Open this publication in new window or tab >>2021 (English)In: Bergen Language and Linguistic Studies, E-ISSN 1892-2449, Vol. 11, no 1, p. 163-184Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
This study investigates acronyms in English originals and their translations into German and Swedish, comparing forms, functions and distributions across the languages. The material was collected from the Linnaeus English-German-Swedish corpus (LEGS) consisting of original and translated popular non-fiction. From a structural point of view, acronyms most often occur as independent noun heads (When IBM introduced […]) or as premodifiers in a noun phrase (PGP encryption). Due to morphosyntactic differences, English acronym premodifiers often merge into hyphenated compounds in German translations (UN-Klimakonvention), but less frequently so in Swedish. The study also discusses explicitation practices when introducing source-culture specific acronyms in the translations. German translators explain and elaborate more than Swedish translators and they do so in the German language. Swedish translators, however, use English to a greater extent, suggesting that Swedish readers are expected to have better knowledge of English than German readers.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Bergen: University of Bergen, 2021
Keywords
acronym, translation studies, English, German, Swedish, LEGS
National Category
Specific Languages
Research subject
Humanities, English; Humanities, Linguistics
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-107766 (URN)10.15845/bells.v11i1.3443 (DOI)
2021-11-012021-11-012024-04-09Bibliographically approved