Medicine today (unlike in the past, when terms were mostly taken from classical languages) takes terms mostly from English, with abbreviation terms in the foreground. In this diploma thesis, we present the basics of general terminology, as well as the history and specifics of Slovene medical terminology. We have analyzed the current typologies of lexemes and terms and developed our own typology of the term-formation processes, which is useful not only for the analysis of medical terminology but can also be applied to the terminology of other professional fields. The developed typology was critically evaluated by comparison with the existing typologies. As acquisition from the English language is the most productive term-formation process today, we evaluated loan translations and developed our own two-dimensional model of expressed acquisition, which we also evaluated by comparing it with existing theories (the created model includes all the possibilities provided by previous typologies and enables an even more detailed analysis of the acquired terms). We presented the applicability of the typology in one of the most problematic areas of medical terminology today - short terms, which we analyzed in more detail. Abroad, researchers have already shown that the use of short terms in a clinical setting can be problematic, but such a research has not been provided regarding Slovene language so far. We defined the terms abbreviation term, imitative abbreviation, and mnemonic abbreviation, and presented the processes of terminologisation and determinologisation in medical terminology. In addition to the typology of term-formation processes and the analysis of abbreviation terms, and after having reviewed problematic aspects that have been overlooked by previous language normative manuals, we formulated normative recommendations and highlighted further areas for research. We have also prepared a design for creating a dictionary of medical abbreviation terms and short terms. The thesis can thus serve as a basis for further research in the field of medical terminology in several respects.
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