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A STUDY ON METHODS TO TRANSLATE MEDICAL

TERMS IN THE TEXTBOOK “ENGLISH IN
MEDICINE” FOR THE THIRD-YEAR STUDENTS AT
HAIPHONG MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

Nghiên cứu phương pháp dịch thuật ngữ ngành y khoa trong giáo trình
“English in Medicine” cho sinh viên năm thứ 3, trường
Đại học Y Hải Phòng


M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS


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HANOI, 2014
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A STUDY ON METHODS TO TRANSLATE MEDICAL
TERMS IN THE TEXTBOOK “ENGLISH IN
MEDICINE” FOR THE THIRD-YEAR STUDENTS AT
HAIPHONG MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

Nghiên cứu phương pháp dịch thuật ngữ ngành y khoa trong giáo trình
“English in Medicine” cho sinh viên năm thứ 3, trường
Đại học Y Hải Phòng


M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lê Hùng Tiến



HANOI, 2014
i

DECLARATION
I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “A study on methods to translate
medical terms in the textbook “English in Medicine” for third-year
students at Haiphong Medical University” is the result of my research
for the Degree of Master of Art at University of Foreign Languages and
International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi and the
thesis has not been submitted for any degrees at any other university or
tertiary institution.
Hanoi, July 2014
Student


Đỗ Phương Linh Chi

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Throughout the process of accomplishing the thesis, I have received the
support and encouragement of teachers, family and friends.
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my
supervisor, Associate Professor, Doctor Le Hung Tien who gave me
benefits of his wisdom and his expert knowledge in translation as well
as his constant encouragement from the beginning stage of working out
the research proposal to the final stage of writing up the thesis. Without
his critical comments and valuable suggestions, this study could not be
completed.
My special thanks go to all my lecturers in Faculty of Post-graduate
Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam
National University, Hanoi for their useful lectures during my M.A
course.
I also take this opportunity to thank all of my colleagues at Faculty of
English, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam
National University, Hanoi for their various kinds of help and supports.
Last but not least, I would like to express my thankfulness to my family
and friends for their endless love, significant help and encouragement.

iii

ABSTRACT
The thesis focuses on translation methods and procedures of English
medical terms. It is aimed at investigating the characteristics of medical
terms in order to help the translators and learners have a clear
understanding of the terms. Attempts are also made to identify methods
as well as procedures used in translating medical terms in the textbook
“English in Medicine”. Hopefully, the result of the study will be helpful
to ESP teachers and learners who are interested in medical terms.

iv

ABBREVIATIONS

English for Specific Purposes ESP
English for Medical Purposes EMP
Target language TL
Source language SL
Target text TT

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
ABSTRACT iii
ABBREVIATIONS iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS v
PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale of the study 1
2. Objectives of the study 2
3. Research questions 2
4. Scope of the study 2
5. Significance of the study 2
6. Methods of the study 2
7. Design of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4
Chapter 1: Literature review 4
1. Translation theory 4
1.1. Definitions of Translation 4
1.2. Methods of Translation 5
1.2.1 Larson 5
1.2.2 Newmark 6
1.3. Translation Procedures 7
1.3.1. Vinay & Darbelnet 7
1.3.2. Newmark 8
1.4. Translation Equivalence 10
1.4.1. Jakobson 10
1.4.2. Baker 10
vi

1.4.3. Nida 10
2. Terminology and Medical terminology 11
2.1. Terminology 11
2.2. Medical terms and Characteristics 12
Chapter 2: Translation methods and procedures of Medical terms 16
1. Translation of medical terms 16
1.1. Using Transference 16
1.1.1. Eponyms that derive from person 16
1.1.2. Eponyms that derive from objects 17
1.1.3. Medical acronyms 17
1.1.4. Terms referring to modern concepts that are not technically
lexicalized in Vietnamese 18
1.1.5. Terms referring to modern concepts that are technically
lexicalized in Vietnamese 19
1.2. Using Naturalization 20
1.3. Using Transposition 20
1.4. Using Through-Translation 22
1.5. Using the omission of the preposition „of‟ 23
1.6. Using Sino-Vietnamese elements 24
2. Problems in the translation of medical terms 25
3. Suggested solutions for the Translation of medical terms 26
PART C: CONCLUSION 28
1. Conclusion 28
2. Suggestions for teaching and translation of medical terms 29
3. Limitations 30
4. Suggestions for further studies 30
REFERENCE 31
APPENDIXES I

1

PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the study
From the early 1960‟s, English for Specific Purposes (ESP) has grown
to become one of the most prominent areas of EFL teaching today. ESP
is now taught in every university and colleges with different purposes
such as English for medical professionals, English for waiters, English
for tourism, or English for Business, etc. Among them, English for
Medical Purposes (EMP) is also one of important parts of ESP.
As an English teacher at Haiphong Medical University, where EMP is
taught, I have recognized the enormous necessity of EMP. English for
Medical Purposes (EMP) is an interesting subject for medical students
or specialists. As you know, English is considered as a bridge for
cooperation and development, especially in Medical area. To advance
careers, doctors must write articles in English for international journals
and take part in conferences held in English everywhere in the world.
However, it is also a challenge to them. Translating medical terms in
English medical textbooks or documents is one of the biggest problems.
Sometimes, there are many ways of translating for one word or learners
do not know how to translate these medical terms exactly. This
prevents them from studying or reading English medical documents. To
do this, they need to have translation skills as well as knowledge of
English medical terms.
In the hope of finding a proper solution to the problem of medical
terms translation in the textbook “English in Medicine” for the students
of Haiphong Medical University, I have decided to carry out “A study
on methods to translate medical terms in the textbook “English in
Medicine” for third-year students at Haiphong Medical
2

University”. In this study, some main characteristics of medical terms
are given with methods as well as procedures applied to translate these
terms in the textbook. From that, the study will support translators and
readers a lot of interesting materials for translation in EMP.
2. Objectives of the study
The study consists of the following objectives:
- Investigating medical terms with their characteristics.
- Identifying methods and procedures used in translating medical terms.
- Drawing out some problems and solutions for English medical terms
translation as well as giving some suggestions for teaching and
studying EMP.
3. Research questions
The above objectives will be achieved through the following questions:
- What are the characteristics of medical terms?
- What are the methods and procedures applied for medical terms
translation?
- What causes difficulties for translators in translating medical terms?
4. Scopes of the study
The study is conducted on Medical terms in the textbook “English in
Medicine” for third-year students at Haiphong Medical University.
5. Significance of the study
This study will give readers general views about methods of translation.
In addition, it will also support EMP teachers and learners knowledge
of medical terms with solutions for translating medical terms.
6. Methods of the study
First of all, Descriptive method is used for describing characteristics of
medical terms as well as methods and procedures applied in translating
3

these terms. In this thesis, Comparative analysis is also used for data
collection and analysis. Besides, making conclusion is based on
Conductive approach. During doing this thesis I also collect the
relevant information, documents from the books, articles or Internet.
7. Design of the study
This study is divided into two main parts:
Part A is the Introduction which includes rationale, objectives, scope,
significance, methods and the design of the study.
Part B is the Development with two main chapters:
- Chapter 1 is the Literature review which gives general information of
Translation theory, Terminology and Medical terms.
- Chapter 2 is the Translation methods and procedures of medical terms
with the solutions for the problems. This is the main part of the study.
Part C is the Conclusion with a summary of the groups of terms with
translation methods and procedures used to translate them. Besides,
there are some limitations and suggestions for teaching and translation
of medical terms. There are also some suggestions for further studies.
The last one is the Reference and Appendixes of the study.







4

PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Translation theory

Definitions of Translation
Translation has been approached from a scientific point of view by
linguists through times, so it has been defined variously. The following
are some typical definitions:
 The term translation itself has several meanings: it can refer to the
general subject field, the product (the text that has been translated) or
the process (the act of producing the translation, otherwise known a
translating). The process of translation between two different written
languages involves the translator changing an original written text (the
source language or SL) into a written text (the target text or TT) in a
different verbal language (the target language or TL) (Jakobson
1959/2000:114)
 Translating is rendering the meaning of a text into one language in the
way the author intended the text (Newmark).
 Translating is the replacement of textual material in one language (SL)
by equivalent textual material in another language (TL) (Catford).
 Translating is an art that involves the re-creation of a work in another
language for readers with a different background. (Cowley)
In summary, translation is a challenging task that requires a strong
knowledge of language, good writing skills and knowledge of a specific
subject. The texts are changed into another language, but translators do
not change the content, tone or style of the massage in those texts.


5

1.2. Methods of Translation
1.2.1. Larson
According to Larson (1984:15) translation is divided into two
categories. They are from-based or literal translation and meaning

based or idiomatic translation. The methods spread in the continuum
from very literal, to literal, to modified literal, to near idiomatic,
idiomatic, and unduly free. The continuum is drawn as follow:
 Very literal is an interlinear translation. For some purposes, it is
desirable to reproduce the linguistic features of the source text, as for
example, in a linguistic study of that language;
 Literal translation is a translation which its sounds like nonsense and
has little communicative value. It may be very useful for the purposes
related to the study of the source language, they are of little help to
speakers of the receptor language who are interested in the meaning of
the source language text;
 Modified literal methods are a way to modify order and grammar of the
source language in an acceptable sentence structure in the receptor
language. However, the lexical items are translated literally.
 Inconsistent mixture mixes literal and idiomatic translation in the final
draft of translation.
 Near idiomatic reproduces the meaning of the source language (that is
the meaning intended by the original communicator) in receptor
language without losing the natural form of the source language.
 Idiomatic translation reproduces the meaning of the source language
(that is the meaning intended by the original communicator) in the
natural form of receptor language.
6

 The unduly free translation adds extraneous information, which is not
stated in the source text. It changes the meaning of SL; it distorts the
fact of the historical and cultural setting of the source text (Larson
1984: 16-18).
1.2.2. Newmark
Newmark (1988: 45-47) uses eight terms in his classification. They are

word-for-word, literal, faithful, semantic, communicative, idiomatic,
free, and adaptation that divided into two scopes – the methods closest
to the source language or literal translation and the methods closest to
the target language or communicative translation.
(1) The methods closest to the source language - Literal translation:
 Word-for-word Translation: The Source Language is translated word
by word.
 Literal Translation: The SL grammatical forms are converted to their
nearest target language equivalent. However, the lexical words are
translated out of context.
 Faithful Translation: This method tries to reproduce the precise
contextual meaning of the original within the constraint of the TL
grammatical structures. It transfers cultural words and faithfully
follows the SL grammatical forms.
 Semantic Translation: This method concerns the aesthetic value-that is
the beautiful and natural sound-of the SL text. In addition, the method
compromises on an appropriate meaning. So, that no assonance, or
repetition jars in the translation.
(2) The methods closest to the target language - Communicative
translation
7

 Free Translation: Free translation is the translation, which is not,
bonded structure and manner.
 Adaptation: This method is the freest form of translation. It is
frequently used for plays (comedies) and poetry.
 Idiomatic Translation: Idiomatic translation reproduces the message of
the source text but tend to distort nuances of meaning by preferring
colloquialisms and idioms.
 Communicative translation: This method attempts to render the exact

contextual meaning of the original in such a way that both content and
language are readily acceptable and comprehensible to the readership.

1.3. Translation Procedures
1.3.1. Vinay & Darbelnet
There are two main translation strategies, direct and oblique
translation, covering all together seven concrete procedures.
Direct translation
 Borrowing: The SL word is transferred directly to the TL (Munday,
2001, p56).
 Calque: It is a strategy to „borrow‟ the SL expression or structure and
then transfer it in a literal translation (Vinay &Darbelnet, 2004,p.129).
This is a special kind of borrowing.
 Literal translation: A word-for-word translation. It is a translation
strategy used „most common between languages of the same family and
culture‟ (Vinay &Darbelnet, 2004, p.130).
Oblique translation
8

 Transposition: The method involves „replacing one word class with
another without changing the meaning of the message‟ (Vinay
&Darbelnet 2004, p.132).
 Modulation: It refers to „a variation of the form of the message,
obtained by a change in the point of view‟ (Vinay & Darbelnet 2004,
p.133).
 Equivalence: It refers to a strategy to describe the same situation by
„using completely different stylistic or structural methods‟ for
producing „equivalent texts‟ (Vinay & Darbelnet 2004, p.134).
 Adaptation: It refers to a method „used in those cases where the type of
situation being referred to by the SL message is unkown in the TL

culture‟ (Vinay & Darbelnet 2004, p.134).
1.3.2. Newmark
The following are the different translation procedures that Newmark
(1988) proposes:
 Transference: it is the process of transferring an SL word to a TL text.
It includes transliteration and is the same as what Harvey (2000:5)
named "transcription."
 Naturalization: it adapts the SL word first to the normal pronunciation,
then to the normal morphology of the TL. (Newmark, 1988:82)
 Cultural equivalent: it means replacing a cultural word in the SL with a
TL one. however, "they are not accurate" (Newmark, 1988:83)
 Functional equivalent: it requires the use of a culture-neutral word.
(Newmark, 1988:83)
 Descriptive equivalent: in this procedure the meaning of the CBT is
explained in several words. (Newmark, 1988:83)
9

 Componential analysis: it means "comparing an SL word with a TL
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." (Newmark, 1988:114)
 Synonymy: it is a "near TL equivalent." Here economy trumps
accuracy. (Newmark, 1988:84)
 Through-translation: it is the literal translation of common
collocations, names of organizations and components of compounds. It
can also be called: calque or loan translation. (Newmark, 1988:84)
 Shifts or transpositions: it involves a change in the grammar from SL to
TL, for instance, (i) change from singular to plural, (ii) the change
required when a specific SL structure does not exist in the TL, (iii)
change of an SL verb to a TL word, change of an SL noun group to a

TL noun and so forth. (Newmark, 1988:86)
 Modulation: it occurs when the translator reproduces the message of
the original text in the TL text in conformity with the current norms of
the TL, since the SL and the TL may appear dissimilar in terms of
perspective. (Newmark, 1988:88)
 Recognized translation: it occurs when the translator "normally uses
the official or the generally accepted translation of any institutional
term." (Newmark, 1988:89)
 Compensation: it occurs when loss of meaning in one part of a sentence
is compensated in another part. (Newmark, 1988:90)
 Paraphrase: in this procedure the meaning of the CBT is explained.
Here the explanation is much more detailed than that of descriptive
equivalent. (Newmark, 1988:91)
10

 Couplets: it occurs when the translator combines two different
procedures. (Newmark, 1988:91)
 Notes: notes are additional information in a translation. (Newmark,
1988:91)
1.4. Translation Equivalence
1.4.1. Jakobson
Jakobson (1959) makes a contribution to the theoretical analysis of
translation. He introduces the concept of equivalence in difference. He
suggests three kinds of equivalence known as:
- Intralingual (within one language, i.e. rewording or paraphrase)
- Interlingual (between two languages)
- Intersemiotic (between sign systems)
1.4.2. Baker
Baker (1992) defines four kinds of equivalents as follows:
- Equivalence that can appear at word level and above word level, when

translating from one language into another.
- Grammatical equivalence, when referring to the diversity of
grammatical categories across languages.
- Textual equivalence when referring to the equivalence between a SL
text and a TL text in terms of information and cohesion.
- Pragmatic equivalence, when referring to imprimaturs and strategies of
avoidance during the translation process.
1.4.3. Nida
Nida's theory of translation is characterized by the distinction between two
types of equivalence: formal equivalence and dynamic equivalence. For
11

formal equivalence, the translator focuses on the message itself, that is,
its form and content, and there should be a close similarity between the
ST and the TT message (Nida, 1964).
Concerning dynamic equivalence, Nida mentions that this type is based
on "the principle of equivalent effect", in which "the relationship
between receptor and message should be substantially the same as
that which existed between the original receptor and the
message." (Nida, 1964: 159)
In summary, we have finished reviewing the theoretical background of
translation with translation methods, procedures, as well as equivalence
of translation. These important theories will be applied in the next parts
of the thesis.

2. Terminology and medical terminology
2.1. Terminology
In this part, some main knowledge of terminology in general and
medical terminology in particular will be given and discussed. First of
all, we will have a look at two concepts „terminology‟ and „term‟.

According to Oxford Advanced Learner Dictionary, term is "a word or
phrase used as the name of something especially one connected with a
particular type of language." Also this dictionary defines terminology
as "a set of technical words or expressions used in a particular subject."
As such, terminology is broader in meaning compared with term. While
terms separately refer to discrete conceptual entities, properties that
constitute the knowledge of a particular field, terminology refers to the
system of all concepts and definitions concerning a specific technical
area. In brief, unlike ordinary words, terminology or a set of terms are
12

regarded as scientific words and each term denotes a concept in a
particular field such as economics, biology, chemistry, and so on.
Terminology is the language used to describe a specific thing, or the
language used within a specific field.
2.2. Medical terminology
Medical terminology is one of the main parts of terminology. “Medical
terminology is the professional language of those who are directly or
indirectly engaged in the art of healing (Frenay and Mahoney, 1998).”
Most medical terms have Greek or Latin origins, though some are
derived from modern languages, particularly German, French, and
English. In general, terms dealing with diagnosis and surgery have
Greek origins, whereas anatomical terms have Latin origins.
As other terminologies, medical terminology also has general
characteristics of terminology such as Accurateness, Internationalism,
Systematic and Popularity and Nationality (Do Huu Chau, 1981). I will
give more specific explanation as follows:
Accurateness
First of all, a term needs to be accurate and clear because it refers to an
exact concept of a science. Medical terms are too. A medical term must

be clear and exact. In addition, it should not make the readers
misunderstand the concept it expresses with another. These terms often
have one-one relation to the concepts that they concern.
For examples,
 „pneumonia‟ (viêm phổi): is taken for one single meaning „a serious
illness affecting one or both lungs that makes breathing difficult.‟
 „allergy‟ (dị ứng): is an abnormally high sensitivity to certain
substances, such as food, drug, weather, etc.
13

Internationalism
Medical terminology is used all over the world. In other words, these
terms are used internationally. They are special words expressing
common scientific concepts to people of different languages. It gives
the concepts understood by speakers of different cultures. This feature
is an important property that helps distinguish terminology from other
layers of vocabulary such as slang, dialect, etc. The internationality is
also seen in the form of terms. Sometimes it is very interesting to know
that many terms used by different countries have similar phonetic form.
For example:

English
Vietnamese
French
Germany
stress
áp lực
stress
erpruch
shock

choáng
chock
erschock
virus
vi rút
virus
asvirus
protein
chất đạm
protein
dasprotein
vitamin
vitamin
vitamine
vitamin
amoeba
amip
amibe
amode

Table 1: Internationalism of medical terms
Systematic
Any field of sciences has its own limited system of concepts, which are
named by a system of terms. Terminology is "a set of technical words
or expressions used in a particular subject." This means terminology of
a specific profession should include terms that are closely related to
each other and reflect a system of concepts of the profession and
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medical terminology is, too. It consists of the concepts or meaning

relating to medicine.
For example:
medical terms
medical
meaning
normal meaning
nervous
thuộc thần kinh
hồi hộp, lo lắng
tissue
mô
giấy mềm
spread
di căn
lan ra

Table 2: Systematic of medical terms
Popularity
Many medical terms are so popular that they are not considered as
terminology. In contrast, they become common words which are used
in daily life. It becomes easy to remember, easy to understand. It is very
easy to find out these words.
For instance,
English terms
Vietnamese
shock
sốc
stress
áp lực, căng thẳng
cancer

ung thư
syringe
si-ranh
vaccine
vắc-xin/ thuốc phòng
vitamin
vitamin
virus
virut
aspirin
thuốc giảm đau
Table 3: Popularity of medical terms
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Structural characteristics
Medical terminology also has some specific characteristics in structure
and word forms. As above, most medical terms have Greek or Latin
origin. They are formed from word root, prefixes and suffixes. This is a
common feature of medical terms. We can find out many examples for
this in medical texts. Here I will show some typical examples in the
textbook „English in Medicine‟.
For example:
medical term
root
prefixes
suffixes
pericarditis
(viêm bao tim)

cardi

(heart)
peri-
(around)
-itis
(inflammation)
lymphopenia
(giảm limpho
bào)
lympho
(lymphoc
yte)

-penia
(lack,
decrease)
antibody
(kháng thể)
body
(body)
anti-
(against)


Table 4: Characteristic of structure of medical terms
In summary, an understanding of the structure of medical terms, and an
ability to break down a medical term into its parts helps you get the
most out of using a medical dictionary, and makes dealing with medical
terminology less challenging than it first appears.

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CHAPTER 2: TRANSLATION METHODS AND PROCEDURES
OF MEDICAL TERMS
1. Translation of medical terms
In this chapter, we will discuss some common methods as well as
procedures applied in medical terms translation. As we know, „while
translation methods relate to whole texts, translation procedures are
used for sentences and the smaller units of language‟ (Newmark, p81).
This paper is about medical terms, so it will pay more attention to
translation procedures. The scope of these medical terms is in the
textbook „English in Medicine‟. The following procedures are given
with examples.
1.1. Using Transference
Transference or transcription is a translation procedure used very
frequently in medicine. Here, I will discuss some groups of terms that
can be translated by this procedure.
1.1.1. Eponyms that derive from person
Medical eponyms are popular terms in the field of medicine. These
terms are named after people that are usually the inventors or
discoverers. There are many kinds of medical eponyms such as
eponyms of diseases, medical signs, devices or treatments. Some
examples of these terms are found out in the textbook:

English
Vietnamese
Parkinsonism
Hội chứng Parkinson

Bowman‟s capsule
bao Bowman

Table 5: Eponyms that derive from person
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Usually, the readers are medical students or specialists, so they are
more familiar with these terms. So, the translators do not have to
translate these terms with detailed meaning because they can easily
understand the transferred eponyms with this translation procedure.
This makes the transferred terms shorter.
1.1.2. Eponyms that derive from objects
Besides the eponyms that derive from person, there are also some terms
that derive from objects. They can be brands, properties of devices,
materials or chemical elements, etc. They are often transferred and
coupled with a classifier to make the translation more understandable.
Here are some examples,

English
Vietnamese
lymphocyte
tế bào lim phô
collagen fibre
sợi collagen
protein metabolism
sự chuyển hóa protêin

Table 6: Eponyms that derive from objects
1.1.3. Medical acronyms
Acronym is a common feature of all non-literary texts in general and

medical texts in particular. The letters are joined up and become
internationalisms. It is usually translated, but sometimes, SL acronyms
are retained for convenience. Besides, some acronyms are so common
that people or specialists in that field often use the acronyms instead of
their full name. For instance, in Vietnam, there are some popular
acronyms such as AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome -