Linguistic Teaser

Professional Works of Medical Linguistics Consulting

Tracking language changes that affect medical English usage

Sick English

I coined “Sick English” to describe the tendency of citizens in English-speaking countries to speak of their lives—or the lives of others—as if they’re sick, in need of treatment....

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The term “patient”

Advocates have deplored the term patient or have been exposed to the arguments of those who deplore it....
Originally published on KevinMD.com, 30 November 2013

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“The Enigmatic Semicolon”

The Nature of the Semicolon.
Originally published, without the art work, in The Vocabula Review, Vol. 11, No. 7 (July 2009)

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Infinitive

Message from the Infinitive.
Revised version of the article, which originally appeared in The Vocabula Review, 28 February 2011 (July 2009)

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Dose vs. dosage

Upon the distinction between dose and dosage, the two terms continue to baffle many writers
Revised version of the article, which originally appeared in The Vocabula Review, 28 February 2011 (July 2009)

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STID: The case for a new term

American Sexual Health Association, November 2016. (Available online at www.ashasexualhealth.org)

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