Lehnübersetzungen

Lehnübersetzungen, a German term, refers to loan translations or calques in linguistics. This phenomenon occurs when a word or phrase is borrowed from another language not by direct transliteration but by translating its components. Essentially, a new term is created in the target language by mirroring the structure and meaning of the source language expression. For example, the English word "skyscraper" has been lehnübersetzt into German as "Wolkenkratzer," literally "cloud scraper."

This process is distinct from loanwords, where the original word is adopted with minimal or no phonetic or morphological changes, such as "Computer" in German, which is a direct adoption of the English word. Lehnübersetzungen involve a semantic and structural translation, aiming to replicate the meaning and often the construction of the foreign term. Other common examples include "Luftballon" (from French "ballon d'air" for balloon) or "Sonnenuntergang" (from English "sunset").

Lehnübersetzungen are a significant aspect of language evolution, contributing to the enrichment of vocabulary and the adaptation of new concepts. They demonstrate how languages borrow not just words but also semantic and structural patterns from each other. The prevalence of lehnübersetzungen can vary between languages and is often influenced by cultural exchange and the need to express new ideas or technologies that lack direct equivalents.