Assessing the influence of the English language on the professional vocabulary of Croatian dental students by analysing their word choice for the translation of medical/dental terms

Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the influence of the English language on the medical/dental terminology of Croatian dental students. It emerged from the terminological projects of the School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb that had been conducted as a part of the national programme the Development of Croatian Special Field Terminology. Students were asked to translate English sentences allegedly extracted from dental literature into Croatian. The results showed that most students translated the offered English terms using anglicisms rather than choosing Croatian terms. The finding that students distinctively prefer professional literature in Croatian suggests that their professional vocabulary is mostly modelled by the Croatian educational materials and by the discourse of instruction. These results suggest the need for further activities concerning the popularization of Croatian medical/dental terminology for the purpose of preservation and development of a native professional vocabulary and of improving communication with patients and patients’ understanding of medical information.