QScience.com, the online platform of Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals (BQFJ), has published a glossary titled, 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 of Qatar Foundation and Bloomsbury Publishing, and the glossary represents 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 building a knowledge-based economy, as per the Qatar National Vision 2030.
The Arabic equivalents of the most commonly-used English words in undergraduate biology programmes are included in the new glossary. Using the closeness of the Latin and Arabic languages, the book aims to re-introduce words to Arabic-speaking students so that they can make the connection with their meanings, and then apply them 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, to highlight specific parts and origins of words, in addition to how they translate across languages.
Dr Rachid Bendriss, co-author with Dr Ghizlane Bendriss, both teachers at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, said, “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 expanding their bilingual vocabulary repertoire. This understanding and expansion will contribute to the academic success of Arabic-speaking students not only in Qatar but across the Gulf region.”
Christopher Leonard, QScience.com editorial director, added, “This unique 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.”
Both QF and WCMC-Q share a strong ethos of excellence, and are committed to promoting research as a key element of creating knowledge. 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.