Doha: QScience.com, online platform of Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals’ (BQFJ), has published a comprehensive glossary, English-Arabic Biological Terms: A Glossary for Academic Success, to facilitate the learning and application of scientific terms by Arabic-speaking students.
BQFJ is a collaboration between Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and Bloomsbury Publishing, and the glossary is a major milestone in their mission to reflect the burgeoning research environment of Qatar to the wider world. It also supports Qatar’s journey towards a knowledge-based economy, as per Qatar National Vision 2030.
The Arabic equivalents of commonly-used English words in undergraduate biology programmes are included in the glossary. Using the closeness of Latin and Arabic languages, the book aims to re-introduce words to students so that they can make the connection with their meanings and apply in Arabic and English.
Beyond a basic English-Arabic translation of terms, parts of English words are divided into 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.
Dr Rachid Bendriss and co-author Dr Ghizlane Bendriss are teachers at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar.
Dr Bendriss said, “Since scientific English, particularly biological terminology, is derived from Latin and Greek, the glossary provides a practical solution for students to overcome the language barrier and aids them at acquiring a deep understanding of scientific concepts and expanding bilingual vocabulary repertoire.”
QScience.com Editorial Director Christopher Leonard said, “We hope to extend glossaries to other subject areas soon.”
The glossary will be available in national bookstores and through Amazon.com.
It is under review by the Supreme Education Council as a reference book for Independent schools. There is an app version for iOS and Android, which allows students to search an English term on their phone or tablet and obtain Latin and Arabic derivations for the word.
The Peninsula
