COMPARATIVE ASPECTS OF SYNONYMY AND VARIABILITY IN A CORPUS OF MEDICAL TEXTS (ON THE EXAMPLE OF ENGLISH AND UZBEK)

Abstract

This article examines, in a comparative and systematic way, the phenomena of synonymy and lexical variability in a corpus of medical texts in the English and Uzbek languages. The main aim of the research is to identify the formation of synonymic rows within medical terms and non-terminological units, the features of their contextual use, and the semantic and pragmatic differences that arise in the process of translation. The research is based on the methods of corpus linguistics and on comparative-descriptive, contextual and functional analysis. The results obtained show that medical terminology in English is standardized to a high degree, whereas in Uzbek the level of lexical variability is high owing to explanatory and descriptive units. The results of the research are of considerable theoretical and practical importance for medical translation, terminological standardization and the compilation of specialized dictionaries.