Palmira ZEMLEVIČIŪTĖ

Lietuvių kalbos institutas

SYNONYMOUS TERMS IN THE “MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA”

This article examines synonymy among international and Lithuanian medical terms used in the Lithuanian language. The research material consists of 291 synonym sets naming the same concept (610 term units in total). The terms were collected from the two-volume “Medical Encyclopedia” (Vilnius, 1991, 1993). Its editors drew terms from the “Dictionary of Medical Terms” (Vilnius, 1980). The “Medical Encyclopedia” contains 4,500 articles (synonymous terms occur in 485 articles). A large part of the encyclopedia consists of articles about the structure of the human body, its organs and their functions; about various diseases, their origins, causes, symptoms, and prevention; and descriptions of groups of medicines and commonly used medicines. However, the encyclopedia includes not only medical terms but also terms from other fields. Considerable attention is given to physiology, immunology, psychiatry, sexology, and aspects of biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, parasitology, and psychology related to medicine. A number of medicinal plants and the names of the most commonly practiced sports are included. In addition, resorts are described in separate articles, and at the end of the second volume, following the general articles, about 200 of Lithuania’s most notable medical practitioners are profiled¹.

This time we will set hybrids aside, i.e. single-word hybrids (terms with a Latin or Greek root and a Lithuanian suffix, e.g.: farmacininkas, letalumas, rezistentiškumas) and hybrid word combinations (complex terms in which either one or more components are Lithuanian and the other(s) international, or one of the components has a Latin or Greek root and a Lithuanian suffix or prefix, or one component is a compound word whose one element is Latin or Greek and the other Lithuanian, e.g.: cucugamuši

¹ See Medical Encyclopedia (Preface) 1, Vilnius, 1991.

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fever, precancerous processes, external fixation devices, marine therapy, tuberculosis of the bones and joints, inflammation of the lymph nodes, mosquito fever, anti-asthmatic medicines).

Before beginning to examine synonymy among medical terms, it would first be useful to clarify how the term synonym itself is understood.

1. The concept of synonym

The term synonym [Gk. synōnymos – namesake] is an old one, dating back to Antiquity. It was applied only to words, but was broadened over time. Word forms, word-formation devices, word combinations, and sentences also came to be regarded as synonyms. Synonyms have been widely studied, and many different works have been written on the subject. In the linguistic literature, synonyms are defined in different ways because the criteria for distinguishing them differ; consequently, definitions vary, refine, and complement one another.

Linguists who have studied synonyms generally identify three main features concerning expression, content, and function. Synonyms are words with different phonetic forms but identical or very similar meanings, used to denote particular shades of meaning or style². In dictionaries of linguistic terms, the term synonym is defined in various ways by combining the aforementioned features³. J. Apresian offered a new perspective on the question of synonymy. For words to be considered lexical synonyms, the linguist writes, they must have matching dictionary definitions of meaning, the same number of collocational possibilities with

² Lyberis A. Lietuvių kalbos sinonimų žodynas, Kaunas, 1961, 6. ³ Žr. Марузо Ж. Словарь лингвистических терминов, Москва, 1960, 267; Ахманова О. Словарь лингвистических терминов, Москва, 1966, 407; Gołąb Z., Heinz A., Polański K. Słownik terminologii językoznawczej, Warszawa, 1968, 555; Bartschat B., Conrad R., Heinemann W., Pfeifer G., Steube A. Lexikon sprachwissenschaftlicher Termini, Leipzig, 1988, 240; Gaivenis K., Keinys St. Kalbotyros terminų žodynas, Kaunas, 1990, 182–183; Bussman H. Routledge dictionary of language and linguistics. Translated and edited by Gregory Trauth and Kerstin Kazzazi. London and New York, 1996, 470; Matthews P. H. The concise Oxford dictionary of linguistics, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997, 367–368.

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other words, and belong to the same part of speech⁴. In determining whether words are synonymous, it is important that words regarded as synonyms denote the same or a very similar referent—a thing, property, action, or state⁵. Linguists do not all agree on one criterion of synonymy: substitutability. Some believe that only words that can replace one another in any context should be called synonyms (S. Ullmann, J. Lyons, Ch. Bally)⁶. Others think that one cannot speak of the substitutability of synonyms at all (J. Barauskaitė, A. Rasimavičius)⁷. K. Župerka, who studied synonyms from a stylistic perspective, regards partial mutual substitutability as an essential feature of synonyms⁸. Other linguists, however, argue that substitutability, although important, is nevertheless not absolute (A. Lyberis)⁹ or is not even an essential feature of synonyms (J. Pikčilingis)¹⁰.

Synonymy is characteristic not only of the general lexicon but also of terminological vocabulary. Its significance, however, is by no means the same in these two parts of the lexicon. Stylistic synonyms, which name the same thing but associate it with different concepts, revealing different properties of that thing, are more characteristic of ordinary language. Synonyms in terminology are of a different nature and serve different functions. They name the same thing but associate it with a single concept; they do not characterize different properties of that thing or serve a stylistic function, but rather functions of substitution and clarification¹¹. It should be emphasized that in terminology, unlike in the general lexicon, a pair of synonyms may consist of terms with different structures—single-word and compound terms. To designate the phenomenon of synonymy in terminology theory-

⁴ А п р е с я н Ю. Д. Лексическая семантика. Синонимические средства языка, Москва, 1970–223.

⁵ P i k č i l i n g i s J. Lietuvių kalbos stilistika 2, Vilnius, 1975, 201.

⁶ Žr. P i k č i l i n g i s J. Min. veik., 200; B a r a u s k a i t ė J. Leksikologijos pradmenys (leksinė semantika), Vilnius, 1979, 53.

⁷ B a r a u s k a i t ė J. Min. veik., 53; R a s i m a v i č i u s A. Sinonimų problemos. – Žmogus ir žodis 1, Vilnius, 1999, 18–24.

⁸ Ž u p e r k a K. Lietuvių kalbos stilistika, Vilnius, 1983, 30.

⁹ L y b e r i s A. Sinonimų žodynas, Vilnius, 1981, 3.

¹⁰ P i k č i l i n g i s J. Min. veik., 201.

¹¹ Д а н и л е н к о В. П. Русская терминология: опыт лингвистического описания, Москва, 1977, 73, 78–79.

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several terms are used. In O. Akhmanova’s view, one of two terms denoting the same scientific concept should be called a doublet, but not a synonym¹². D. Lotte calls two, three, or more terms used to define one concept synonymous terms or simply synonyms¹³. V. Danilenko uses synonym and doublet as equivalent terms¹⁴. In their monograph “Общая терминология” (“General Terminology”), A. Superanskaya, N. Podolskaya, and N. Vasilyeva, writing about synonyms, rely chiefly on A. Reformatsky and F. Riggs and, in defining the phenomenon under discussion, follow F. Riggs’s view, which calls words associated with one concept synonymous terms¹⁵. S. Grinyov proposes the term equivalent terms—words of identical or similar meaning used to name one concept¹⁶. In the vocabulary used by everyone, synonymy has a positive value—synonyms make language more vivid and richer. In terminology theory, however, synonyms are often regarded as a major defect of terminology. The Russian terminologist D. Lotte, for example, believes that terminological synonymy is harmful and should be eliminated, that is, only one term should be used to define each concept. He makes only a few exceptions, allowing synonyms when different terminology systems need to highlight different features of the same concept, and when one of the two terms is a shorter form¹⁷.

However, synonymy among terms is an inevitable phenomenon, and it is not appropriate to prohibit it, especially since terms, like words in ordinary language, are to be standardized through variants and synonyms¹⁸.

Thus, synonymy is one of the main and important aspects of terminology

¹² Ахманова О. Min. veik., 145.

¹³ Лотте Д. С. Основы построения научно-технической терминологии, Москва, 1961, 21.

¹⁴ Даниленко В. П. Min. veik., 73.

¹⁵ Суперанская А. В., Подольская Н. В., Васильева Н. В. Общая терминология: Вопросы теории, Москва, 1989, 51.

¹⁶ Гринев С. В. Введение в терминоведение, Москва, 1993, 108–109.

¹⁷ Лотте Д. С. Min. veik., 15–16, 22–23.

¹⁸ Kaulakienė A. Lietuviškosios terminijos šaltinių kaitos tendencijos. – IX tarptautinis baltistų kongresas: Baltų kalbos amžių kaitoje (Pranešimų tezės), Riga, 2000, 134.

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a problem that needs to be examined seriously and broadly. More than one terminologist acknowledges this.

The international and Lithuanian synonymous terms discussed here are one type of terminological synonymy. They have been studied quite extensively by J. Klimavičius. He writes that synonyms of such terms arise for non-linguistic reasons. J. Klimavičius investigated these synonyms on the basis of dictionaries in related fields—physics, chemistry, and polytechnics—and focused mainly on how international and Lithuanian terms are presented as synonyms. The linguist concludes that such synonymous terms are abundant in dictionaries and are presented differentially according to their degree of synonymy¹⁹. St. Keinys also studied synonymy. According to his data, in J. Čeičys’s *Dictionary of Land Reclamation Terms* (Vilnius, 1960), such synonymous terms make up the second-largest group by frequency (27%)²⁰. Thus, Lithuanian terminologists who have examined this type of synonymy observe that it is common, abundant, and varied. They do not object to this type of synonymy. “Alongside established Lithuanian terms, international terms are used in parallel, and alongside international terms, Lithuanian equivalents are used or newly coined”²¹. In one of his papers, J. Kruopas also noted that Lithuanian has many parallel international and Lithuanian terms and that this type of synonymy should not be abandoned²². Nevertheless, they give preference to the Lithuanian term.

2. On the form of presentation of synonymous terms

Although the presentation of synonymous terms is not essential to synonymy itself as a semantic phenomenon, a few words should nevertheless be said on this question, since the terms in the “Medical En

¹⁹ Klimavičius J. Synonymy of international and Lithuanian terms in terminography. – Questions of Lithuanian Linguistics: Lithuanian Terminology 16, Vilnius, 1975, 91–122.

²⁰ Keinys St. On the question of terminological synonymy. – Questions of Lexicon and Syntax, Šiauliai, 1974, 47.

²¹ Keinys St. Terminologijos abėcėlė, Vilnius, 1980, 103.

²²Questions of Terminology (Proceedings of the All-Union Terminological Conference), Moscow, 1961, 212.

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The terms in the “Medical Encyclopedia” are presented inconsistently. Usually, the Lithuanian synonym of the principal international term and the international synonym of the principal Lithuanian term are given after a comma and set in italics. Most often, synonymous terms are also listed separately with a cross-reference (otherwise ↗) to the principal term, i.e., they are linked symmetrically, e.g.: pituitary gland, hypophysis (cf. hypophysis ↗ pituitary gland); decline, agony (cf. agony ↗ decline). There are also quite a few cases where the Lithuanian synonymous term for an international term is given next to it after a comma, but is not italicized as a synonym, although it is listed separately with a cross-reference, e.g.: dacryoadenitis, inflammation of the lacrimal gland (cf. inflammation of the lacrimal gland ↗ dacryoadenitis); fascia, sheath (cf. sheath ↗ fascia). As a result, readers may wonder whether this is a synonymous term or merely an explanation of the international term. But these are most likely proofreading errors, since the Lithuanian terms are listed separately. Some strings of synonymous terms were found in which the international synonym is given separately with an explanation, e.g.: adolescence, puberty (cf. puberty²³). Sometimes the synonym appears at the end of an entry, i.e., in an entry for a non-principal term, a cross-reference to the principal term’s entry is given after a brief explanation, e.g.: epidermis, epidermis (cf. epidermis, the superficial layer of the skin, otherwise ↗ epidermis); examination, inspection (cf. inspection, a method of examination, otherwise ↗ examination). However, synonymous terms are often not listed separately, or are listed only separately with a cross-reference to the principal term, e.g.: injection (cf. injection ↗ injection); resistance (cf. resistance ↗ resistance). In addition, there are several cases where the principal entries are absent and only cross-reference entries are provided, e.g.: uterine prolapse ↗ metrop(to)sis; vitreous inflammation ↗ hyalitis; rhinolalia ↗ nasal twang; vaccine ↗ vaccination; ventilation ↗ airing; erythroderma ↗ skin redness; dermatomycoses ↗ fungal skin diseases. Cases should be mentioned separately in which

²³ Several more inconsistencies were noted in the presentation of terms in main and secondary entries, e.g.: blepharitis, inflammation of the eyelid margin, but inflammation of the eyelid margins ↗ blepharitis; epidermis, cuticle, but cuticle ↗ epidermis; sialodochitis, inflammation of the salivary gland ducts, but inflammation of the salivary gland duct ↗ sialodochitis; inflammation of the kidneys, but nephritis ↗ inflammation of the kidney; skin diseases, dermatoses, but dermatosis ↗ skin disease; night blindness, hemeralopia, but hemeralopia ↗ night blindness.

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A row of synonymous terms consists of three or four synonyms. Sometimes they are all listed separately with a reference to the main term; sometimes some are listed with a reference, while others are not listed at all. There were even cases in which none of the synonyms were listed separately, for example: autopsy, dissection, obduction, section (cf. dissection ↗ autopsy, obduction ↗ autopsy, section); edema, swelling, engorgement, but only swelling ↗ edema; periodontium, desmodontium, pericementum, dental supporting tissue (the last three terms are not listed separately). In addition, the encyclopedia also presents non-synonyms as synonyms, for example: sexual frigidity, anaphrodisia, absence of sexual desire and orgasm during sexual intercourse in a physically and mentally healthy woman (cf. anaphrodisia, diminished or complete absence of sexual desire) (cf. in the “Dictionary of Medical Terms” (hereafter DMT) anaphrodisia, ae f anaphrodisia absence or diminution of sexual desire – анафродизия, hypedónia, ae f hyphedonia diminished sexual desire (frigidity) – гипедония гипогоэдония); disorders of sexual organ maturation ↗ hermaphroditism (cf. hermaphroditism, bisexuality presence of male and female characteristics in the same organism) (cf. DMT hermaphroditismus, i m hermaphroditism – bisexuality – гермафродитизм); paraphilia ↗ sexual deviation (cf. sexual deviation) (cf. DMT paraphilia, ae f see perversio sexualis, perversio sexualis sexual perversion – половое извращение); parapatia ↗ sexual deviation (cf. sexual deviation) (cf. DMT parapáthia, ae f see psychoneurosis, psychoneurósis, is f psychoneurosis – психоневроз); parerosia ↗ sexual deviation (cf. sexual deviation) (cf. DMT parerośia, ae f sexual perversion – половое извращение). It is unclear whether these inconsistencies in the presentation of synonymous terms have any basis. Perhaps this variation in presentation depends on how frequently terms are used, or on some other factor (the encyclopedia does not explain this); alternatively, these may simply be shortcomings in lexicographic preparation.

3. International and Lithuanian synonymous terms

In the “Medical Encyclopedia,” one-word international terms are most often treated as the main terms (179 rows of synonymous terms—191 international and 183 Lithuanian terms in total; only one was found

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compound two-word international term diet therapy, whose Lithuanian synonym is also two-word—therapeutic feeding). Their Lithuanian synonyms are:

1. Vienažodžiai (60 sinoniminių terminų eilučių), pvz.: abazija, nepajėgimas²⁴; abstinentas, blaivininkas; abulija, bevališkumas; adaptacija, prisitaikymas; adentija, bedantystė; adinamija, bejėgystė; agalaktija, bepienystė; akromegalija, didgalūnystė; amnionas, vandenmaišis; anestezija, nejautra; anoreksija, nevalgumas; aponeurozė, sausplėvė; auskultacija, išklausymas; biksas, būgnas; celiuliozė, ląsteliena; charakteris, būdas; diafragma, perdanga; epidermis, antodis; epilepsija, nuomaris; farmaceut as, vaistininkas; fascija, vystas; favusas, susna; gigantizmas, milžinugystė; hermafroditizmas, dvilytiškumas; hipotalamas, pagumburis; injekcija (plg. išvirkštimas ↗ injekcija); intuicija, nuojauta; irigacija, drėkinimas; kariesas, ėduonis; klitoris ↗ varputė; lagof talmas, neužmerktakystė; makroglosija, didžialiežuvystė; makrostomija, didžiaburnystė; maliarija, drugys; mikrocefalija, mažagalvystė; mikrostomija, mažaburnystė; narkozė, užmarinimas; palpacija, apčiuopa; parodontas, priedantis; perforacija, prakiurimas; perikardas, širdiplėvė; perk usija, stuksenimas; placenta, nuovala; pleistrai, traukai; pleura, krūtinplėvė; recidyvas, atkrytis; sklerodermija, kietligė; spazmas, mėšlungis; stazė, sąstovis; termokaustika, prideginimas; transplantacija, persodinimas; tuberkuliozė (plg. džiova ↗ tuberkuliozė).

Several rows consisting of three or four terms were found. These are cases in which an international term has one Lithuanian and two international synonyms, two Lithuanian synonyms, or one international and one Lithuanian synonym. Their order of presentation varies; most often, the Lithuanian terms come last, for example: autopsy, dissection, obduction, section; dragee, sugar-coated pill, pellet and pill (cf. pellet ↗ pill); edema, swelling, engorgement; carbamide, urea; dwarf, undersized person, midget; nanism, nanosomia, short stature; periodontium, desmodontium, pericementum, dental supporting tissue; somnambulism, lunatism, sleepwalking.

²⁴ The examples of terms in the article are listed as they appear in the “Medical Encyclopedia.” Entries are given for terms regarded as primary. If no synonym follows the primary term after a comma, the synonym is given in parentheses, and a reference (↗) points to the primary term.

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2. Two-word compounds (80 synonymous term series), e.g.: adventitia, outer covering; amenorrhea, absence of menstruation; anuria, failure to excrete urine; anthropogenesis, human origin; arthritis, joint inflammation; ascites, abdominal dropsy; atelectasis, collapse of the lung; cheilitis, lip inflammation; choroiditis (cf. inflammation of the choroid ↗ choroiditis); cucugamaüsis, scrub typhus; diagnosis (cf. determination of a disease ↗ diagnosis); dermatitis, skin inflammation; dysmenorrhea, menstrual disorder; dysuria, urination disorder; exostosis, bony outgrowth; epididymitis, inflammation of the epididymis; esophagitis, esophageal inflammation; pharyngitis, inflammation of the pharynx; fructose, fruit sugar; gamete, sex cell; gastritis, stomach inflammation; gastrorrhagia, gastric bleeding; gastroscopy (cf. examination of the stomach ↗ gastroscopy); uterine descent ↗ metropose; gingivitis, gum inflammation; glucose, grape sugar; glossitis, inflammation of the tongue; granulation tissue, granular tissue; hepatitis, liver inflammation; hydrocele, testicular hydrocele; hydronephrosis, renal dropsy; hypophysis, pituitary gland; hypoxia, oxygen deprivation; iritis (cf. inflammation of the iris ↗ iritis); cataract (cf. lens opacity ↗ cataract); keratitis, inflammation of the cornea; kinetosis, motion sickness; conjunctivitis, inflammation of the conjunctiva; cryptorchidism (cf. undescended testicle ↗ cryptorchidism); xerophthalmia, dry eye; lactose, milk sugar; laminaria, sea cabbage; laryngitis, laryngeal inflammation; leukoma (cf. corneal opacity ↗ leukoma); lumbago, lower back pain; mastitis, breast inflammation; menopause (cf. end of menstruation ↗ menopause); meteorism (cf. abdominal bloating ↗ meteorism); metrorrhagia (cf. uterine bleeding ↗ metrorrhagia); migraine, headache; myocardium (cf. heart muscle ↗ myocardium); nephrectomy, removal of a kidney; necrosis, local tissue death; oophoritis, ovarian inflammation; osteoporosis, loss of bone density; osteotomy (cf. cutting of a bone ↗ osteotomy); ostitis, bone inflammation; otitis, ear inflammation; ozena, fetid rhinitis; pancreatitis, pancreatic inflammation; papatačis, three-day fever; paramnesia, false memory; parapsoriasis, lichen-like scaling; periodontitis (cf. inflammation of the periodontium ↗ periodontitis); pericarditis, inflammation of the pericardium; periostitis, inflammation of the periosteum; peritonitis, inflammation of the peritoneum; petechia, pinpoint hemorrhage; plato, mons pubis; propolis, bee glue; prostate, prostate gland; retinitis, retinal inflammation; salpingitis, inflammation of the fallopian tube; sensitization (cf. increased

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sensitivity ↗ sensitization); scleritis, skin inflammation; inflammation of the vitreous body ↗ hyalitis; vasculitis, inflammation of blood vessels.

In addition, there are two synonymous term series in which an international term has a one-word international synonym and a two-word Lithuanian synonym, e.g.: hypertonia, hypertension (cf. elevated blood pressure ↗ hypertonia); colpitis, vaginitis, inflammation of the vagina. Two variants of an international term were found, e.g.: ischemia, ischaemia, local anemia.

There are also cases of synonymy in which an international term has two Lithuanian synonyms of different composition: one word and two words, e.g.: bulimia, wolfish hunger and polyphagia, bulimia, voracious appetite; throat ↗ trachea and trachea, windpipe.

3. Three-word compounds (31 synonymous term series), e.g.: blepharitis, inflammation of the eyelid margins; cholangitis, inflammation of the bile ducts; cholecystectomy, removal of the gallbladder; cholecystitis, inflammation of the gallbladder; dacryoadenitis, inflammation of the lacrimal gland; dacryocystitis, inflammation of the lacrimal sac; diuretics (cf. urine-expelling medicines ↗ diuretics); duodenitis, inflammation of the duodenum; encephalitis, inflammation of the brain; enteritis, inflammation of the small intestine; folliculitis, inflammation of the hair follicle; gastradenitis, inflammation of the gastric glands; hidradenitis, inflammation of the sweat glands; hydrocephalus, cerebral dropsy; hyperthyroidism, increased thyroid activity; hypothyroidism, decreased thyroid activity; ileitis, inflammation of the ileum; coxitis, inflammation of the hip joint; colitis, inflammation of the large intestine; meningitis (cf. inflammation of the meninges ↗ meningitis); myelitis, inflammation of the spinal cord; myocarditis, inflammation of the heart muscle; osteosynthesis, joining of bone fragments; proctitis, inflammation of the rectum; sarcoma (cf. cancer of connective tissue ↗ sarcoma); sialadenitis, inflammation of the salivary gland; synovitis (cf. inflammation of the synovial membrane ↗ synovitis); sinusitis, inflammation of the paranasal sinuses; tabes, spinal cord atrophy; tenosynovitis, inflammation of the tendon sheath; typhlitis, inflammation of the cecum.

4. Four-word compounds (4 synonymous term series), e.g.: chorioretinitis (cf. inflammation of the choroid and retina ↗ chorioretinitis); endocarditis, inflammation of the inner lining of the heart; iridocyclitis (cf. inflammation of the iris and ciliary body ↗ iridocyclitis); sialodochitis, inflammation of a salivary gland duct.

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5. Five-word compounds (2 synonymic term series), e.g.: balanopostitis, inflammation of the glans penis and foreskin; osteomyelitis, inflammation of the bone and bone marrow.

The composition of synonymy among international and Lithuanian medical terms is shown in Diagram 1.

Diagram 1

One-word or compound Lithuanian synonyms corresponding to one-word international terms (number of synonymic term series)

60

80

31

4

2

4. Lithuanian and international synonymic terms

In the “Medical Encyclopedia,” Lithuanian terms are much less often treated as the main terms (111 synonymic term series—118 Lithuanian and 116 international terms in total). Their international synonyms are single-word terms (only two compound, two-word international synonyms were found: active immunization and sodium chloride), while Lithuanian terms vary in composition:

1. Single-word terms (74 synonymic term series), e.g.: stones, calculi; epiglottis, epiglottis; antibodies, immunoglobulins; poisoning, intoxication; examination, inspection; resistance (cf. resis-

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tence ↗ resistance); leukoderma, vitiligo; stitches (cf. colic ↗ stitches); urticaria (cf. urticaria ↗ urticaria); elephantiasis (cf. elephantiasis ↗ elephantiasis); shivering, tremor; skeleton, skeleton; goitre (cf. struma ↗ goitre); dislocation, luxation; wasting, cachexia; extract, extract; hernia, hernia; exophthalmos, exophthalmos; suggestion, suggestion; splint, splint; tapeworms, cestodes; bleeding, hemorrhage; whitlow, panaritium; node (cf. lump ↗ node); nodule, papule; anemia, anemia; menstruation, menstruation; spatula, spatula; agony, agony; adolescence, puberty; powder, powder; beach, beach; thrush (cf. stomatomycosis ↗ thrush); carbuncle, carbuncle; diastema, diastema; antidotes, antidotes; phlegmon, phlegmon; impetigo, impetigo; abscess, abscess; pustule, pustule; vesicular eruption (cf. herpes ↗ vesicular eruption); pemphigus (cf. pemphigus ↗ pemphigus); erythema, erythema; erysipeloid, erysipeloid; rhinolalia ↗ nasal speech; autosuggestion, autosuggestion; common cold, rhinitis; concussion, commotio; contusion, contusion; tetanus (cf. tetanus ↗ tetanus); recovery, convalescence; excretion, excretion; hot-water bottle (cf. thermophore ↗ hot-water bottle); urethra, urethra; furuncle, furuncle; strain, distraction; hyperopia, hypermetropia; tincture, tincture; myopia, myopia; opaque lens, cataract; defecation (cf. defecation ↗ defecation); pediculosis, pediculosis; inflammation, inflammation; imagination, fantasy; vaccine ↗ vaccination; ventilation ↗ airing; diarrhea, diarrhea; nyctalopia, hemeralopia; strabismus, strabismus; psoriasis, psoriasis. Incidentally, a couple of unacceptable loanword synonyms occurred, e.g.: shyna, špatelis, which are corrected²⁵. Similar foreignisms should either not be included at all or, if included, be accompanied by a normative label²⁶.

Several synonymic term series were found in which a single-word Lithuanian term has two international synonyms, or a single-word Lithuanian synonym and a single-word international synonym, e.g.: feces, faeces, excrement; incest, incestus, incestophilia; sprain, twist, distorsion.

²⁵ Žr. Terminologijos taisymai, Vilnius, 1992, 106, 107 (šina, šyna ntk. r. (= įtvaras), špatelis, špachtelis svet. = 2. mentelė).

²⁶ See K l i m a v i č i u s J. Min. work, 118.

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There are also cases of synonymy in which a one-word Lithuanian term has synonyms of different structures: a two-word Lithuanian term and a two-word international term, two one-word terms and a two-word international term, or a one-word international term and two two-word Lithuanian synonyms, e.g.: salt, table salt, sodium chloride; vaccination, vaccination, immunoprophylaxis, active immunization; hay fever, pollinosis, hay fever, hay rhinitis.

2. Compound two-word terms (27 synonym sets), e.g.: bee venom, apitoxin; artificial kidney, hemodialyzer; erythroderma ↗ skin redness; headache, cephalalgia; fungal diseases, mycoses; kidney inflammation (cf. nephritis ↗ kidney inflammation); bony union, synostosis; vermiform appendix, appendix; helminth diseases, helminthiases; blood transfusion, hemotransfusion; blood poisoning, sepsis; sex glands, gonads; sexual secretion (cf. perversion ↗ sexual deviation); sexual desire, libido; metabolism, metabolism; sleeping pills, hypnotics; false joint, pseudoarthrosis; skin diseases, dermatoses; mobile kidney, nephroptosis; lung inflammation, pneumonia; chalazion, chalazion; urinary incontinence, enuresis; visceral ptosis (cf. visceroptosis ↗ visceral ptosis); eyelid eversion, ectropion; eyelid inversion, entropion; eyelid drooping, blepharoptosis.

There are four synonym sets in which a two-word Lithuanian term has two one-word international synonyms or one one-word international and one one-word Lithuanian synonym, e.g.: teeth grinding, bruxomania, bruxism; blood production, hematopoiesis, hemogenesis; presbyopia, presbyopia, age-related farsightedness; constipation, bowel stasis, obstipation.

3. Compound three-word terms (5 synonym sets), e.g.: dermatomycoses ↗ fungal skin diseases; fever-reducing medicines, antipyretics; fungal nail diseases, onychomycoses; salivary gland stone disease (cf. sialolithiasis ↗ salivary gland stone disease); pain-relieving medicines, analgesics.

The structural composition of the synonymy of Lithuanian and international medical terms is shown in Diagram 2.

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Diagram 2

One-word international synonyms corresponding to one-word or compound Lithuanian terms (number of synonym sets)

5. Conclusions

In summary, it could be said that in the *Medicinos enciklopedija* the synonymy of international and Lithuanian medical terms is both abundant and varied, but international terms nevertheless predominate, the vast majority of them being one-word terms (of the 308 international terms, only 3 compound two-word terms were found). This accords with the requirement in terminology theory that terms be concise and therefore convenient. Perhaps this is why they are difficult to displace from usage, since Lithuanian terms are often longer—compound two-word or three-word terms, and sometimes even four- or five-word terms. Such long compound terms, made up of four or five components, do not resemble terms and may be understood as explanations of meaning²⁷. “Medicinos enciklope-

²⁷ See K e i n y s S t. Terminologijos abėcėlė, 44.

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In the “Encyclopedia,” the international term is most often considered the first, principal term (62% of synonym rows), while preference is given to the Lithuanian term considerably less often (38% of synonym rows). The prevalence of the synonymy in question is also clearly demonstrated by cases in which the same concept is named by as many as three or four competing international and Lithuanian synonymous terms (22 synonym rows). The encyclopedia includes international terms that could be omitted from a popular publication intended for a broad readership rather than specialists, especially since established and widely used Lithuanian equivalents exist for them, for example: abasia, inability to walk; anorexia, lack of appetite; caries, tooth decay; dislocation, luxation; concussion, commotion; strabismus, squint; teeth grinding, brichomania, bruxism, etc. Thus, those responsible for standardizing medical terminology should still consider whether all synonymous terms are necessary and which international terms might be dispensed with, since “Lithuanian equivalents of international terms are not used sufficiently, and the potential for creating them is far from exhausted”²⁸.

SYNONYMIC TERMS OF “MEDICINOS ENCIKLOPEDIJA”

Summary

This article deals with synonymy of international and Lithuanian terms of medicine used in Lithuanian language. Material for investigation was collected from two volumes of „Medicinos enciklopedija“ (Vilnius, 1991, 1993) in which there is 291 rows of synonymic terms naming the same concept. In „Medicinos enciklopedija“ the main terms most often are international one-word terms (179 rows of synonymic terms) and their Lithuanian synonyms have a different structure – they are either one-word terms or complex terms. In most cases the international one word term has a Lithuanian equivalent which is two-word or one-word term (80 and 60 rows of synonymic terms, for example, adventicija, išorinis dangalas; paramnezija, apgauli atmintis; anestezija, nejautra; maliarija, drugys). Cases when priority is given to the Lithuanian term are rarer (111 rows of synonymic terms). Lithuanian terms which are given first are one-word terms or complex terms. International synonyms of such terms are one-word terms. There are more cases of Lithua

²⁸ K l i m a v i č i u s J. Min. veik., 122.

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nian main one-word term (74 synonym rows, for example, apsinuodijimas, intoksikacija; ištrauka, ekstraktas), whereas two- or three-word terms are less common (27 and 5 synonym rows, respectively, for example, plačiųjų uždegimas, pneumonija; karšti mažinantys vaistai, antipiretikai).

Palmira ZEMLEVIČIŪTĖ Lietuvių kalbos institutas Antakalnio g. 6, 2055 Vilnius E. paštas [email protected]

Received 2001 10 10

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