to the thesis:

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2016), “The formation and development of medical terminology and some characteristics in English medical language”, Dictionary & Encyclopedia Journal (5), pp. 19-25.

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2016), “History of development and the path of formation of Vietnamese disease terminology”, Proceedings of the 2016 scientific conference - Preserving the purity of Vietnamese and language education in schools, pp. 182-187.

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2017), “Some issues on translating English-Vietnamese disease terms”, Language & Life Magazine (2), pp. 52-55.

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2017), “The relationship between linguistic comparison and translation of English-Vietnamese disease terms”, Journal of Lexicography & Encyclopedia (2), pp. 35-43.

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2017), “Structure of disease terms in English”, Journal of Lexicography & Encyclopedia (4), pp. 1-4 (part 1).

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2017), "Research on the structure of Vietnamese disease terminology", National Linguistics Conference - Language in Vietnam - Integration and Development, pp. 427-434.

INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name: Nguyen Thi Hoai 2. Sex: Female

3. Date of birth: March 28^th, 1973 4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Admission decision number: 3216/QD-XHNV-SDH, Dated: December 31^st, 2014 by The President of Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in academic process: None

7. Official thesis title: Pathodological terminology in English and the translation into Vietnamese.

8. Major: Contrastive - comparative Linguistics Code: 62.22.02.41

9. Supervisors: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Chinh

10. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

Firstly, by examining 1949 separate terms, the thesis has determined: (1) Structurally, the terminology of the disease consists only of two types, words and phrases, but due to differences in the type of language, there is a big difference in the term (being word or phrase) ratio between English and Vietnamese. Of the 1949 survey terms, the results were 1341 units (68.80%) being words and 608 (31.20%) units being phrases in English, while in Vietnamese only 115 units (5.90%) are words and 1089 are phrases (94.10%). (2) On the structural model, through the survey and analysis of 1949 terms, the thesis concludes 8 structural models in English and 11 in Vietnamese. In both languages, the disease-related terms all share the same tendency to be short, in which the two-component terms occupy the greatest proportion, and gradually decrease for three and four-component terms.

Secondly, in terms of identifying nomination characteristics, the terminology is basically divided into two categories of semantic content, characteristics of diseases and of the human body. The characteristics of diseases is divided into five subcategories, including disease status and disorder in color, quantity, time and location. Human body characteristics are divided into 18 subcategories based on the anatomical characteristics of the human body.

Thirdly, in terms of equivalence in translation, there are four levels of equivalence, which means that an English pathological term can have up to 4 equivalents in Vietnamese and 1:1 holds the majority (85.12%). For acronyms, acronyms in English are translated into Vietnamese mainly by simulating or copying. Then, the thesis reviews the translation problems, based on typical theories to give suggestions to edit unsatisfactory terms in Vienamsese.

11. Practical applicability:

The results of this study may contribute to the teaching - studying and researching of medicine in English, as well as processing English medical and teaching materials.

12. Further research directions:

This thesis has mainly pathological pathological terms in dictionaries. Thus, further research directions will focus on terms in medical texts and conversations of medical staff.

13. Thesis-related publications:

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2016), “The formation and development of medical terms and some characteristics of medical language in English”, Lexicography and Encyclopedia (5), pp. 19-25.

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2016), “History of development and formation of pathological terminology in Vietnamese”, Science Conference 2016 - Reserve the identity of the Vietnamese language and academia, pp. 182-187.

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2017), “Some issues in translating English pathologiocal terms into Vietnamese”, Language and Life (2), pp. 52-55.

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2017), “An investigation into the relation between contrastive linguistics and translation of English-Vietnamese pathological terms”, Lexicography and Encyclopedia (2), pp. 35-43.

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2017), “Formation of pathological terminology in English”, Lexicography and Encyclopedia (4), pp. 1-4 (part 1).

Nguyen Thi Hoai (2017), “An investigation into formation of pathological terminology in Vietnamese”, National Language Conference - Languages ​​in Vietnam - Integration and development, pp. 427-434.