Translation in Public Health Terms Related to COVID -19 Issues

Abstract

The spread of the COVID-19 virus in early 2020 has had a major impact on the world's population. Every day, the media will report on the latest news about COVID-19, both locally and abroad. Therefore, accurate and correct information should be delivered to the public to create understanding and awareness of this pandemic. In the field of public health in Malaysia, the COVID-19 issue is considered as something new. This implied the need to translate the exact medical terms from English to Malay to ensure that the information presented is completely acceptable by the society. The efforts made by the Ministry of Health Malaysia and Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) in forming accurate terms is a proactive step. This study was conducted to describe the methods of translation, absorption, and adaptation of foreign term remuneration or a combination of such methods in forming terms in the field of public health, particularly related to the issue of COVID-19. This qualitative study was conducted by utilizing data observed from the Twitter handle, @DBPMalaysia, which aims to articulate the right terms for the issue of COVID-19. Data were taken from submissions on DBP's official social media from 18 March 2020 to 18 March 2021. A total of 54 public health terms related to the COVID-19 issue were identified and the formation methods of the terms used were analyzed. Discussions matching those terms are based on Pedoman Umum Pembentukan Istilah Bahasa Melayu Edisi Baharu (2004), published by DBP. The findings of the study indicate that the translation method is the most widely used method in the data studied, followed by a combination of translation and absorption.