loan-translation

Concept
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A direct translation of words or structure from a foreign language preserving literal form

Detailed Definition
Loan-translation, or calque, is the literal translation of a phrase or compound word from one language into another by translating each component (e.g., “flea market” from French “marché aux puces”); poets use this technique to import foreign concepts while adapting them to native linguistic structures.
Example
Example in poetry:
loan-translation (A word or phrase whose elements have been translated directly from another language, also called a calque); English 'superman' from the German 'Übermensch'; English 'wisdom tooth' from the Latin 'dens sapientiae'
Additional Notes
loan-translation: The creation of a new word or phrase in a poem by literally translating the elements of a word or idiom from another language, often enriching the poem's vocabulary or creating a sense of foreignness; also called a calque.
Also Known As
Calque Borrowed translation Loan rendering
Skip to main content