Table 1

Frequently used terms and their working definition

TermWorking definition
ParticipantsPatients, oncologists/haematologists, language-mediators
Communication problemsLack of understanding/misunderstanding among participants in the medical consultation
Interactional processesThe ways in which participants in the medical consultation interact with each other by employing a wide range of semiotic resources
(eg. using gestures to alert each other to misunderstandings)
Semiotic resourcesResources which participants in the medical consultation employ in order to co-construct meaning with each other and to relate to each other (eg. speech, gaze, body orientation, gestures)
Communicative processesThe ways in which participants in the medical consultation try to reach understanding (eg. seeking clarification, confirming understanding)