loan-translation

A linguist explains the concept of a loan-translation using the word "skyscraper."

Definition

1. Noun:
   • Linguistic borrowing: A "loan-translation" is a compound word or phrase formed by translating each element of a foreign word or phrase literally into the target language, rather than borrowing the foreign word directly. It is also known as a calque.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The English phrase "flea market" is a loan-translation from the French "marché aux puces." (Each element — "flea" and "market" — is translated directly from French.)
  • The term "skyscraper" in many languages is a loan-translation of the English original. (Languages like German "Wolkenkratzer" or Spanish "rascacielos" are literal translations.)

Advanced Usage

• "to create a loan-translation": to produce a new term in a language by translating a foreign expression word-for-word.

  • The concept of "honeymoon" was adapted into Russian as a loan-translation, "медовый месяц." (The Russian term literally means "honey month.")

• "pure loan-translation": a type of calque where every morpheme is translated, as opposed to a partial calque.

  • "Superman" in Chinese is a pure loan-translation: "chāorén" (超 = super, 人 = man). (Each part is translated exactly.)

Variants and Related Words

• Loanword (n): a word adopted from one language and incorporated into another without translation.

  • "Sushi" is a loanword from Japanese into English. (It is borrowed directly, not translated.)

• Calque (n): a synonym for loan-translation; a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal translation.

  • "Marriage of convenience" is a calque from the French "mariage de convenance." (It is a loan-translation.)

Synonyms

• Calque: a direct translation of a foreign word or phrase.

  • The term "brainwashing" is a calque from the Chinese "xǐnǎo." (It is a loan-translation.)

• Literal translation: a word-for-word rendering of a foreign expression.

  • "Beer garden" is a literal translation of the German "Biergarten." (It is a loan-translation.)

Related Idioms

• "To calque a phrase": to borrow a phrase by translating it literally.

  • The idiom "to have a heart of gold" was calqued into French as "avoir un cœur d'or." (It was adopted as a loan-translation.)

• "To borrow semantically": to adopt a meaning from a foreign language through translation.

  • The English word "mouse" for a computer device is a semantic borrowing, but "computer mouse" in many languages is a loan-translation. (The concept is translated, not the word itself.)