linguistics Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...

, an etymological calque is a lexical item

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language w ...

d from another language by replicating the

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

of the borrowed lexical item although this etymology is irrelevant for the meaning being borrowed. Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2003),

Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew ''Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew'' is a scholarly book written in the English language by linguist Ghil'ad Zuckermann, published in 2003 by Palgrave Macmillan. The book proposes a socio-philological framework for the an ...

Palgrave Macmillan Palgrave Macmillan is a British academic and trade publishing company headquartered in the London Borough of Camden. Its programme includes textbooks, journals, monographs, professional and reference works in print and online. It maintains off ...

. /

/ref> Most

calques In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language whi ...

are ''not'' etymological. For example, the English

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

'' was calqued, conventionally, into Standard Chinese as 篮球 ''lánqiú'', which means "basketball". The lexical item 篮球 ''lánqiú'' consists of 篮 ''lán'' "basket" and 球 ''qiú'' "ball". Therefore, ''lánqiú'' is a calque. On the other hand, the English compound ''

hotdog A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausage) or a fra ...

'' was etymologically calqued into Standard Chinese as 热狗 ''règǒu'' "hotdog". The Chinese lexical item 热狗 ''règǒu'' "hotdog" consists of 热 ''rè'' "hot" and 狗 ''gǒu'' "dog", and is thus an etymological calque of the English lexical item ''hotdog''. Those making the calque (as well as Chinese speakers) are completely aware that when they eat a 热狗 ''règǒu'' "hotdog" they do ''not'' eat dog meat. Nonetheless, they chose to retain the English etymology within the Chinese

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

. Therefore, ''règǒu'' is an etymological calque.

Examples

Standard Chinese

The etymology of the English lexical item cocktail is maintained and visible within the Chinese etymological calque 鸡尾酒 ''jīwěijiǔ'' "cocktail". The Chinese lexical item 鸡尾酒 ''jīwěijiǔ'' "cocktail" means literally "chicken tail alcohol", and is thus an etymological calque of the English lexical item ''cocktail''.

Israeli Hebrew

Hemda Ben-Yehuda Hemda Ben‑Yehuda () (April 7, 1873 – August 25, 1951) was a Jewish journalist and author, and the second wife of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda. Biography Early years; name changes Hemdah Ben‑Yehuda was born Beila Jonas in Drissa (Verkhnyadzvinsk) ...

’s 1904 neologism אופנה ' "fashion" is an etymological calque - deriving from אופן ' "mode" – of the internationalism ''móda'' "fashion" (e.g. ''moda'' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

), which can be traced back to the Latin lexical item ''modus'' "mode".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Etymological Calque Etymology Word coinage Neologisms Lexicology Terminology Linguistic morphology Language contact

Examples

Standard Chinese

Israeli Hebrew

See also

References