Calquing

Calquing, or loan translation, is a linguistic process in which expressions from one language are translated literally into another, preserving the form and meaning of the original rather than borrowing the word itself. The term calque comes from French calque, meaning a trace or stencil, reflecting the idea of copying the original phrase in a new language.

Calques can be lexical, translating a single word into its equivalents, or phraseological, translating an entire idiomatic expression word-for-word. Semantic calques extend or shift meanings by adopting loaded senses from the source language. Calques may operate at different levels, from compound nouns to affixes, producing new composites in the target language.

Common examples occur with the word skyscraper, whose translations in several languages form classic calques: French gratte-ciel, Spanish rascacielos, Italian grattacieli, German Wolkenkratzer, all conveying “high-sky-scraper.” Another notable calque is the French Canadian term courriel for “email,” combining courrier (mail) with électronique (electronic). Calquing also contributes to the coinage of new terms in fields such as technology and culture, where a familiar source-language pattern is systematically recreated in the target language.

Calquing influences language change by providing native speakers with recognizable patterns that can become integrated into everyday use. Critics note that calques can obscure original cultural nuance or produce awkward translations if the literal form clashes with target-language syntax, idiom, or pragmatic usage.