The corpus of borrowings and their functioning in the medical terminology of Kazakhstan (on the material of professional periodicals)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of functioning of borrowed lexemes in the medical terminology of Central Kazakhstan. It shows what influence the modern language policy of Kazakhstan has on the sublanguage of medicine. The problem of teaching Latin in medical universities of the Republic of Kazakhstan is touched upon. The arguments in favor of the compulsory introduction of Latin into the curricula of future physicians are presented. Terms extracted from specialized medical journals “Clinical Medicine of Kazakhstan” (J Clin Меd Каz), “Astana Medical Journal” in Central Kazakhstan and “Medicine and Ecology”, published by the Non-profit joint-stock company “Karaganda Medical University”, from 2011 to 2020 were analyzed. 6,450 terms from clinical medicine, pharmacy and anatomy were reviewed to confirm the hypothesis that Latin not only does not lose its position, but actively participates in the formation of new terms “serving” new branches of medicine and areas related to it. The scientifically and statistically unsubstantiated claim of total substitutability of Latin terminology for English terminology is refuted. Although it recognizes the growing influence of English in these spheres. To confirm the hypothesis, we propose an etymological and semantic classification of borrowings. Particular attention is paid to native Western European medical terms. Areas of medicine in which English-language terminology is actively incorporated are being established. The conclusion is that Greek–Latin terminology continues to be the core of the medical sublanguage, but the corpus of medical vocabulary is actively replenished by Anglicisms.