International Journal of Language & Literature

Persian Medical Terms, Naming and Morphosemantic Factors: A Discussion in Medical Translation
Ali Akbar Zeinali, Akbar Solati, Hasuria Che Omar, Rokiah Awang

Abstract
The language of medicine with its morphologically complex words will provide considerable and interesting issues that can be studied by both linguists and translators. Lot of surveys were done previously to analyze the language of these most ancient medical records, but the study on the development of Persian medical terminology is limited in number. This paper provides a brief terminological description of the selected English medical terms and their equivalents in the Persian language. The data consisting of 339 medical terms chosen under the “Connective Tissue and Musculoskeletal System” of the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) and their equivalents in the Persian language are selected for this study. The target terms are compared and analyzed based on the secondary term formation processes, with regardnto morphosemantic factors. The quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data indicate that various morphosemantic factors are involved in the secondary term formation processes of the Persian medical terms. The findings demonstrate that the most of the incompatible equivalents have been found in lexicology area; while semantic problems in them cover smaller proportion. Derivational capability and compliance with the language rules are two morphosemantic factors which need further attention in Persian language.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijll.v3n1a11