Researching and teaching the translatability of neologisms

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

Nowadays, in most scientific domains, neology creation happens first and foremost in English. In this contribution we discuss some primary neologisms that were coined in English by specialists in molecular biology. Wanting to gain insight in how translatable these English neologisms are we did a unit of understanding (UoU) analysis of some scientific publications on recent developments of cognition in the field of molecular biology, more specifically in protein synthesis in eukaryotic cells. We then looked for secondary terms in French and Dutch in publications on the same scientific developments.
We discovered that despite an explicit language and terminology policy in France with a tradition in making deliberate efforts to create genuine French neologisms for all phenomena, in recent years French-speaking molecular biologists borrowed and incorporated more and more English neologisms. In the Dutch-speaking world such language policy is absent and English loan terms are customary.
Two case studies are presented here and discussed from a translator’s educational perspective. The first case study deals with how translators into French or Dutch as well as French-speaking and Dutch-speaking text writers on molecular biology deal with English neologisms that came into being in a metaphorical cognitive context. We wonder in how far terminology creation, based on domain-metaphorical understanding is language-and-culture-bound and therefore difficult to translate. In the second case study we consider newly created English abbreviations in molecular biology and consider whether and how they are translated into French and Dutch. Our overall claim is that students enrolled in translation training classes should learn to distinguish between primary and secondary terminology creation and they should know how to deal with secondary term creation.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationTranslation and meaning
EditorsMarcel Thelen, Gys-Walt van Egdom, Dirk Verbeeck, Lukasz Bogucki, Barbara Lewandowska-Tomaszczyk
Place of PublicationFrankfurt am Main
PublisherPeter Lang 
Pages269-281
Number of pages13
Volume1
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-653-05899-4
ISBN (Print)978-3-631-66390-5
Publication statusPublished - 2016
EventMaastricht Session of the 6th International Maastricht-Lodz Duo Colloquium on "Translation and Meaning" on 21-22 May 2015 - School of Translation and Interpreting - Zuyd University, Maastricht, Netherlands
Duration: 21 May 201522 May 2015

Publication series

NameTranslation and Meaning New Series
PublisherPeter Lang

Conference

ConferenceMaastricht Session of the 6th International Maastricht-Lodz Duo Colloquium on "Translation and Meaning" on 21-22 May 2015
Country/TerritoryNetherlands
CityMaastricht
Period21/05/1522/05/15

Keywords

  • neology creation
  • primary neologism
  • secondary neologism
  • translating molecular biology discourse
  • language policy
  • units of understanding
  • UoUs
  • translation of terminological metaphors
  • translation of abbreviations

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