Four Methods of Translating English Loanwords

【Abstract】Loanwords， also known as borrowed words， it is an important part in Chinese vocabulary. Due to the cultural communication and economic partnership between our country and English speaking countries， we found that more and more loanwords appear in our daily life. So the research on the methods of translating loanwords is significant both in theory and practice. So this paper introduces the definition of loanwords， mainly analysis four important methods on translating loanwords， which may be helpful when people encountering some unfamiliar loanwords.

【Key words】loanwords； translation

【摘要】外來语，也叫借词，是汉语词汇中非常重要的一部分。由于我国同英语国家的文化交流和经济合作日益增多，我们发现我们开始越来越多地在我们的日常生活中使用英语外来语。因此，研究如何翻译外来语在理论和实践上都有非常大的必要性。因此，本文通过介绍外来词的定义，着重介绍四种外来词的重要翻译方法，希望可以对人们翻译不熟悉的外来词时有所帮助。

【关键词】外来词 翻译

1. Introduction

Loanwords， we also call them borrowing words. It refers to the word which is not exist in one language but absorb from other language by direct or indirect contact. This is a good way to add new words to a language， and enrich their ways of expression.

According to dictionaries， Loanword means “a word originally from a foreign language， now used as a member of the language”. （Longman Contemporary English-Chinese Dictionary： 1998）；“Thomason and Kaufman define loanwords as incorporation of foreign features into a groups native language by speakers of that language.”

So in a wide sense， loanwords hold a special status in Chinese vocabulary. It refers to a word borrowed from another language， which has been assimilated in pronunciation and meaning， so that the native people can know them accurately， and avoid some unnecessary mistakes when they use these words.

2. Translation of loanwords

With society advancing day by day， intensified communications between countries occur. As we know， language is the most important carrier of culture. So we should translate the loanwords from English properly， make everyone know their meanings correctly. Therefore， I introduce four main ways in translating loanwords. By knowing the methods， we can understand and use these loanwords better.

2.1 Transliteration

Because Chinese and English belong to different language system， people cannot find a completely same way to translate an English word into Chinese without making some changes. Therefore， this method is widely used in translating new technology， new brand names and some new products. Nowadays， with the development of technology， transliteration words become more and more in China.

Pure transliteration is a way to translate loanwords by using similar sound from Chinese. Sometimes， we cannot find a relevant word in our own language， so we usually choose to use transliteration. This method is mainly used in translating some proper nouns and it plays an important role in the enrichment of Chinese words. Such as“丘吉尔”（Churchill），“英格兰”（England），“加仑”（gallon）both belong to this category..

Some people may argue that pure transliteration is mainly for convenience， that's not true. Sometimes， this method is better than normal translation. Such as “ballet” is a complicated group dance， in order to tell a story to audience. It is difficult to be translated normally， “芭蕾”sounds much better.

2.2 Semantic Translation

There are some argues about whether loanwords translated in this way can be called loanwords. Compared with transliteration， semantic translation put more emphasis on meaning presenting than the phonetic characteristics.

One way is called Pure Semantic Translation .Usually， we translate English words as a whole， it is a one-way method. So we often cannot find the trace of translation， we accept them naturally. Such as宠物（pet），笔记本电脑（laptop），病毒（virus）are typical instances of this kind of translation.

This group of words is difficult to understand if you only try to digest it literally. Because these words are mostly come from English phrases， one thing we should remember is that this kind of words cannot be understood literally. Such as “黑馬”（black houses）bears no relationship to the animal.

Another way is called Creating Correspond Chinese Words. Sometimes， we retain the structures of English words and create some compound words. Here are some examples：“航天飞机”（space shuttle）、“电脑”（computer）、“超市”（supermarket）、“快餐”（fast food）、“随身听”（walkman）、“急救”（first aid）.

In this way， we can understand the original English loanwords without too many difficulties. But this method must be leaded properly. If without a proper direction， people in different region may create different words，which may cause confusion. Such as space shuttle is translated as“航天飞机”in our mainland， but in Hong Kong and Tai Wan ，they call it“太空梭”。

2.3 Combining Pronunciation and Meaning

By using this method， we can create the some Chinese words share similarities both in pronunciation and meaning with English loanwords. Because there are many homophones in Chinese words， so Chinese translator choose to use the Chinese characters share similar meaning to translate English loanwords.

Such as冰激凌（ice cream）、剑桥（Cambridge）、菠萝派（pineapple pie）、泡沫经济（bubble economy）、维他命（vitamin）. The amount of loanwords translated in this way is too large to believe.

2.4 Letter Words

This is a way to quote the loanwords directly from English. In this way， we borrow pronunciation， meaning and form from English. Some scholars defined these words as Original Loanwords. Such as everybody knows WTOs meaning ，you dont need to explain it as“世界贸易组织”. Here are more examples：

NBA（National Basketball Association）美國职业篮球联赛

CAD（Computer Aided Design）计算机辅助设计

UFO（unidentified flying object）不明飞行物

There is also a special group of letter word. It is composed of an English letter and a Chinese morpheme. Such as SIM卡，PC机，IT产业，T恤.

3. Conclusion

By introducing the definition of the loanwords， and introducing four main methods on translating loanwords， I found that there are various translation techniques though， the efficiency of information exchange become a basic demand of our modern life.

With more and more loanwords appear in our everyday life， different people may have different views in how to translate English loanwords. But transliteration is still the basic and widely used way， but people also need to know the meaning that the words stand for. Therefore， semantic translation is becoming an important way in translating loanwords. For now， the best situation is to select an appropriate way from these four methods when encountering a specific loanword. Anyway， the methods on translating loanwords should base on Chinese peoples habits of language and ways of thinking.

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作者简介：郭晓凯（1991.2-），男，汉族，山西省忻州人，本科，研究方向：外国语言学及应用语言学。