List of calques explained

A calque or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word (Latin: "verbum pro verbo") translation. This list contains examples of calques in various languages.

English

From Mandarin Chinese

From Cantonese

From French

From German or Dutch

From Dutch

From German

From Hebrew

From Latin

From Spanish

From other languages

Latin

From Greek

Latin calques many terms from Greek,[48] [49] many of which have been borrowed by English.

Romance languages

Examples of Romance language expressions calqued from foreign languages include:

French

Spanish

Many calques found in Southwestern US Spanish come from English:

See also: Spanglish.

Also technological terms calqued from English are used throughout the Spanish-speaking world:

Italian

Germanic languages

Afrikaans and Dutch

German

Icelandic

Dano-Norwegian

Note: From a technical standpoint, Danish and the bokmål standard of Norwegian are the same language, with minor spelling and pronunciation differences (equivalent to British and American English). For this reason, they will share a section.

Swedish

Slavic languages

Serbian

Macedonian

In more recent times, the Macedonian language has calqued new words from other prestige languages including German, French and English.

Some words were originally calqued into Russian and then absorbed into Macedonian, considering the close relatedness of the two languages. Therefore, many of these calques can also be considered Russianisms.

Russian

The poet Aleksandr Pushkin (1799–1837) was perhaps the most influential among the Russian literary figures who would transform the modern Russian language and vastly expand its ability to handle abstract and scientific concepts by importing the sophisticated vocabulary of Western intellectuals.

Although some Western vocabulary entered the language as loanwords – e.g., Italian salvietta, "napkin", was simply Russified in sound and spelling to салфетка (salfetka) – Pushkin and those he influenced most often preferred to render foreign borrowings into Russian by calquing. Compound words were broken down to their component roots, which were then translated piece-by-piece to their Slavic equivalents. But not all of the coinages caught on and became permanent additions to the lexicon; for example, любомудрие (ljubomudrie) was promoted by 19th-century Russian intellectuals as a calque of "philosophy", but the word eventually fell out of fashion, and modern Russian instead uses the loanword философия (filosofija).

Greek

Irish

Finnish

Since Finnish, a Uralic language, differs radically in pronunciation and orthography from Indo-European languages, most loans adopted in Finnish either are calques or soon become such as foreign words are translated into Finnish. Examples include:

Modern Hebrew

When Jews immigrate to Israel, they often Hebraize their surnames. One approach to doing so was by calque from the original (often German or Yiddish) surname. For instance, Imi Lichtenfield (itself a half-calque), founder of the martial art Krav Maga, became Imi Sde-Or. Both last names mean "light field". For more examples and other approaches, see the article on Hebraization of surnames.

According to linguist Ghil'ad Zuckermann, the more contributing languages have a structurally identical expression, the more likely it is to be calqued into the target language. In Israeli (his term for "Modern Hebrew") one uses má nishmà, lit. "what's heard?", with the meaning of "what's up?". Zuckermann argues that this is a calque not only of the Yiddish expression ?וואָס הערט זיך (vos hert zikh?), but also of the parallel expressions in Polish, Russian and Romanian. Whereas most revivalists were native Yiddish-speakers, many first speakers of Modern Hebrew spoke Russian and Polish too. So a Polish speaker in the 1930s might have used má nishmà not (only) due to Yiddish vos hert zikh? but rather (also) due to Polish Co słychać? A Russian Jew might have used ma nishma due to Что слышно? (pronounced chto slyshno) and a Romanian Israeli would echo ce se aude.[67] According to Zuckermann, such multi-sourced calquing is a manifestation of the Congruence principle.[68]

Malayalam

Modern Malayalam is replete with calques from English. The calques manifest themselves as idioms and expressions and many have gone on to become clichés. However standalone words are very few. The following is a list of commonly used calque phrases/expressions.All of these are exact translations of the corresponding English phrases.

  1. Simha bhagam (സിംഹ ഭാഗം) lion's share
  2. Varikalkidayil vaayikuka (വരികള്‍ക്കിടയില്‍ വായിക്കുക) reading between the lines
  3. Chuvarazhuthu (ചുവരെഴുത്തു) the writing on the wall
  4. Moola kallu (മൂലക്കല്ല്) cornerstone
  5. Naazhikakallu (നാഴികക്കല്ല്) milestone
  6. Ooshmala varavelppu (ഊഷ്മ്ല വരവേല്‍പ്പ്) warm welcome
  7. Thanuppan prathikaranam (തണുപ്പന്‍ പ്രതികരണം) cold response
  8. Sheetayuddham (ശീതയുദ്ധം) Cold War
  9. Hridayabhedakam (ഹൃദയഭേദകം) heart-rending/breaking
  10. Chekuttaanum kadalinumidayil(ചെകുത്താനും കടലിനുമിടയില്‍) between the devil and the sea
  11. vazhivittu sahaayikkuka (വഴിവിട്ടു സഹായിക്കുക) go out of one's way
  12. kuthira kachavadam (കുതിര കച്ചവടം) horse trading
  13. mrigeeya bhooripaksham (മൃഗീയ ഭൂരിപക്ഷം) monstrous majority
  14. kavya neethi (കാവ്യനീതി) poetic justice
  15. ambara chumbikal(അംബരചുംബികൾ) skyscrapers; literally sky-kissers

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dictionary.com Meanings & Definitions of English Words . 2024-06-03 . Dictionary.com . en.
  2. http://www.bartleby.com/61/1/B0450100.html brainwashing. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  3. Oxford English Dictionary 3rd Edition, September 2009, updated September 2021 s.v. 'face (n.)' P8.h(a), attested 1834
  4. Novotná, Z., "Contributions to the Study of Loan-Words and Hybrid Words in Modern Chinese", Archiv Orientální, (Prague), No. 35 (1967), pp. 613–648. (In English; examples of loan words and calques in Chinese)
  5. Novotná, Z., "Contributions to the Study of Loan-Words and Hybrid Words in Modern Chinese", Archiv Orientální, (Prague), No. 36 (1968), pp. 295–325. (In English; examples of loan words and calques in Chinese)
  6. Novotná, Z., "Contributions to the Study of Loan-Words and Hybrid Words in Modern Chinese", Archiv Orientální, (Prague), No. 37 (1969), pp. 48–75. (In English; examples of loan words and calques in Chinese)
  7. Web site: Who First Said 'Long Time, No See' And In Which Language? . NPR . 2014-03-09.
  8. Web site: 'Chop-chop' - the meaning and origin of this phrase. 11 December 2023 .
  9. Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2013, updated online September 2021, s.v. 'heart' P1.c
  10. http://www.gg.ca/ Website of the Governor General of Canada.
  11. http://www.bartleby.com/61/32/F0313200.html free verse. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  12. http://www.bartleby.com/61/66/O0056600.html old guard. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  13. http://www.bartleby.com/61/77/F0177700.html flea market. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  14. http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/n.html Lynch, Guide to Grammar and Style – N
  15. http://www.bartleby.com/61/92/N0089200.html new wave. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  16. http://www.bartleby.com/116/105.html Foreign Words. Fowler, H. W. 1908. The King's English
  17. Oxford English Dictionary, 1st edition, s.v.
  18. Tom A. Shippey, The Road to Middle Earth, Grafton, 1992 page 66 (1st Edition George Allen & Unwin 1982)
  19. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=masterpiece masterpiece
  20. Web site: Online Etymology Dictionary. Iceberg. 2006-03-26.
  21. Web site: freebooter Origin and meaning of freebooter by Online Etymology Dictionary . www.etymonline.com . 22 January 2021 . en.
  22. http://www.bartleby.com/61/50/A0335000.html antibody. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  23. Web site: Assault rifle - Trending 6/13/2016 Merriam-Webster.
  24. https://books.google.com/books?id=Kma6Sipww4UC&dq=German+english+popular+dictionary+loanword&pg=PA26 English in Europe by Manfred Görlach
  25. http://www.bartleby.com/61/71/B0157150.html beer garden. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  26. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/concertmaster concertmaster – Definitions from Dictionary.com
  27. Web site: Paul McFedries, Wordspy . 2013-07-03 . 2014-10-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141015025919/http://www.wordspy.com/words/earworm.asp . dead .
  28. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=heldentenor heldentenor – Definitions from Dictionary.com
  29. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/loanword loanword – Definitions from Dictionary.com
  30. Web site: Beard. Robert. alphaDictionary - Dr. Goodword's Word of the Day is "nostalgia". 2020-09-30. www.alphadictionary.com.
  31. http://www.bartleby.com/61/0/S0900000.html superman. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  32. Web site: German Loan Words in English M-Z . 2010-04-14 . 2011-01-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110114013232/http://german.about.com//library/blvoc_gerloan2.htm . dead .
  33. http://www.bartleby.com/61/45/S0704500.html standpoint. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  34. http://www.bartleby.com/61/43/S0784300.html storm trooper. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  35. "thought experiment." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008. Retrieved 17 November 2008.
  36. http://www.bartleby.com/61/74/W0227400.html worldview. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  37. http://www.bartleby.com/61/51/C0515100.html commonplace. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  38. http://www.bartleby.com/61/1/D0180100.html devil's advocate. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  39. Oxford English Dictionary s.v.
  40. http://www.bartleby.com/61/80/M0298000.html Milky Way. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  41. http://www.bartleby.com/61/57/R0255700.html RIP. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  42. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=in+a+nutshell&r=66 in a nutshell – Definitions from Dictionary.com
  43. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/7*.html Pliny VII.21
  44. http://www.bartleby.com/61/31/B0343100.html blue blood. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  45. http://www.bartleby.com/61/87/M0378700.html moment of truth. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  46. Filkins. Dexter. The Deep State. 12 March 2012. The New Yorker. 31 December 2018.
  47. http://www.bartleby.com/61/38/G0203800.html gospel. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000
  48. Eleanor Detreville, "An Overview of Latin Morphological Calques on Technical Terms: Formation and Success", M.A. thesis, University of Georgia, 2015, full text
  49. Michèle Fruyt, "Latin Vocabulary", in James Clackson, ed., A Companion to the Latin Language, p. 152.
  50. Webster's Third New International Dictionary
  51. Oxford English Dictionary s.v.
  52. Web site: Glossary of Anatomical Terms. Arnold. Em. Prof. M.A. . 1987. 24 February 2009.
  53. Oxford English Dictionary s.v.
  54. Oxford English Dictionary s.v.
  55. Oxford English Dictionary, Third Edition, 2019 s.v. 'similar'
  56. Web site: Cruijff de film . 2010-04-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070923180959/http://www.cruijffdefilm.nl/ . 2007-09-23 . dead .
  57. (Roberto Gusmani in his work Interferenza)
  58. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/ordboksoek/ordbok.cgi?OPP=barnehage&begge=S%F8k+i+begge+ordb%F8kene&ordbok=begge&s=n&alfabet=n&renset=j Søk i elektroniske ordbøker
  59. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/ordboksoek/ordbok.cgi?OPP=hjemmeside&bokmaal=S%F8k+i+Bokm%E5lsordboka&ordbok=bokmaal&s=n&alfabet=n&renset=j Søk i elektroniske ordbøker
  60. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/ordboksoek/ordbok.cgi?OPP=hjerneflukt&begge=S%F8k+i+begge+ordb%F8kene&ordbok=begge&s=n&alfabet=n&renset=j Søk i elektroniske ordbøker
  61. http://www.ordnett.no/ordbok.html?search=idiotsikker&search_type=&publications=5&publications=9&publications=2&publications=23&publications=1&publications=10&publications=16&publications=8&publications=3&publications=20&publications=15&publications=7 Ordnett.no – Ordbok
  62. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/ordboksoek/ordbok.cgi?OPP=loppemarked&bokmaal=S%F8k+i+Bokm%E5lsordboka&ordbok=bokmaal&s=n&alfabet=n&renset=j Søk i elektroniske ordbøker
  63. http://www.ordnett.no/ordbok.html?search=mandag&search_type=&publications=5&publications=9&publications=2&publications=23&publications=1&publications=10&publications=16&publications=8&publications=3&publications=20&publications=15&publications=7 Ordnett.no – Ordbok
  64. http://www.ordnett.no/ordbok.html?search=overhode&search_type=&publications=5&publications=9&publications=2&publications=23&publications=1&publications=10&publications=16&publications=8&publications=3&publications=20&publications=15&publications=7 Ordnett.no – Ordbok
  65. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/ordboksoek/ordbok.cgi?OPP=samvittighet&bokmaal=S%F8k+i+Bokm%E5lsordboka&ordbok=bokmaal&s=n&alfabet=n&renset=j Søk i elektroniske ordbøker
  66. http://www.dokpro.uio.no/perl/ordboksoek/ordbok.cgi?OPP=ten%E5ring&begge=S%F8k+i+begge+ordb%F8kene&ordbok=begge&s=n&alfabet=n&renset=j Søk i elektroniske ordbøker
  67. See p. 62 in Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2009), Hybridity versus Revivability: Multiple Causation, Forms and Patterns. In Journal of Language Contact, Varia 2 (2009), pp. 40–67.
  68. See p. 48 in Zuckermann, Ghil'ad, Hybridity versus Revivability: Multiple Causation, Forms and Patterns. In Journal of Language Contact, Varia 2 (2009), pp. 40–67.