The hybrid nature of English and Russian medical reviews: a language design aspect

Abstract

The research objective is to identify common and specific features of the language design of English and Russian medical reviews as hybrid texts that combine characteristics of scientific and media discourse. The scientific novelty lies in conducting for the first time the study devoted to the analysis of the hybrid nature of medical reviews and the investigation of their specific language organization. The research results show that everyday vocabulary prevails in both corpora, ensuring the accessibility of complex professional medical content. The high proportion of this layer is confirmed by the frequency of the verb ‘said’, indicating the active use of direct quotations as a main tool of media discourse. In English reviews, citations serve as a meaning-making element, whereas their number is minimal in the Russian corpus. The scientific component is supported by specialised terminology, the proportion of which is more significant in Russian texts than in English ones, suggesting a higher degree of academicism in Russian reviews. General scientific vocabulary constitutes the smallest group in both cases, as it primarily focuses on providing logical links between the terminological apparatus and the everyday language layer. It was also revealed that the media nature of the texts is realised through the transformation of headlines and the use of conceptual metaphors. Notably, the frequency of metaphorization in English reviews is nearly five times higher than in Russian reviews.

Research materials

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About this article

Publication history

• Received: February 24, 2026.
• Published: April 27, 2026.

Keywords

• медицинский обзор
• гибридный дискурс
• профессиональное общение
• научные особенности текста
• медиатекст
• medical review
• hybrid discourse
• professional communication
• scientific features of the text
• media text

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