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WORD-FORMATION OF MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY IN ENGLISH & PROCESS OF

TRANSLATION INTO ARABIC

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WORD-FORMATION OF MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY IN ENGLISH &
PROCESS OF TRANSLATION INTO ARABIC
(Thuraya B. El-Wifati, Faculty of Languages-Tripoli University)

ABSTRACT
Language vocabulary can be changed and expanded in order to cop with the
infinite world and state-of the art terminology medical innovations. New words
can be added, and the meaning of already existing words can be altered.
Accordingly, new words can enter a language by means of the process of word
formation rules
This paper is to discuss derivation morphemes in the filed of medical
terminology, and the process of translating them into Arabic. These medical
morphemes are complicated so that understanding what derivation morphemes
are is important. The paper then is to spotlight on neologisms, hyphenated
medical compounds, and process of trasnlating them with special reference to
the theory of Meaning-Based Translation .

Key Words: word formation- morphems- prefixes- suffexis – Source

language – target language- neologisms – Hyphenated Compounds

Introduction:

Due to that fact that most current Arabic medical terminology has been
transmitted from English, it is important to highlight the patterns of the
formation of new medical terminology in English. It is vital for the translator, in
order to be able to translate English medical terminology efficiently, to have the
ability to identify this type of English terminology and be able to split them into
their basic morphemes. This process will pave the way for the translator towards
a comprehension of how to reach to a semantic derivation, thus creating an
target language (TL) equivalent; in this case an Arabic equivalent.

1- Features of Medical Terminology in the Source Language (English):

Medical Terminology uses words created by the use Latin and Ancient
Greek prefixes and suffixes. According to Hutton (2002: 1), most roots are
derived from Greek or Latin words; whereas other roots are of Arabic, Anglo-
Saxon or German origins. It is notable that such Latin and Greek
vocabulary/terms are characterized by the use of the same suffixes and prefixes
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consistently, which tend to refer to a particular case or medical state. While
medical terminology is known to be very difficult and complex, yet it becomes
easy to understand after understanding the pierce suffixes and prefixes that build
up these morphemes. Lynch (cited in Wright and Budin, 1997: 346) states that
medical terminology is composed of five syllables: roots, suffixes, prefixes, and
a combining vowels (the letter o in most cases).

2- Derivational Morphology of Medical Terminology in English:

As mentioned earlier, the majority of medical terminology are being
derived from ancient Greek and Latin. Through the pass of time, all those
derived morphemes become naturalized in the appropriate language; English
and Arabic in this case. Morphemes are considered as the language´s smallest
meaningful unit (Lim Kiat Boey, 1975 : 37). The term calcemia, for example,
consists of two meaningful units or morphemes, cals and –emia. The morphem
cals forming the word refers to a mineral chemical element that is normaly
present in the human body in certain normal levels. Whereas,–emia is a suffix
meaning blood, or the presence of a given substance in the blood. Subsequently,
the two morphemes co-locate together to form a two-syllable word (calcemia)
carrying a lexical meaning that refers to the levels of calcium in blood.
Delahunty and Garvey (2010) state that derivation is the process of creating
separate but morphologically related words. It is a process that involves one or
more changes in word form. It can involve adding a prefix and/or a suffix,
resulting in the production of new medical terminology. They went to define a
morpheme as: “the smallest part of a word that has grammatical function or
meaning; it is not the smallest unit of meaning”. Stageberg (1999) gave support
to Delahunty and Garvey´s definition, stating that:
a morpheme is a short segment of language that meets three criteria: it is a
word or a part of word that has meaning; it cannot be divided into smaller
meaningful parts without violation of its meaning ; and it recurs in differing
verbal environments with a relatively stable meaning.
Stageberg (1999)
Based on the above, it is understood that medical terminology are made up of
morphemes, and once learning a reasonable number of morphemes (with usually
suffices and prefixes), the meaning of such terms would be clear. The Term
Hypercalcemia , for instance, contains a bound morpheme (hyper-) which adds
new information to the word calcemia, which means, according to Oxford
dictionary: (an abnormally large amount of calcium in the blood). All bound
morphemes like (hyper-) are called derivational morpheme. Noting that a
derivational morpheme is defined as a morpheme which produces a new lexeme
from the base (Bauer, 1988: 12), forming a new term. Sari (1988: 82) suggests
that derivational morphemes are bound morphemes which create or derive new
words by either changing the semantic meaning, part of the speech or even
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both. For example, if the bound morpheme hyper- has been replaced by hypo-,
then the lexical meaning of the term (calcemia) would change presenting a new
medical case meaning low levels of calcium in blood.

2.1 The process of Medical Terminology Formation:

The process of forming and creating medical terminology involves a
number of linguistic rules. There is a logic process that is to be applied when
creating a term. A vowel sound is included in the word root in order to add a
smoothing action to the word´s sound when adding a suffix. Accordingly, a new
term with an attached vowel called a combining form (word root + vowel) is
formed. In English, the letter -o-, added to the word root is known to be the most
common vowel used in the formation of medical terminology.
Examples:
hepatomalacia (hepat/o/malcia) – softening of the liver
gastroenteric (gastr/o/entric) – Relating to the stomach and intestines
Gastrodynia gastrodynia (gastr/o/dynia) – pain in the stomach
Angiographi (angi/o/graphy) – x-ray study of the blood vessels
Myoplasty (my/o/plasty) – surgical repair of a muscle

2.1.1 Derivational Prefixes:

A prefix is a short word part that provides modification to word roots. It is to
be placed before (the initial position) of the added root. Medical prefixes are in
most cases derived from Greek and Latin words (Hutton, 2002: 2). Plag (2003)
states that prefixes can generally be attached to verbs, nouns and adjectives.
Below are some examples:

a) Prefixes of Degree:
Prefix Meaning in English Examples
hyper- high, abnromal, over, increased Hypertension
Hypo- low, abnormal, below, decreased Hypocholesterolmia
Pan- of everything, all Pantomogram
b) Negative Prefixes:
Prefix Meaning in English Examples
a-, an- lack, abssence, without anemia
Anti- againt antibiotic
Contra- in opposition to contraindication

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 c) Prefixes of Number:

Prefix Meaning in English Examples

mono/o- one monocyte
Tri- three trimester
quadri four quadriplegia

d) Prefixes of Color:

Prefix Meaning in English Examples

erythr/o red erythrocyte
leuk/o- white leukocyte
melan/o- dark melanoma

In general, prefixes do not require any modification to be applied on a word

root, as prefixes normally end in a vowel or a sound of a vowel. In some minor
cases, prefixes may slightly assimilate in a word, where a syn- is altered to sym-
(both in the meaning of: together, with, joint with..etc.) according to Moby’s
Medical Dictionary, 9th edition, or in- altered to im-., acco

Examples:

Symbiosis (sym/bio/sis) – The biologic association of two or more species.

Synthroid (syn/thr/o/id) – a hormon replacment for a hormone normally
produced by throid gland.
2.1.2 Derivational Suffixes:

A suffix is a word that is placed in the rear position of a term which is to

modify a root. A suffix may indicate whether the term is a noun or an adjective
(Cohen, 2007: 18). Plag (2003: 86-98) presents four categories for suffix:
nominal suffix, verbal suffix, adjectival and adverbial suffixes.

Most derivational suffixes in English change the part of speech. The derivational
suffixes that never change the part speech are not that much.The derivational
suffixes that tend to not change speech part are (–ist) (meaning a practitioner of
a medical science), in audiologist and psychosomaticist; (-ology) (a certain
science or a medical specialism) in adenology and cardiology. Important to
note that suffixes could either be:

(a) in need of the combining-vowel form, or;

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(b) not in need of the combining-vowel form , as they are proceeded by a vowel
already.

Cohen (op. cit: 17) highlights that suffixes that form nouns and adjectives
commonly used in medical terminology.

According to Cohen, suffixes can convert roots into nouns. She divides suffixes
into two general categories: a) functional or semantic prefixes: those that refer to
medical conditions, and b) those that convert roots into the names of medical
specialties or specialists.

Below are some examples of medical suffixes which represents Cohen´s

classification:
Examples:

a) Suffixes for medical specialisms:

Suffix Meaning in English Examples

-iatrics A branch of medicine pedriatics
-iatry A practic of or a sciene psychiatry
-ics Knolwedge, skill or practices pharmaceutics
b) Suffixes referring to a Medical Condition:
Suffix Meaning in English Examples
-ia Refers to certain names of diseases malaria
-itis Refers to inflamation of an organ gastritis
-sis Refer to a medical state or condition nephrosis
c) Medical Adjectivial Suffixes:
Suffix Meaning in English Examples
-al characterized by neural
-ary Belonging to, related to medullary
-ous Full of, characterized by filamentous

3- Translation of Newly-Formed Medical Terminology to the Target

Language (Arabic):

The translation of English medical terminology might be considered as a

difficult and complicated task. Nevertheless, this process becomes much easier
once the translator gains experience in the proceeds of the word-formation of
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medical terminology and methods of decoding its morphemes. Worthy to
mention that decoding the medical term is very important in retrieving the
intended meaning behind the given medical term. The most prominent approach
is based on determining the meaning of the medical term by finding out its
components, and to separate them into individual elements. This requires the
translator to break-down the term and to evaluate the meaning of the suffix first,
secondly the prefix, and finally the root of term. Some tend to start at the end of
the term, working towards the beginning, whereas some other prefer starting at
the beginning of the term and going towards the end. Applying this process
would make it much easier, help gaining a great deal of new vocabulary and
would defiantly assist the translator in producing and retrieving the adequate
translation. Most other like to start at the beginning of a word and work towards
the end.

Example:

The term (otorhiolaryngology) is seperated in to five individual elements, in

which every one carries its own meaning: (oto= ears, rhin= nose, laryng=throat,
ology=the study of, o =combining vowel).

Oto/rhin/o/laryng/ology = The study of the ears, nose and throat

Anyhow, for translators of limited experience in this field is requested to not

fully depend of this approach, as doing that might result in serious translation
defaults. Besides term parts carry more than one meaning, so it is also necessary
for the translator to determine the context in which the term is being used. For
instance, the translator might inaccurately, by reasonably depending on the
literal interpretation of each morpheme, translate the term (cardiectomy) into
Arabic )‫ )عملية إزالة القلب‬meaning the heart removal, wrongly assuming that source
term means surgical removal of all or part of the heart:

(cardi=heart, ectomy=surgical removal of all or part of )

Whenever he becomes in doubt, the translator should verify the result of his
process by looking up a medical terminology dictionary as a final judge. The
correct interpretation of the term (cardiectomy), as quoted in medical
dictionaries is: (surgical removal of the upper end of the stomach). It is assumed
that the prefix cardi-refers to the the stomach´s upper end called (cardiac), i.e.
the end toward the heart.

It is vital for a translator to be certain of the accuracy of his translation, he is

ought to always refer to accredited medical dictionaries and double check the
meaning. Failure to do this might result in inaccurate translation of his task.

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3.1 Neologisms:

Dictionaries generally define neologism as “a new word or a new

meaning for an established word”. It shall refer, as well, to the invention of new
words when the target language has no existing equivalents or when the existing
equivalence are considered to be unsatisfactory, then, there could be other
options for developing neologisms. On the other hand, Peter Newmarks
considers neologisms as “newly come lexical or existing units that acquire a new
sense”(Newmark,1988:140). Whereas, Galperine presents a new classification
for neologisms, stating that terminological neologisms are those which designate
newborn concepts (Galperine 84-85).

According to summaries cited in Terminifo (4/1998), Neologisms can be

classified as following:

a) Primary Neologisms: Neologisms which are formed when a new term

refering to a new concept that is still unknown to the target language (TL) is
created in order to represent a new concept in a given language.

b) Translated Neologisms: Neologisms which are formed when a new

expression is created in the target language (TL) to reflect an already existing
term in the source language (SL)

Special focus is to be paid hereinafter to innovative medical terminology, which

represent ‘Primary neologisims’ and the process of translating them based the
theory of Meaning-Based Translation.

3.2.1 Hyphenated Medical Terms:

A hyphenated compound is a combination of two or more words that
have become unified in form and meaning through frequent use together.
Wisniewski considers compounding as a process that puts together words in
order to build a new concept that does not refer to two things and pronounced
one word (Wisniewski: 2007). Hyphenated compounds consist of words that
enjoy their own lexical meaning, but come together to function as a single term.
Crabtree and Power (1985) suggests: “compounding is a process that forms
newly words, but not from bound affixed but from two independent words”.
Noting that the words by which such compounds are composed of can be free
morphemes or words composed by derivation affixes. Booij (2002) states that
hyphenated compounds are the most common way of making new lexems.
Normally, compounds are created by combining two words, and of which one of
them functions as a pre-modifier of the head word.
Types of Hyphenated Medical Terms:
As earlier mentioned, everyday medical break-through´s introduce new
hyphenated prefix compounds that function as a modifier and followed up by an
7
 abbreviation, a capitalized word, or in some cases a letter. The below stated
terms were subjected to semantic analysis (meaning interpretation), then re-
expressed in the receptors language.

- Hyphenated prefix joined to an abbreviation:

non-Hodgkin lymphoma ‫الورم الليمفاوي الال هودجيكيني‬

anti-RNA Anti- Ribonnucleoprotein ‫أضاد البروتين المستخلص من النواة‬

non-AIDS-related infection ‫عدوي غير مرتبطة بمرض نقص المناعة‬

- A hyphen is used after a term that modifies a phrase:

Non-small-cell lung cancer ‫سرطان الرئة ذو الخاليا الغير صغيرة‬

Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus ‫مرض السكر الغير معتمد على األنسولين‬

- Hyphenate adjective plus noun indication temporary cases:

4-inch scar ‫ انتش‬4 ‫ندبة بحجم‬

5-day growth ‫ أيام من فترة النمو‬5

8-month pregnancy ‫الشهر الثامن من الحمل‬

- Hyphenated terms and abbreviations indicating ratios:

A-G ratio (Albumin to Globulin ratio) ‫نسبة األلبومين إلى الغلوبولين‬

D-N ratio (Desxtrose to nitrogen ratio) ‫نسبة الدكستروز للنتروجين‬

BUN-Creatanine ratio (Blood urea nitrogen to creatanine ratio) ‫نسبة نتروجين البولة مقابل الكريتانين‬

- Hyphenated Adjectives with Participles:

FDA-approved system = eey moo p eaevsr p metsy a ‫نظام مجاز لدى هيئة الغذاء والدواء‬

nyrmAmevmpvmeA

Cell-Based Repair Technology = p ssosAeneoa ev oemAo nmtmAo osnne pe ‫تقنية العالج القائم على الخلية‬

posAv vmoovssmp s

clinically-proven MelaFind = vspv me rsnpAerp anmA seprmApvmeA veen ‫جهاز الكشف عن سرطان الجلد المتبث‬

onmAmopnna metsA ‫اكلينيكيا‬

3.2.2 The Meaning-Based Translation of Hyphenated Medical

Terminology:

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Based on the theory of Meaning-Based Translation, translation is a process
based on the theory that makes it possible to abstract the meaning of a phrase
from its forms and to re-produce that meaning with a very different form in the
target language. According to Larson:

Translation, then, consists of studying the lexicon, grammatical structure,

communication situation, and cultural context of the source language text,
analyzing it in order to determine its meaning, and then reconstructing this same
meaning using the lexicon and grammatical structure which are appropriate in the
receptor language and its cultural context (Larson, 1998-3)

For Mildred Larson, translation consists of transferring the source term into the
target language,without distorting the meaning which must be kept constant. The
form of the source becomes subject to change and to turn to the form of the
target language. It is understood that the form represents the language´s
grammatical surface structure, whereas, the meaning represents the semantic
deep structure.

Examples:

New medical Concept interpretation Suggested Translation in

Arabic
Tele-Medicine Speech Online speech terapy ‫التطبيب عن بعد لمشاكل النطق‬
StemGenex-Stem Cell Therapy A group that offers effective stem ‫العالج بالخاليا الجذعية الجينية‬
cell treatment

Worth mentioning, that a translation based on the semantic structure of the

language takes also into account the communication context: historical setting,
cultural setting, intention of the author, in addition to different types of meaning
contained in the explicit/implicit information of the text. Besides referential and
structural meaning, situational meaning is considered as an important factor that
would help the translator interpret the culture of the author or any other cultural
information given in the text. In short, these steps involve analysis of the text,
comparison with the source text, evaluation of the final product.

Larson 1998, p.4

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 According to Larson, it is suggested that the translator is supposed to set
forth a systematic contrast between the concepts involved in both cultures and to
decide on the importance of the meaning to be transfered. In that sense, Larson’s
theory joins Newmarks´s componential analysis, who presents different meaning
hierarchies within a text, starting from the most important and reaching to the
least. Nida highlights that¨ “comparing a source language word with a target
language word which has a similar meaning but is not an obvious one-to-one
equivalent, by demonstrating first their common and then their differing sense
components” (1988:114).
The translator is expected first to make himself familiar with the medical term
by performing excessive reading on the source language concept in order to
make a clear understanding on such new concept. Then, decide on the most
suitable technique that would help in rendering the correct equivalent of the
target language concept. This, of course, would involve a process of word
formation.

Conclusion:

Everyday, the field of medicine introduces all sorts of innovative discoveries for
new medical procedures, medication and technologies. The translator in most
cases face difficulties in creating an adequate neologism that would serve the
same meaning of the concept in the target language. It is understood that
medical terminology are made up of morphemes, and once learning a reasonable
number of morphemes and gaining experience in the proceeds of the word-
formation of medical terminology and methods of decoding its morphemes, the
meaning of such terms would be clear. On the other hand, most innovative
medical terminology, which represent ‘Primary Neologisims’ are to be
translated in terms of a meaning-based theory that depends on the linguistic
semantic structure, taking into account different types of meaning contained in
the explicit/implicit information of the term. Besides the referential and
structural meaning, situational meanings. The Meaning-Based Theory joins
Newmarks´s componential analysis, which presents different meaning
hierarchies within a text, starting from the most important and reaching to the
least.

10
References:
Bauer, Laurie. Introducing Linguistic Morphology. Edinburgh. University Press,
1988

Booij, Geert. The Grammar of Words: An Introduction to Linguistic Morphology.

2nd Edition. New York: Oxford University Press Inc, 2002.

Boey, Lim Kiat. An Introduction to Linguistics for the language Teacher: Singapore
University Press, 1975.

Cabtree, Monica and Joyce Power. An Introduction to Language. 4th Edition.

Chicago: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc, 1985.

Cohen, Barbara Janson. Medical Terminology: An Illustrated Guide. 5th ed.,

Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2007.

Delahunty, Gerald, & Garvey, James. The English Language: From Sound to Sense.
Perspectives on Writing. Fort Collins, Colorado: The WAC Clearinghouse and Parlor
Press, 2010.

Galperin, Ilya Romanovich. Stylistics. Higher Publishing House, 1977

Hutton, Andrew. An Introduction to Medical Terminology for Health Care: A Self-
Teaching Package, 3rd ed., Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 2002.

Larson, Mildred. Meaning-based translation: A guide to cross-language equivalence.

Lanham, MD: University Press of America and Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1998.

Nirmala, Sari. An Introduction to Linguistics. Jakarta: Departemen Pendidikan dan

Kebudayaan,1988.

Newmark, Peter. A Textbook of Translation. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall

International, 1988
Plag, Ingo. Word-Formation in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press,2003

Wisniewski, Kamil. Word Formation Processes: How New Words Develop in the
English language. New York: Blackwell, 2007.

Wright, Ellen & Budin, Gerhard. Handbook of Terminology Management. Vol. 1:

Basic Aspects of Terminology Management, Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2001.

Stageberg, Norman. An Introductory English Grammar. Chicago: Holt, Rinehart and

Winston Inc., 1999.

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 Online Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_terminology. (Retrieved: October 7th, 2016).

http://www.google.com

Online Specialised Dictionaries:

The On-line Medical Dictionary http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/omd

The Unified Medical Dictionary (UMD) Eng-Arab Medical Dictionary

<http://www.emro.who.int/umd/>

Webster's Online Dictionary http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org

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