“新冠肺炎”与“COVID-19”——新发疫病定名的一些思考

Thoughts on Naming the New Epidemic Disease as“Xin Guan Feiyan”and“COVID-19”

新发疫病“新冠肺炎”定名过程体现了新病名形成的三个原则:个体创造与社会认同的协合原则,占位与相对不可更易原则,名称的本土化与国际化并存原则。“新冠肺炎”的定名体现了本土化名称正在向国际化、专业化靠拢。中西命名的差异是中西医学系统的差异的表现,更是中西文化差异的反映。在今后的病名命名和使用中,我们要坚持“求同存异”的原则,力图科学、准确定名,同时保留本土特色,方便地域交流和传播。

On naming the new epidemic disease as“Xin Guan Feiyan”,three principles have found in naming the new disease:the principle of the synergy between individual creation and social identification,the principle of occupation and relative difficulty of changing a named disease,and the principle of coexistence of names’localization and internationalization.The naming of“Xin Guan Feiyan”reflects the localization is moving towards internationalization and specialization.The differences between Chinese and Western nomenclature are not only the manifestation of the differences between Chinese and Western medical systems,but also the reflection of cultural differences between China and the West.In the naming and use of disease names in the future,we should adhere to the principle of“seeking common ground while reserving differences”,strive to name the disease scientifically and accurately,and retain local characteristics to facilitate regional communication and transmission.