Abstract Summary
The study provides an overview of lexicographic and information technology solutions for a mobile application “An English-Latvian-English Translating and Phrase-Dictionary of Medical Terms” developed in collaboration between researchers of two universities. This dictionary is specially developed for medical and translation students for language learning and translation purposes.
Abstract :
The study provides an overview of lexicographic and information technology solutions for a mobile application developed during the internal call for proposals at the Ventspils University of Applied Sciences (VUAS), approved and implemented within the project “An English-Latvian-English Translating and Phrase-Dictionary of Medical Terms”. Researchers from two universities collaborated on this interdisciplinary project.
The descriptive and content analysis methods are generally used in the study, as well as statistical data analysis. Surveys are used for receiving and analysing research data, as before the development of the lexicographic concept of the dictionary of medical terms and the research of the work model a survey of potential users was carried out.
The present research gives also an insight into the range of Latvian-English-Latvian dictionaries of medical terms published up to the present day; it analyses the information provided in the introductory sections of these dictionaries, looks into their entry structure, and also presents a short description of the terms they comprise.
Drawing on the experience of the lexicographers having compiled the existing dictionaries of medical terms, the study identifies a number of issues related to developing a new electronic lexicographic work: the working model and lexicographic conception of the dictionary; its languages, size; potential users; the principles and criteria for selecting sources and basic terms; and structure of the dictionary.
The research also attempts to identify the position such a new mobile application of medical terms may take among the modern specialized dictionaries developed for medical and translation students. The research findings allow the conclusion that the medical and translation students stand in need of a new bilingual tool for translating and explaining medical terms, which is why the present study offers the lexicographic conception and working model for developing such a new translation and phrase-dictionary and describes its micro and macrostructure.
