Bad uses of scientific language

Journalists and scientists perpetrate sometimes abuses of scientific language. In this post, I’ll mention a few.

·      Heard on the radio news: Meteorology is to blame for the spread of this fire. I suppose we must sue the meteorologists. According to Wikipedia, Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. Apparently, saying that excessive heat or dryness is to blame for the spread of the fire is too vulgar, and the news needs to be phrased in a more scientific way.

·     DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a molecule that contains the genetic information of living beings. The idea of ​​identifying it with the properties that define a different entity, such as a cultural construct or a society, is an ingenious metaphor, but through overuse and repetition it becomes hackneyed. We hear frequently about the DNA of a football club, or the DNA of a company, or the DNA of the work of an artist.

·      A variation on the previous case consists of using the word genome instead of DNA with the same meaning, as in this example, which appeared in an article in the Spanish newspaper El País with the following headline: The household genome: the new consumer battle is fought at home.

Now I will list some false friends between the Spanish and English languages. Many of them are taken from medical language, which is very prone to this type of error:

English word	Incorrect Spanish translation	Correct translation	Explanation
Actually	Actualmente	De hecho
Admission	Admisión	Ingreso	As a medical word
Alimentary canal	Canal alimentario	Tubo digestivo
Anthrax	Ántrax	Carbunco	Caused by Bacillus anthracis Caused by Staphylococcus aureus
Carbuncle	Carbunco	Ántrax
Asylum	Asilo	Hospital psiquiátrico
Cankerous	Canceroso	Ulceroso
Carbon	Carbón	Carbono	Carbón in English is Coal
Cervix	Cerviz	Cuello del útero
Compound fracture	Fractura compuesta	Fractura abierta o Fractura complicada
Compromise	Compromiso	Afección, insuficiencia, deterioro	As a medical word
Condition	Condición	Estado	Example: Physical condition means Estado físico
Constipated	Constipado	Estreñido	In Spanish, constipado means sick with a cold
Consumption	Consunción	Tuberculosis
Dilation	Dilación	Dilatación
Discharge	Descarga	Supuración o Alta hospitalaria
Disorder	Desorden	Trastorno
Diversion	Diversión	Desviación
Embolism	Embolismo	Embolia	Embolismo in Spanish means confusion
Expectant mother	Madre expectante	Embarazada
Extenuate	Extenuar	Reducir la gravedad
Fatality	Fatalidad	Víctima mortal
Fatigue(s)	Fatiga	Traje de faena
Felony	Felonía	Delito
Feud	Feudo	Enemistad
Glandular fever	Fiebre glandular	Fiebre ganglionar o Mononucleosis infecciosa
Hyperopia	Hiperopia	Hipermetropía
Impregnate	Impregnar	Dejar embarazada
Incidence	Incidencia	Frecuencia	Frequence of a disease
Injury	Injuria	Lesión
Inmune	Inmune	Inmunitaria
Insane	Insano	Demente
Sane	Sano	Cuerdo
Intoxication	Intoxicación	Embriaguez
Node	Nodo	Ganglio linfático
Perspiration	Perspiración	Sudor	Perspiración does not exist
Pest	Peste	Plaga	Two interlocked false friends
Plague	Plaga	Peste
Practicioner	Practicante	Médico	Practicante means Physician’s assistant
Rickets		Raquitismo	No relation to Howard Taylor Ricketts
Sanitarium	Sanitario	Sanatorio
Severe	Severo	Grave
Silicon	Silicona	Silicio
Sport	Deporte	Mutación espontánea
Sulfur/sulphur	Sulfuro	Azufre	Sulfuro en inglés es Sulfide
Template	Templado	Plantilla
Versus	Versus	Contra

The same post in Spanish

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Manuel Alfonseca