Software and Hardware Terminology în English and Difficulties of its Translation

Introduction

We know that computer science is a power which controls the majority of the sciences. The computer science becomes much more important to other sciences.

Computer Science is one of the most used material technologies; it tends to become a new Era because of its preoccupations regarding the organization of societies.

Computer Science constitutes a basic discipline for terminology because of its big capacities of stocking and recovery of information.

Computer Science has its own language, containing the most different terms and diverse formation’s features of these terms.

That’s why we have chosen the theme: “Hardware and Software Terminology in English and Difficulties of its Translation into English”.

The purpose of the research paper is synchronic analysis of the Computer Science vocabulary and its difficulties in translation.

The proper analysis aims the formation’s process of terms and their difficulties in translating from English into Romanian, specific contexts which constitute the purpose of the thesis.

The main purposes of this paper are:

a. To present the general notions of terminology concerning origin, schools and theory of the terminology.

b. To present the types of these terms and its way of translating.

c. To explain the notion of the Computer Science terminology and language.

d. To show the origin’s criterion of Computer Science terms.

We have to specify that this study will contain the terms that define the notions whose the comprehension doesn’t require knowledge or any particular explication, and the terms that express more complex and specialized notions and devices whose the status is accessible in Computer Science domain.

As concerns the bibliography of this thesis, we consulted more sources. The most important source is “The terminology” of Cabré T.M. where we found the general notions concerning terminology and namely origin, schools and theory of the terminology, terms and types. Other important sources are: “Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary with its up-to-date picture of the languageand clear meanings; Larousse, Pierre Morvan “Dictionar de Informatica” , Bucuresti 2000 from which we have selected informatics words and their ways of translatios from English into Romanian; Temmerman, R. “Towards new ways of terminology description; The sociocognitive - approach”; Sager, J.C.; Dungworth, D.; McDonalds; P.F.”English Special Languages. Principles in science and technology”, etc. We even tried to use online dictionaries as www.hallo.ro and www.wikitionary.com to find important and difficult words and heir meanings.

The thesis contains two chapters: I. Computer Science Terminology – the origin of the terminology; its evolution; theory of terminology; analysis of terms and types of terms; terminology, computer science and knowledge engineering; and II. Software and Hardware Terminology – words and terms; Terminology and terminological words;

Glossary of Computer Science’s terms.

CHAPTER I

Theoretical Approach of Informatics’ Terms

1.1 Etymological Background of Computer Terminology

Terminology the discipline concerned with the terms and their use of words and compound words that are used in specific contexts.

Terminology also denotes a more formal discipline which systematically studies the labeling or designating of concepts particular to one or more subject fields or domains of human activity, through research and analysis of terms in context, for the purpose of documenting and promoting correct usage. This study can be limited to one language or can cover more than one language at the same time (multilingual terminology, bilingual terminology, and so forth).

Terminology, the discipline concerned with the study and compilation of specialized terms is not a new field of study, but only in recent decades has it been systematically developed, with full consideration of its principles, bases and methodology.