English and Russian terms in the field of information technology: A comparative aspect (based on the Microsoft Terminology database)

Abstract

The problem of language functioning in the field of information technology is currently of great importance in linguistics in the situation of the increasing computerisation of society. Further research is needed to systematically describe the most common ways of translating English IT terms into Russian. The paper defines and systematically presents the ways of translating the most common terms used in the field of information technology from English into Russian. The study is carried out on the basis of the English and Russian terms presented in the officially approved Microsoft terminology base with a total amount of 2000 units. The terms were obtained using a continuous selection method. The research method used is the comparative analysis of the English and Russian terms contained in the source. The research conducted allows us to identify the main methods of translating English IT terms into Russian and to classify them into the following four groups: 1) terms translated into the target language by equivalents/analogues; 2) terms translated into the target language by partial literal word-for-word method; 3) terms translated into the target language by full literal word-for-word method; 4) terms translated into the target language by transcription or transliteration; 5) terminological abbreviations translated into the target language in different ways. The conclusions drawn from the study can be used to further develop the theoretical problems of normalisation, unification and standardisation of information technology terms. The results of the study may be of practical importance for the terminography and didactics of translation: they can expand the English-Russian dictionary of IT terms, which will enlarge professional vocabulary of translators and avoid errors associated with the incorrect use of IT terms.