Since gaining independence, the status of the Tajik language as the state language in Tajikistan has significantly expanded its application across various spheres of public life. It serves as a medium for enhancing cultural, social, political, and economic relations with numerous countries, facilitating communication with foreigners both within and outside the country, and supporting the self-development, education, employment, and travel of Tajik citizens to Europe, Asia, the Americas, and beyond.

Alongside this, the importance of global languages - such as English, Russian, Arabic, French, German, and Chinese, which are taught in the nation's universities- continues to grow steadily. Scientific and technological progress in contemporary society has also heightened the relevance of specialized terminology across diverse fields as a tool for acquiring and organizing scientific knowledge. It is widely recognized that terminology, inevitably undergoing a process of internationalization, evolves in tandem with the global exchange of knowledge.      

In this context, it is essential to highlight the unique position of medicine in society.

The distinctive status of medical terminology is evident in the active processes of word formation within oral literary language, particularly in colloquial speech. Medical terms are generated according to all word-formation patterns of English colloquial speech. The extensive integration of medical terms into everyday language is demonstrated by two main factors: 1) the substantial linguistic need for the creation and use of medical terms; and 2) the linguistic phenomenon of many medical terms evolving beyond their specialized professional contexts and becoming part of common usage.

The universalization of medical vocabulary in colloquial speech often involves the simplification of full lexical constructions - for example, the replacement of adjective-noun combinations with a lexical unit featuring the suffix - to(a), while preserving the root of the adjective: ‘ascorbic acid’ becomes “ascorbic”, and “Vitamin C” or “mineral water” may also be simplified in similar ways. These transformations highlight the adaptation of medical terminology for broader linguistic use.

The study and analysis of the centuries-old history of the emergence, development, and refinement of medical terminology, as well as the relationships and diverse connections between the etymology, structure, and semantics of terms, provide a deeper understanding of the current state of medical terminology and the science of terms in the Tajik language. This process also highlights the pressing issues of systematizing and stabilizing terminology. Theoretical and clinical specificity, along with the meanings related to their origin, etiology, pathogenesis, and pathomorphology, are often obscured by numerous characteristics, making precise identification challenging. This complexity poses significant difficulties in achieving a unified understanding and consistent use of terms that express these concepts. The more conceptual weight a term carries, the more complex the task of grasping its overall integrity. For instance, there remains no definitive interpretation for fundamental medical terms such as “Bemori” (Disease) and “Sibley's” (Infection).

Mirzoeva G.H.

translated by Ismoilov R.