LATIN IN ENGLISH/SLOVAK NEUROLOGY TERMINOLOGY

Abstract

The paper studies the use of Latin in Neurology terminology. Specialised communication in medicine is
impossible without recognizing the unique role of Latin being the language of scientific progress in the processes of
accumulation, preservation, documentation, and transfer of knowledge and expertise. The comparative terminology
research deals with the identification, analysis, and assessment of Latin terms used in the English and Slovak
neurological environment in the modern era. Latin presents the foundation of medical terminology and has been
used since the beginning of the formation of medicine as a scientific discipline. The theoretical part of the paper
defines basic terminological concepts and focuses on the field of neurology, English/Slovak neurology specialty,
research methods, and methods of terminology work. To achieve the objective of the paper the following methods
have been used: observation, excerption, conceptual analysis, term analysis, comparative analysis, classification of
terms, and synthesis of data. It also describes the historical development of Latin, and medicine including medical
terminology. Specialised medical language and terminology performs at international and national levels. Besides
that, the paper describes the Greek influence on medical terminology and the importance of terminology literacy and
terminology culture. The empirical part deals with the terminology work consisting of excerption, harmonization,
and terminography. Many bilingual terminology records have been compiled with equivalents and terminology
contexts and prepared for multiple uses as a terminology product: glossary, dictionary, database…). Neurological
terms of Latin origin are excerpted from highly specialised neurology papers (100 terms from English papers, 155
terms from Slovak ones, 255 excerpted terms with their equivalents in total). As a result of partial comparative
terminology, analysis terms have been classified according to their degree of assimilation and latinity. 100
neurological terms excerpted from the English written papers are divided into 3 categories: 46 multiple-assimilated
terms, 45 Latin assimilated terms, and 9 semi-assimilated terms. 155 neurological terms excerpted from the Slovak
written papers are assigned into 4 categories: 75 multiple-assimilated terms, 63 Latin assimilated terms, 15 nonassimilated
terms, and 2 semi-assimilated terms. As a conclusion of comparative terminological research there are
some findings and recommendations for practice pointing out that firstly, neurology specialists from both countries
prefer use of Latin terms in communication with professionals, secondly, Latin terms are more dominant in the
Slovak professional environment using the origin unchanged pronunciation, thirdly, studying the Latin language and
terminology is essential for comprehending and defining the medical (neurological) concepts even in contemporary
age, thoroughly, there are non-assimilated Latin terms in English written neurology papers, the English language
prefers its own pronunciation rules, fifthly, findings help to model concept structures based on specialised
knowledge of the field and clarify the relations between concepts, sixthly, preference for native language is
recommended in national terminology, seventhly, the conceptual system facilitate the comparative analysis of
concepts and designations across languages, and finally, the terminology literacy and competence is important for
language users in every subject field.