A glossary of psychopathological terms and their characteristics

Abstract

It has been established that maintaining a good mental health is essential to live a happy and a healthy life. Many organisations around the world are doing their utmost to promote the importance of improving mental health and the prevention of mental illnesses. These organisations are working hard to remove the taboo which these disorders tend to have, and they are also helping people suffering from mental disorders to seek professional advice. People around the world need terminology so that they can communicate in an effective way. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the handbook used by health care professionals in the United States and much of the world as the authoritative guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders. The progress that is being made worldwide in the branch of psychopathology involves specific terminology. The Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union works to establish the standardisation of terms. The aim of this work is to analyse how Maltese terminology can be established in this particular branch and what processes are being used for terms to be created. The first chapter of this work includes a literature review about theories of terminology. It starts off by giving a definition and explaining the differences between terminography and lexicography. It continues by studying the importance of standardisation and the absence of ambiguity, while looking at the work that is being done by the translators and terminologists of the European Union in this field and the use of ISO Standards. The second chapter explains the methodology of this study. This will look closely into the aims of this study, the choice of the Source Language terms taken from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) IV-TR and the formation and analysis of the chosen Target Language terms. This will show which processes have been used in the establishment of psychopathological terminology in this study. Ultimately, it will present the structure of this glossary. The third chapter is the glossary itself. It will include an adequate analysis of the terminology in both languages and new terminology will be created, where necessary, according to the established processes and other term-formation models. Throughout this process, it is crucial to seek the help of professionals in the psychopathological field.