A Comparative Study of Medical and Pharmaceutical Loanwords in Chinese as Reflected in the Modern Chinese Dictionary and the Modern Chinese Normative Dictionary 《现代汉语词典》与《现代汉语规范词典》 汉语医药类外来词对比研究

Abstract

Abstract: This study takes the Modern Chinese Dictionary (7th edition) and the Modern Chinese Normative Dictionary (4th edition) as closed corpora and conducts a systematic comparative analysis of the inclusion status, categorical distribution, and definitional differences of medical loanwords in the two dictionaries. A mixed-methods approach combining quantitative statistics and qualitative analysis is adopted. The results show that the Modern Chinese Dictionary includes 170 medical loanwords, while the Modern Chinese Normative Dictionary records 140, with 36 entries shared by both. In terms of categorical structure, both dictionaries are dominated by drug-name entries; however, the Modern Chinese Dictionary provides more detailed definitions, emphasizing conceptual explanation and the construction of a knowledge framework, whereas the Modern Chinese Normative Dictionary offers more concise definitions, highlighting usage guidance and standardization. The study argues that these differences essentially reflect the distinct lexicographic principles of the two dictionaries—namely, “descriptive” versus “normative”—and that they are complementary in their functions of language documentation and normative guidance. This paper provides a reference for research on Chinese loanwords, terminology standardization, and lexicographic practice.