2025, Vol. 16, No. 4. - go to content...

Permanent address of this page - https://sfk-mn.ru/en/45flsk425.html

Метаданные этой статьи так же доступны на русском языке

DOI: 10.15862/45FLSK425 (https://doi.org/10.15862/45FLSK425)

Full article in PDF format (file size: 603.2 KB)

For citation:

Nagornaya A.V., Pinchukova A.E. [Ways of introducing specialized terminology into popular scientific narratives on medical topics (based on the works of H. Marsh)] World of Science. Series: Sociology, Philology, Cultural Studies, 2025, Vol. 16, No. 4. Available at: https://sfk-mn.ru/PDF/45FLSK425.pdf (in Russian). DOI: 10.15862/45FLSK425

Ways of introducing specialized terminology into popular scientific narratives on medical topics (based on the works of H. Marsh)

Nagornaya Alexandra Viktorovna
National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
E-mail: anagornaya@hse.ru; alnag@mail.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6821-0835
RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?id=391771

Pinchukova Anna Evgenievna
National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
E-mail: apinchukova@hse.ru; annaepinchukova@yandex.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8069-3746
RSCI: https://elibrary.ru/author_profile.asp?id=1264642

Abstract. The article examines the use of specialized terminology in popular science texts on medical topics. It focuses on the phenomenon of popularizing medical knowledge in contemporary English-language culture, identifies the reasons for the widespread demand for this type of literature (the need for reliable information, increased personalization of medical texts, and the diversity of genres and formats in popular science literature), and defines the role of creative writing in the professional practice of physicians. The psychotherapeutic potential of such works is emphasized, both for the physician authors and for their readers. Utilizing the popular science bestseller «Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death, and Brain Surgery» by British neurologist Henry Marsh, it discusses ways to adapt medical terminology to the needs and perceptive capabilities of a mass reader. The primary objective is a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the terminology used in the work and the ways it is integrated into the narrative. The article calculates the terminology coefficient of the narrative and concludes that, despite the simplified readability of popular science texts, the terminology coefficient nevertheless indicates a lower variation in the use of terminology in scientific articles and popular science works by H. Marsh. Six types of contexts within which medical terminology is introduced (definitional, explanatory, illustrative, generalizing, metaterminological, and ambience-building) are identified, and the specifics of their organization are explained.

Keywords: narrative; popular science literature; popular science text; nonfiction; medicine; terminology; readability index; Henry Marsh

Download article in PDF format