About Acronyms and their Translation in Medical Texts

Abstract

Almost exactly a century has passed since acronyms entered Hungarian language, and their spread in both general and specialised usage has been unstoppable ever since. This paper has two main aims: firstly, to review taxonomies and possible typologies of lexemes formed through linguistic reduction (including acronyms, initialisms, and other mosaic formations); secondly, to examine their functions and roles in specialised language, with an emphasis on medical communication. Following a general overview, the paper focuses on medical discourse and ‒ more specifically ‒ on translation issues regarding pharmaceutical product information documents. After presenting early Hungarian research on acronyms and tracing terminological developments, the paper surveys the principal word-formation processes that yield acronyms or mosaic words and discusses the controversial relationship between these categories. It is followed by a systematic overview of their types by part of speech, formation, and orthography, including norms in the current Hungarian spelling rules.

In the section on functions and use, the paper highlights language economy, standardisation, and even euphemistic intent as key drivers of acronym use. At the same time, it stresses potential downsides: in patient communication, the lack of expansions and disambiguations or definitions can increase comprehension risk and may have patient- and drug-safety implications. The paper proposes three guiding principles for translating acronyms in medical texts: careful consideration of context and text function (e. g., CT can stand for computer tomography or chemotherapy); awareness of interlingual differences (e.g., DNA should be translated as DNS); and the judicious use of descriptive translation, insertion of expansions and disambiguations, or consolidation into target-language acronyms where appropriate (e.g., rendering BP [blood pressure] as vérnyomás; and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as COPD).

A dedicated section addresses the translation of pharmaceutical product information documents ‒ a subcategory within medical language ‒ where regulatory constraints and quality expectations are stringent. The paper refers to European Union and Hungarian regulatory requirements and assessment practices for translations, and outlines expectations set by the Hungarian national authority (NNGYK), which include equivalence in content and formatting, avoidance of word-for-word translation, minimization of cognitive effort, adherence to orthographic norms, rejection of machine-only translation, and adherence to guidelines regarding layout and formatting. The paper presents the Table of Acronyms for product Information Texts ‒ a terminology database as well as its user guide, developed jointly by the pharmaceutical industry and the national authority experts in 2022. The resource provides more than 700 English acronyms with corresponding definitions in English and Hungarian and provides the recommended acronym to be used in Hungarian translations. The corresponding user guide includes practical rules such as defining acronyms at first mention, hyphenation with nouns and suffixes, article selection before acronyms, and punctuation constraints.

In summary, the paper confirms that modern language use is inconceivable without lexemes formed through reduction, and that their diversity and versatility make written and spoken communication more efficient. However, their application demands caution: overuse, ambiguity, or the absence of explicit expansion can hinder understanding, thus has the potential to pose risks.