Introduction

The Hungarian Medical Language Research Group was established on July 13, 2016, under the leadership of Ágnes Kuna (see report). This interdisciplinary and inter-institutional group aims to investigate the Hungarian medical language – and, more broadly, healthcare communication – in a complex and multifaceted way, drawing on insights from a range of academic disciplines. While our work is grounded primarily in functional linguistics, we also take into account both historical and contemporary characteristics of language use in healthcare settings.

In recent years, research has been carried out within smaller working groups across several thematic areas. The phases and findings of these projects are presented on this website. Many of these initiatives are ongoing, with new perspectives emerging thanks to the involvement of new researchers, student workshop participants, and the evolving social context. These developments have marked the beginning of a new chapter in 2025 – reflected in our new name: the MediLing Medical Language Research Group.

Our work spans a wide variety of topics, organized into a flexible network of research hubs. This structure allows for continuous expansion into new areas. The group’s main research areas are outlined below:

1. Modern Hungarian Healthcare Communication
We analyze current communication practices in Hungarian healthcare, including both face-to-face consultations and online interactions. A key focus is on the communicative strategies and patterns that shape relationship-building, knowledge-sharing, and shared decision-making. We pay particular attention to the interactive dynamics of these complex processes. In addition, we study the social and linguistic attitudes of healthcare professionals, patients, and other participants, along with the institutional features and discourse genres of healthcare communication.

2. Communication Beyond Doctor–Patient Consultations
Our research extends to various healthcare settings beyond the traditional doctor–patient dynamic. We explore interactions involving nurses, caregivers, physiotherapists, health visitors, midwives, psychologists, and social workers. Core topics include communication related to chronic illness; telemedicine and online forums; childbirth and invasive examinations; the linguistic representation of autism and participant roles; and effective communication between physiotherapists and clients.

3. Conflicts Among Healthcare Professionals
One of our long-standing research areas is the study of workplace conflicts in healthcare, initiated in 2015 as part of a US–Swiss–Hungarian collaboration. From 2015 to 2022, the Hungarian partner was the Institute of Psychology at the University of Szeged; currently, the project is coordinated by the Doctoral School of Psychology at Károli Gáspár University. Other partners include the Healing Women Foundation (Gyógyító Nőkért Alapítvány), the Hárfa Foundation (Hárfa Alapítvány), and the ELTE Social Innovation Laboratory (TINLAB). Based on the research findings of this interdisciplinary project, a training program was developed in 2025, which has also been included in the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) Social Innovation Match database.

4. The History of Medical Language
Another central goal of our group is to study the historical development of medical language from a pragmatic perspective. We view past and present language use as interconnected processes: examining historical forms sheds light on today’s medical discourse, and contemporary patterns can offer insights into earlier practices. In line with this approach, we study historical Hungarian medical texts, focusing primarily on 16th- and 17th-century recipe literature.