Theory and Practice of translationby

Fernanda Davalos

Translation of Neologisms

NEOLOGISMSConstitute the biggest problem in translation

3000 new words are created each year

The majority of neologisms have a single meaning

There are several types of neologisms

Old words with new senses

These words do not refer to new objects

These words are rarely technological

These words tend to be non cultural and non technical

Some of these words do not exist in TL, so an equivalent must be found.

NNNew Coinages Derived wordsUsually used with

brand or trade names.

Example: Bacardi, Tersil, Revlon, Nivea, etc.

Some of these words must be transfered to TL

Mostly fro ancient Greek and latin morphemes.

Mostly designate scientific and technological terms.

Translators must consult the ISO glossary before translating.

CollocationsCommon in Social Science and Computer language

Could be noun compounds or adjectives plus noun.

Examples: walkman, domino effect, lead time, etc.

Computer terms usually have their recognized translation, if not words must be transfered to TL.

Translation of English collocations is difficult

EponymsTerm used with any word derived from a proper name

They can be derived from people´s names: “Laurentian”, they last depending on the person´s popularity.

They can be derived from ideas or qualities

They can also be derived from objects, usually brand names: nylon, durex, deja, etc

Type of pseudo-neologisms

More common in french than in English

English language ability to change verbs into nouns.Examples: work-out, check-out,etcTheir use is usually informal and casualTheir translation is usually more formal

ABBREVIATIONS PHRASAL WORDS

•Are getting more common nowadays•Are created for special topics, companies or institutions•Examples: UNESCO, UNICEF•Are difficult to translate because they might differ according to language

Are created when generic words stands in for specific words.

ACRONYMS PSEUDO NEOLOGISMS