Cognitive Difficulties and Conceptual Reconstruction of Russian Medical Terminology in Translation into Chinese

Abstract

This article examines the cognitive difficulties involved in translating Russian medical terms, including clinical terminology, into Chinese. The focus is placed not only on formal differences between the two languages but also on errors in interpreting term meanings, incomplete recognition of word-formation structures, misinterpretation of terminologized everyday words, abbreviations, and metaphorical models. The aim of the study is to identify the main types of cognitive difficulties arising in the translation of Russian medical terms into Chinese and to describe the mechanisms for overcoming them. 

The methodological framework combines cognitive and contrastive analysis with elements of translation studies and linguocultural analysis. The material includes Russian medical terms and stable terminological collocations used in scientific, educational, and clinical practice, as well as their Chinese equivalents. The paper examines four key groups of difficulties: interpretation of the word-formation structure of terms, terminologization of everyday words, translation of clinical abbreviations and diagnostic designations, and reconstruction of metaphorical models in the target language. 

The analysis shows that most translation errors are caused not by the absence of dictionary equivalents as such, but by a disruption in the relationship between the form of a term, its conceptual structure, and its professional context of use. It is demonstrated that an adequate translation of Russian medical terminology into Chinese requires not a literal reproduction of linguistic form but a conceptual reconstruction of meaning in accordance with the norms of Chinese medical nomination. The findings may be used in the training of medical translators, in the compilation of bilingual terminological dictionaries, and in further studies of Russian–Chinese professional communication.