Manama: A glossary designed to help the learning and application of scientific terms by Arabic-speaking students has been published.
QScience.com, the online platform of Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals (BQFJ), said the Arabic equivalents of the most commonly-used English words in undergraduate biology programmes are included in the new glossary “English-Arabic Biological Terms: A Glossary for Academic Success.”
Using the closeness of the Latin and Arabic languages, the book aims to reintroduce words to Arabic-speaking students so that they can make the connection with their meanings, and then apply them with confidence in Arabic as well as English.
Beyond a basic English-Arabic translation of terms, parts of English words are divided into their original roots. Colour coding is also applied, where beneficial, to highlight specific parts and origins of words, in addition to how they translate across languages.
“Since scientific English, particularly biological terminology, is derived from Latin and Greek, this innovative glossary provides a practical solution for Arabic-speaking students to overcome this language barrier and aids them at not only acquiring a deep understanding of scientific concepts but also at expanding their bilingual vocabulary repertoire,” Rashid Bendriss, co-author with Dr Ghizlane Bendriss, both teachers at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q), said. “This understanding and expansion will contribute to the academic success of Arabic-speaking students not only in Qatar but across the Gulf region.”
QScience.com Editorial Director Christopher Leonard added that the glossary is a way to link the Arabic language to the Latin roots and modern English usage of many biological terms.
“Due to its ground-breaking layout, we believe Arabic students will benefit enormously from this format, and we hope to extend the glossaries to other subject areas soon,” he said.
The glossary will be available in major national bookstores and through Amazon.com. It is also under review by Qatar’s Supreme Education Council for its potential as a reference book for use in independent schools.
In addition to the printed book, there is also an app version available for iOS and Android, which will allow students to search an English term on their phone or tablet and obtain the Latin and Arabic derivations for that word.
BQFJ is a collaboration between the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and Bloomsbury Publishing.
