Options in the diaphasic intralingual translation of multi-word medical terms:Functionalist and Peircean perspectives combined

Situated at the crossroads between Intralingual Translation Studies and terminological research, this article investigates the reformulation of English multi-word medical terms into layman’s expressions. Theoretically, the investigation combines a functionalist approach to (the study of) translation with Meylaerts and Marais’ (2023) Peircean translation theory. Based on the functionalist emphasis on the centrality of choice in translation, the investigation charts the micro-level translational options, i.e. the micro-level strategies, at the intralingual translator’s disposal, deducible from a sample of around 250 paired source-target items. From Meylaerts and Marais (2023) is adopted the notion of orientation, which holds that translation may be oriented towards the representamen (the vehicle or ‘surface’ of the source sign), the interpretant (meaning) or the object (the ‘external reality’ referred to by the sign). The investigation charts how two basic options, viz. representamen and interpretant translation, underpin a number of more specific options. At the representamen level, a number of strategies familiar from Translation Studies are identified, such as literal translation, synonymy and superordination. At the interpretant level, the options primarily consist in the specification of circumstantial elements and semantic participants. In future research, it remains to be investigated whether these findings apply to terminologies beyond medicine.