Special medical terminology in Italian and in French: the model for drug factsheets.

Drug factsheets (DF) provide an interesting model for the evaluation of medical-popular texts in Italian and other languages. In this research 50 DF in Italian and the 50 corresponding DF in French were studied, offering a reasoned analysis of the modalities of presentation of medical-scientific information in two neo-Latin languages and a systematic comparison of the technical features of use of Italian and French medical languages. Basic parameters identified for evaluation were the following: length of texts, length of sentences, clarity of information, hierarchy of information, readability of texts, modalities of involvement of the reader. These parameters were also examined through time, given that the DF evaluated covered the last three decades. The diachronic analysis and the comparative assessment proposed document the positive characteristics and limits of a diffused model of medical-popular communication.