Linguistic Terminology From English to Arabic: What Creation Processes, What Transfer Processes?

Abstract

Modern linguistics is characterised by a very complicated terminology due to schools and approaches diversity and to the reflective role of linguistic terms. Arabic, facing this terminological rush, borrows terms, translates literally or searches equivalents. This depends on the presence or not of the concept in the Arabic linguistic field. In the case of equivalents, formal and semantic neology is an important way to resolve translation problems. Derivation, composition, blending and metaphor are key translation strategies for the translator. However, the transfer of Modern Linguistic terminology, from English into Arabic, pres- ents many methodological difficulties due to terms and concepts specificities and differences in the construction of the terminological systems between the two languages. A systematic study of a bilingual terminological dictionary pro- vides actual examples to illustrate the heavy translator's task in this field.