Calque
Noun
- Another term for loan translation.
- An expression adopted by one language from another in a more or less literally translated form.
Example Sentences
“The linguistics professor explained how calques differ from borrowed words.”
“‘Skyscraper’ has been turned into a calque in many languages, including the German word ‘Wolkenkratzer.'”
“The foreign exchange student pointed out several examples of calques from French in the vocabulary lesson.”
Word Origin
French, 1930s
Why this word?
English is a melting-pot language, with influences from all over the globe. Many words can be traced through the Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian) and directly to Latin and Greek, but there are also plenty of Germanic influences, along with words from Asian and African languages. In linguistics, there are several ways words come into a language, but when borrowed, they can be a calque or a loanword. A calque is an expression that has been adopted into a language in a more or less literally translated form from another language. For example, “flea market” comes into English from the French “marché aux puces,” literally “market of fleas.” But a loanword comes into English and remains pretty much in the form of its original language; “déjà vu,” “piñata,” and “schadenfreude” are all loanwords.
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