UPORABA MEDICINSKIH AKRONIMOV IN KRATIC NA PODLAGI AMERIŠKE SERIJE DOKTOR HOUSE

The present thesis is based on the use of medical acronyms and initialisms in the American TV series House MD as compared to that of medical doctors in Slovenia. The main aim is to determine which medical acronyms are most frequently used in the series and whether they coincide with the acronyms that Slovene doctors use in their work. The second aim is to establish the prevalent language of origin for medical acronyms and initialisms. The theoretical part of the thesis begins with a brief history of acronyms and initialisms, followed by a list of word-formation processes, pronunciation issues and the use of articles with acronyms. The practical part is divided into two sections. The first section covers the transcriptions of the second season of House MD with its twenty-four episodes, where every episode is accompanied by a short data analysis that presents all the medical acronyms featured in the episode. The analysis also includes information as to whether the acronyms are explained in the course of the show, and who uses them (medical or non-medical staff). The second section features four interviews with Slovene doctors from various medical fields (from emergency doctors, physiatrist to veterinarian). The interviews were conducted in Slovene, but the English translations are provided as well for foreign readers. The main focus of the thesis is on determining which medical acronyms are most commonly used, which are loanwords, and the impact of social status on the use of acronyms in speech.Magistrsko delo primerja uporabo medicinskih akronimov in kratic na podlagi ameriške televizijske serije Zdravnikova vest in njihovo rabo med slovenskimi zdravniki. Glavni namen naloge je ugotoviti, kateri so najpogosteje uporabljeni medicinski akronimi in okrajšave v seriji, in kateri so tisti, ki jih najpogosteje uporabljajo slovenski zdravniki ter ali le-ta uporaba sovpada. Ugotoviti želim tudi, iz katerega jezika izvira največ akronimov in kako se to kaže pri samem zapisu besed. V teoretičnem delu magistrskega dela je predstavljena strnjena zgodovina razvoja akronimov in kratic, čemur sledi kratka predstavitev poglavitnih besedotvornih procesov in izgovorjava ter uporaba členov pri zapisu akronimov. Praktični del sestoji iz dveh delov. V prvem delu so zajete transkripcije celotne druge sezone Zdravnikova vest, ki obsega štiriindvajset delov. Vsaka transkripcija ima kratko analizo, v kateri so navedeni vsi uporabljeni akronimi, okoliščine njihove rabe in ustrezna razlaga. V drugem delu so zajeti štirje intervjuji s štirimi zdravniki iz različnih medicinskih področjih (urgentna medicina, fiziatrija, veterinarstvo). Intervjuji so izvedeni v slovenskem jeziku, prevedeni v angleški jezik. Poglavitni namen dela je torej ugotoviti, kateri medicinski akronimi so najpogosteje uporabljeni, kateri sovpadajo v obeh jezikih (pomen in zapis), kakšni so razlogi za njihovo uporabo, kateri akronimi so hkrati tudi izposojenke v angleščini in vpliv socialnega statusa na samo uporabo akronimov