Review article
https://doi.org/10.38003/zrffs.18.10
Term Formation Models and Semantic Distinction of Terms in Croatian Medical Terminology
Anamarija Gjuran-Coha
; University of Rijeka, Faculty of Medicine
Abstract
Term formation models represent a key component in understanding the dynamics of languages for specific purposes, especially in the context of Croatian medical language. Understanding formation strategies in this field not only enables the precise naming of medical phenomena but also contributes to the systematic development and standardization of medical terminology, which ensures its functionality within the profession and everyday communication.
Term formation is one of the main ways of term creation. The aim of this paper is to analyse term formation models in Croatian medical terminology, based on a corpus analysis and relying on the previous research into word formation models in general language and in languages for specific purposes. Semantic distinctions will also be discussed. Medical terminology is based on classical languages. There are many foreign roots, suffixes, prefixes, prefixoides and sufixoides. In the analysis we did not make a distinction between Croatian and foreign roots. The corpus included medical publications, out of which adequate examples were extracted. The analysis was focused on nouns and adjectives which are the most numerous word classes in medical terminology. Quantitative analysis shows that suffixation is the most productive in the creation of medical terms. Out of 297 examples, 180 are terms formed by suffixation. Prefixation is less productive in medical term formation (32 examples). The semantic analysis shows that the correct choice of suffix affects a change in the meaning of a term, and not only in compliance with the lexical norm. The research will significantly contribute to the understanding of formation processes in languages for specific purposes, especially within Croatian medical terminology, and widen knowledge about term formation models specific to this language domain.
Keywords
medical language; medical terminology; word formation models; derivation; compounding
Hrčak ID:
340870
URI
Publication date:
12.12.2025.
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