Innovation in Language Learning

As it is known Latin is “lingua franca” of medical field, the common language that ensures understanding and communication between medical specialists from all over the world. In this sense, from the viewpoint of Linguistics, Latin can be considered to be the earliest example of Language for Specific Purposes (LSP), and, consequently, the predecessor of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The role of terminology in Medical English is as important as in any other field of LSP/ESP. The influence of Latin is especially evident in English medical terminology as most of English medical terms are coined on basis of Latin and Greek roots, suffixes and prefixes. The vast majority of medical terminology in English is represented by the terms based on the above-mentioned terminology coinage rules. Nevertheless, there are still very many medical terms of purely English origin in English that coexist with international terms of Greek and Latin origin, e.g.: varicella – chickenpox, rubella – measles, etc. The aim of the present work is to study coexistence of purely English medical terms and international medical terms in the English language. Thus, we decided to group English medical terminology into two groups: Group I – medical terminology of English origin, Group II – medical terminology of international origin. Within the present work, we will try to research the following issues: a) percentage of terms from both groups used in different medical domains, b) the preference of usage of terms from both groups depending on communication medium (patient – doctor; doctor – doctor) communication.  The coexistence of national lexical means and its international counterparts, including the field of terminology, is a common issue in different European languages. Since Medical terminology in English is mainly represented by terms of Latin and Greek origin on the level of roots, prefixes and suffixes, we decided it to be expedient to consider this terminology in comparison with medical terminology of purely English origin and define the roles and frequency of usage of terms from both of these terminology groups in Medical English.