19 марта 2016г.
Todays doctors behavior is not understandable very often. Their speech is difficult for acceptance by patients. So we are interested in analyzing and comparing medical term in English and Russian. The AIM is to investigate medical slang, to analyze speech of doctors, to classify medical slang.
At the beginning of my narrative concerning the use of medical jargon, I want to confront it with using of slang in another fields of life. Using of slang is quite common thing in the communication, news and entertainment. We also see that medical workers use slang on minimum. And the question appears- why?
There are a lot of scientists have already investigated the problem of slang: Coleman, J. (2004), Crystal , D. (2008), Drucker, J. (2003), Eble, C. C. (1996), Green, J. L. (2002), Hladký, J. (1994), Hotten, C. J. (2008), Hubáček, J. (1979),
Hubáček, J. (1988) Chloupek, J. (1974), Karlík, (2002), Křístek, V. (1973) and others.
The use of jargon begins in medical schools. Everyone wearing a white coat understands this secret language, but the patient may feel terrified and confused. Over time the doctors and nurses do not even realize that they are speaking in a language that no one else understands. The average American reads and speaks at an 8th or 9th grade level, yet doctors with 20 years of education not only use jargon, but assume that their patients will understand their communication. The misunderstanding appears between doctor and patient [1].
Health care professionals must become "medically bilingual," that is, learn to speak both medical jargon and plain language [2, 3]. The understanding of speaker’s langeage is very important problem.
Elements of a colloquial variant of professional or social group is called slang. Slang, style-shifting and sociability; controversial, spectacular social phenomenon [4, 6].
Slang words cannot be distinguished from other words by sound or meaning. In fact, most slang words are homonyms of standard words, spelled and pronounced just like their standard counterparts, as for example slang words for money such as beans, brass, dibs, dough, chinc, oof, wards; the slang synonyms for word head are attic, brain-pan, hat peg, nut, upper storey; drunk- boozy, cock-eyed, high, soaked, tight, and pot (marijuana). Of course, these words are alike in their ordinary standard use and in their slang use. Each word sounds just as appealing or unappealing, dull or colorful in its standard as in its slang use. Also, the meanings of beans and money, head and attic, pot and marijuana are the same, so it cannot be said that the connotations of slang words are any more colorful or racy than the meanings of standard words [7].
Medical Slang is a form of slang used by doctors, nurses, paramedics and other hospital or medical staff. Its central aspect is the use of simple but impressive-sounding acronyms and invented terminology to describe patients, co-workers or tricky situations. Medical slang is found in many languages but in English, in particular, it has entered popular culture via TV hospital dramas such as Casualty, Holby City, House MD, Green Wing and so on.
There are great variety of tales about doctors who had written on a patient's notes or said in a front of patient some slang terms. Hence, patient had had no idea what did the doctor said. Then such medical workers can find themselves in the court being asked by the judge what the acronym meant and such situation may cause some difficulties the doctor's reputation and the job at all.
In many countries there are some limitations on use acronyms which are now considered unethical and unacceptable, and patients can demand access to their medical records. Another reason for the decline is that acronyms could be confused with medical terms and that could cause the wrong treatment administration.
As a result, medical slang tends to be restricted to oral use and to informal notes or E-mails which do not form part of a patient’s formal records. It may also be used among medical staff outside of the hospital. It is not found on patients’ charts and often not used in front of patients themselves.
Another classification of medical slang gives us the information about the ways in which the doctors call patients: Benny = patient on benefit, Betty = a patient with diabetes, Burger = sunburned patient, Banana = patient with jaundice, Father Jack = confused and elderly patient who constantly shouts and tries to get out of bed, Lobster = sunburned patient, LOL = Little Old Lady and the way they call Each other: Baby catcher = obstetrician, Masochist = Trauma surgeon,
Sadomasochist = NeurosurgeonFreud Squad = psychiatrists, Molar masher = dentist, Boneheads = orthopaedics, Cock Doc = urologist, Dose Sponge - Radiology Worker.
Althought, the doctors often use slang just for fun. The slang often makes humorous reference to characteristics related to patients or patient care. But sometimes, the commentary is sarcastic, angry or hurtful. The language of medicine is filled with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of abbreviated reference to medical diseases and funny examples of misadventures. For example DQ means Drama Queen while Expensive care means intensive care. Some folks call medical slang an art form. Other folks may consider it unethical [3, 4].
v FABIANS = Felt Awful But I'm Allright Now Syndrome
v FLK w/ GLM = Funny Looking Kid with a Good Looking Mother
v VIP = Very intoxicated person
v Airwolf = air-ambulance
v BUNDY = But Unfortunately Not Dead YetI can't help saying that in different countries there are special slang. Let's begin with UK. Regional dialects abound, even in the world of the medical abbreviation. In the north of England, the TTR (Tea Time Review) of a patient is commonplace, but not in the south.
And the number of terms for patients believed to be somewhat intellectually challenged is enormous.
The increasing rate of litigation means that there is a far higher chance that doctors will be asked in court to explain the exact meaning of FLK = Funny looking kid;
GROLIES = Guardian Reader Of Low Intelligence in Ethnic Skirt; BBCS - Bumps, Bruises, Cuts and Scrapes (i.e. no serious injuries).
Talking about the USA I must admit that Some of the acronyms are region-specific and have differing meanings in US and UK., but some, like Lancelot = a medic who drains abscesses (called Pokemon in the USA) It is noticeable that the US have numerous acronyms and slang terms relating to gun-shot injuries[3,4].
In opposite, in RF the use of slang is not common but some doctors prefer abbreviations to difficult medical terms. For example: вертолёт – gynecological chair; дискотека – siren of ambulance; бабка-нарушка – old woman with violation of brain blood circulation; консервы – patients on conservative treatment; ПМЖ – regional policlinic; гармошка – medical ventilator; детство – pediatrics department.
I have made my our research in this topic by asking the Crimean doctors about medical slang. They extend my vocabulary with such words as: реставрация – reanimation; конвульсиум – consultation; сахарница – patient with diabetes; федералы – worker of the department; белка- alcoholic deliria; дрова- heavy patient; The doctors from Crimean republic hospital were asked: Surgeon- Chernyavskiy E. A., Psychiatrist- Shurigina D. A., Neurologist- Chumskiy A. A., Endocrinologist- Medvedeva S. A., Anaesthesioligist- Gilkin E.A)
Conclusions. Medical slang is a dynamic and diverse form of communication. It may be rude, or simply funny. Slang may help make life as a physician more bearable, either through humor and depersonalization, or through a feeling of belonging. It may also, however, allow patients to be devalued. Although acknowledging that slang is likely to continue to be used, it should be kept to a minimum. It should be avoided in medical notes. As such, slang can remain an effective means of conveying information between professionals of any select group and provide release and social integration, as it has done over many decades.
In future it will be necessary to investigate the morphological and grammatical properties of medical slang. Eble (1996) writes about ´ordinary word-building processes´ describing only the most important ones in descending order of frequency, i.e. compounding, affixation, functional shift, shortening, and blending. He also mentions four main types of functional shift within the part of speech.
Список литературы
1. Арнольд И.В. Лексикология современного английского языка. - М.: Высшая школа, 1986, 295 с.
2. Dumas, Bethany K. and Lighter J. "Is Slang a Word for Linguistew York: Speech, - 1978. – p. 5-53.
3. Fox Ad.T., Cahill P., and Fertleman M. (2002). "Medical slang" (PDF). British Medical Journal
4. Fox Ad.T., Cahill P., and Fertleman M. (2003). "Medical slang" (PDF). British Medical Journal
5. Goldman B. The Secret Language of Doctors, London: Public Press. – 1996. – 216p.
6. Richard C. Senelick, M.D. http://interesting- articles.wikispaces.com/file/view/Medical+Slang+in+British+Hospitals.pdf
7. Thorne Tony. Dictionary of Contemporary Slang.-third edition.; A.C.Black, London, 2007.-513p.
