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<TARGET "bel" DOCINFO AUTHOR "José R. Belda Medina"TITLE "Conversion in English computer terminology"SUBJECT "Target 15:2 (2003)"KEYWORDS "conversion, computers, terminology, English, Spanish, translation"SIZE HEIGHT "220"WIDTH "150"VOFFSET "4">

Conversion in English computer

terminology
Factors affecting English–Spanish translation

José R. Belda Medina

University of Alicante

Computer terminology has recently become very influential in languages

other than English. One of the major problems affecting Spanish translation
in this field derives from the high flexibility of English towards conversion,
the process whereby a term belonging to a specific grammatical category can
be used with different syntactic functions without requiring change in its
form. Although no agreement exists on the definition and extent of conver-
sion, this process poses some important problems for the Spanish transla-
tion. This paper intends to analyze and classify the most important types of
conversion in English computer terminology and describe the major prob-
lems affecting the Spanish translation.

Keywords: conversion, computers, terminology, English, Spanish, transla-

tion

1. The process of conversion

Computer terminology has acquired great importance in all languages due to

the recent expansion of personal computers and the Internet, as pointed out by
Barry (1991), Adell (1995), Guerrero Ramos (1995), Yates (1996), Gutiérrez
Rodilla (1998), Cebrián (1998), Ramonet (1998), Shortis (2000), Alcaraz (2000)
and Yus (2001), among other authors. The number of terms created to express
new concepts related to this field is constantly increasing in English, since new
machines and programs are invented continuously and distributed worldwide.
As a result, countries with languages other than English have to struggle
regularly with computer terms in order to find a suitable and popular version

Target 15:2 (2003), 317–336.

issn 0924–1884 / e-issn 1569–9986
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
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318 José R. Belda Medina

in their own word stock, which is not easy to do, as attested by Hahn (1992),
Cassen (1998) and Jiménez Serrano (1998).
One of the major problems affecting the translation of computer terms
derives from the high flexibility of the English language towards conversion, “the
process by which a word belonging to one word class gets used as part of
another word class without the addition of an affix” (Chalker and Weiner
1994: 95–96), or in other words, the process whereby a word belonging to a
certain grammatical category, i.e. a noun or verb, is used with a syntactic
function typical of other categories without requiring any change in its form. In
fact, the history of the English language shows a marked tendency towards word
formation by converting nouns into verbs, adjectives into nouns, verbs into
nouns, etc. This process has been studied closely and described by linguists such
as Matthews (1974), Adams (1973), Bauer (1983) and, more recently, Hockett
(1994), Stekauer (1996) and Buck (1997). In fact, Bauer emphasizes the
importance of conversion in the history of the English lexis:
Conversion is an extremely productive way of producing words in English.
There do not appear to be morphological restrictions on the forms that can
undergo conversion, so that compounds, derivatives, acronyms, blends,
clipped forms and simple words are all acceptable inputs to the conversion
process. Similarly, all form classes seem to be able to undergo conversion, and
conversion seems to be able to produce words of almost any form class,
particularly the open form classes (noun, verb, adjective, adverb). (Bauer
1984: 226)

Although not all scholars agree with this broad definition of conversion (Leech
1974; Quirk et al. 1985; Varela 1993), also known as functional shift, recategor-
ization and zero derivation (Preuss: 1962; Beard: 1995; Plag 1999: Stockwell and
Minkova 2001), it is the view we shall adopt here.
As we are going to see, conversion accounts for the coinage of a consider-
able amount of computer terms, such as to attach and an attach, where a verb is
nominalized, even if a noun for the same concept already exists, i.e. attachment.
Similarly, English verbs with particles are often turned into nouns, such as to
add in and an add-in, to shut down and a shutdown. But this process poses some
important problems affecting the translation from English to Spanish, partly
because the latter lacks the flexibility of the English vocabulary towards conver-
sion and relies more clearly on other derivational processes, particularly
prefixation and suffixation, as exemplified by Clavería and Torruella (1973).
This paper will show some of the most common processes of conversion in
computer terminology in English, analyze some problems affecting their
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Conversion in English computer terminology 319

translation into Spanish and point out the mechanisms available to the Spanish
translator to try and reproduce as much as possible of this conversion in
Spanish. For this purpose, all types of conversion included in this article will be
classified by grammatical category and explained through the use of several
examples, suggesting one or more suitable alternatives for their Spanish
translation. A list of most of the computer terms mentioned in the paper, with
definition and examples of their use, is appended to the paper.

2. Conversion in English computer terminology

As stated, the vocabulary of English technology has been using conversion to

generate a great many new terms. Some of these were already being used in the
general lexis, for example sort (n.) and to sort (v.), but others almost specifically
belong to the terminology of computers and the Internet, for example to
download (v.) > a download (n.), a bookmark (n.) > to bookmark (v.), to read
and write (v.) > read/write (adj.) heads, floppy (adj.) disk > a floppy (n.). Thus,
space can be used in English as a noun, e.g. double space, as an adjective, e.g.
space bar, or even as a verb, e.g. to space. So, the ultimate meaning of this term
will depend on the sentence where it appears and on its relation with other
elements included in the same sentence.
Spanish morphology shows less flexibility in this regard, and generally
needs to make certain changes if a term is to be used in a different way syntacti-
cally. For example, space, previously mentioned as an example of an English
noun that becomes an adjective and a verb, needs to undergo certain morpho-
logical changes in Spanish if we want it to fulfill different syntactic functions.
Thus, the English noun space corresponds with espacio in Spanish, but space bar
becomes barra espaciad-ora and the verb to space changes to espaci-ar, making
it necessary to add certain verbal suffixes such as -ora and -ar. The English
tendency towards conversion thus shifts clearly to affixation in Spanish, except
for special cases such as nominalization, as studied by Lang (1990: 123–146) and
Alvar Ezquerra (1993) and explained later in this article.
Typically, conversion of English terms in computer terminology takes place
without any change of form, though sometimes a stress shift occurs, indicating
the grammatical category of the term. This is the case with the noun access,
which is stressed on the first syllable, and the verb to access, accented on the last
one. But this difference can be noticed only in its phonological realization, not
in its written form. Similarly, the verb confirm is accentuated on its last syllable,
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320 José R. Belda Medina

whereas the noun confirm, used in computer terminology, is stressed on the first
syllable, in contrast with the complete form confirmation, more common in the
general vocabulary, where the primary stress is on the third syllable. In fact,
cases involving stress shift have not been regarded as examples of conversion by
all authors. Bauer, for example, characterizes them as “marginal cases of
conversion … where there is a shift of stress, frequently with a concomitant
change in segmental form, but no change in the morphophonemic form (or in
the orthography)” (1983: 228).
Occasionally, there may also be a slight orthographical adaptation of the
converted term. This is typical of numerous phrasal verbs used in computer
terminology, which are written separately when used as verbs, for example to
back up or to set up, but appear generally together when used as nouns, for
example a backup and a setup. The latter examples are actually adjectives that
have been nominalized through the omission of the noun head, allegedly a backup
(file) and a setup (process), respectively. This same process occurs in Spanish
computer terminology, the words often being calques of the corresponding
English expressions; for example a portable (adj.) computer > a portable (n.) in
English and un ordenador portátil (adj.) > un portátil (n.) in Spanish. As we are
going to see later, these types of Spanish conversion are almost limited to the
nominalization of an adjective due to the absence of the noun head.

3. Types of conversion in English Computer terminology and their

Spanish translation

In this section, the most common types of conversion will be described and
comments will be made on some specific problems affecting their Spanish
translation.

3.1 Nouns to verbs

Under this heading we have to consider not only nouns that have become verbs
such as page (n.) > to page (v.), but also noun compounds that are used as verbs,
for example bookmark (n. compound) > to bookmark (v. compound). As
pointed out by Barry (1991: 67), “this technique is not new; many of the verbs
we use routinely started out as nouns. The verb to contact, for example, began
life as a noun, it gained widespread use as a verb in spite of the apocryphal
thundering of a New York publisher: ‘In this house, contact is not a verb’”.
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Conversion in English computer terminology 321

Other examples of noun-to-verb conversion in English computer terminol-

ogy, with the corresponding Spanish translation given between brackets, are
code (código) > to code (codificar), file (archivo) > to file (archivar), frame
(marco) > to frame (enmarcar), program (programa) > to program (programar),
store (almacenamiento) > to store (almacenar), etc. Noticeably, Spanish requires
the use of verbal affixes to convert a noun into a verb, but this pattern is
sometimes replaced by coining a new term, i.e. a neologism, especially when no
verbal derivatives of the same noun base are used in the Spanish general lexis,
for example format (formato) > to format (formatear), bridge (puente) > to
bridge (puentear). As can be observed, these new verbal formations always take
the -(e)ar ending in Spanish, a very common pattern followed by the vast
majority of new verbs in both general and specific vocabulary, such as to dope
(dopar), to scan (escanear), and to rap (rapear).
Conversely, some old Spanish verbs can occasionally be used to replace the
English forms, even if the old verb does not cover the new English usage, thus
yielding a semantic calque from English that is frequently condemned by some
Spanish linguists (Blanco 1997; Sampedro 2000; Millán 2001). This is the case
of the English pair support > to support, often translated in Spanish as soporte >
soportar, respectively. This particular use of the verb soportar, with the meaning
of support in English computer terminology, has been criticized on the grounds
that its original and authentic meaning in Spanish is ‘to hold or to back
someone’, so that it does not cover this new technical meaning. Alternatively,
some Spanish scholars proposed the translation of to support in computer
terminology as funcionar con or ser compatible con, meaning ‘to run’ or ‘be
compatible’ respectively, in sentences such as this program does not support Java.
But the use of soportar is so widely spread nowadays in Spanish that the battle
against this semantic calque appears almost pointless.
More problematic still is the Spanish translation of certain converted verbs
in English since there seems to be no equivalent verbal form based on the
replacing nominal stem in Spanish. The Spanish language resorts to translating
this noun-based verb through a synonym or even using a whole expression, for
example queue (cola) > to queue (enviar a la cola), in reference to the printing
process, or trash (papelera, basura) > to trash (enviar a la papelera, eliminar)
files or documents. In both cases, synonyms are used to avoid the already
existing verbs encolar and empapelar for semantic reasons, since both convey
different meanings in the general lexis.
Occasionally, the translation of certain verbs can also lead to the emergence of
several Spanish alternatives for the same English term, such as the onomatopoeic
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verb click, which can be translated as pinchar or pulsar in Spain, but also picar,
widely used in Latin America. Due to the presence of several alternatives, the
Spanish translation of this English verb is even more difficult when it is turned
into a noun, such as a click or a double click. In this particular case, not all
Spanish alternatives for a click seem appropriate. Thus, if we translate to click as
pinchar, the corresponding noun a click should be pinchamiento or pinchazo,
which literally means wound prick or tire puncture in the general Spanish lexis.
As this new usage will presumably be rejected by Spanish computer users, a
partially adapted anglicism is generally adopted for the verb and the noun, such
as hacer clic and un clic or the alternative verbal forms cliquear and clicar, using
once again the -(e)ar verbal ending, as described by Rodríguez and Lillo
(1997: 134). Consequently, the adoption of a suitable alternative in Spanish, to
be used as a noun and as a verb, is essential in order to maintain a certain
formal coherence and avoid the use of anglicisms that is so frequent in most
computer dictionaries and glossaries such as Chandor (1989), Nania (1992),
Illingworth (1993) and Rincón and Plágaro (1998).

3.2 Verbs to nouns

The opposite process is converting verbs into nouns, thus indicating an action
and the result of that action through the same term. Some examples present in
the general vocabulary are “a call, a command, a dump, a guess, a spy and recent
examples are a commute, a goggle and an interrupt” (Bauer 1983: 229). Likewise,
in English computer terminology we find to connect (conectar) > the connect
(conexión), confirm (confirmar) > the confirm (confirmación). In both cases,
the converted noun is often preferred to already existing words in the general
lexis such as connection and confirmation. So, affixes are sometimes avoided in
computer terminology as they might result in longer terms, in a vocabulary set
that favors brevity. In fact, long terms are generally clipped or avoided for space
reasons in computer terminology. Consider, for instance, popular clippings
such as tab (from tabulate), alt (from alternate), caps (from capitals) and del
(from delete) used on the keyboard.
According to Barry (1991: 67) “the noun-into-verb technique probably
derives from industry conventions, once again illustrating that terminology is
a reflection of technology. Many verbs that become nouns do so because they
are head on software commands or actions — for example, install and compile”.
Other examples confirming this comment are to attach (anexar) > an attach
(anexo), to transfer (transferir) > a transfer (transferencia) or verb compounds
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Conversion in English computer terminology 323

such as to download (descargar) > download (decarga), to update (actualizar) >

update (actualización), etc.
With regard to the Spanish translation of verb compounds such as down-
load, we need to consider that some of these compounds have an antonymous
term, due to their combination with different prepositions, for example to
download and to upload. It is therefore recommended that formal and semantic
equivalence in English be maintained, whenever possible, in Spanish by
selecting a pair of morphologically related terms, such as download (descargar)
and upload (cargar). However, a more popular alternative can occasionally
appear in Spanish, for example download (bajar, bajarse) and upload (subir).
But these alternative forms may not fit in all contexts, for example, when these
verbal compounds are used as noun compounds, i.e. a download and an upload,
since the Spanish derivatives bajada and subida are sometimes avoided by
computer users. As a result, we may occasionally find some lack of consistency
in the Spanish translation of English forms such as to download (bajarse) > a
download (descarga), to upload (subir) > an upload (carga), thus breaking the
semantic and formal relation that is evident in English for each pair of terms.
On the whole, phrasal verbs are the most problematic to translate since
Spanish lacks this type of verbal construction with particles and it is necessary
to use synonyms or alternative expressions, as described by Aguado de Cea
(1993, 1994). Most of these phrasal verbs can also be used as adjectives, when
preceded by a noun, and as nouns, through the omission of the noun head. In
fact, Bauer (1983: 229) has pointed to the productiveness of this process in the
history of the English language, “particularly so in the nominalization of phrasal
verbs: established examples are show off, walk-over and recent examples are hang
up, put-down”.
Similarly, English computer terminology abounds in examples such as to
plug in (conectar) > plug-ins (conectores), to set up (instalar) > setup (instala-
ción), to shut down (cerrar) > shutdown (cierre). As can be observed, there
seems to be no coherent pattern for the use of a hyphen between the verb and
the preposition in English. Generally, the translation into Spanish of these noun
compounds originating from phrasal verbs requires the addition of a nominal
suffix, for example to set up (instalar) > setup (instala-ción). But a totally
different term is sometimes used for the Spanish translation, thus breaking
again the formal coherence that is evident in the original English version, for
example to add in (añadir) > an add-in (complemento). Notoriously, the
difficulty in finding suitable Spanish terms for this type of English converted
compounds becomes evident with the appearance of whole expressions in their
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324 José R. Belda Medina

translation, such as to back up (hacer una copia de seguridad) > backup (copia
de seguridad), to dial up (marcar) > dial-up (acceso por linea conmutada), etc.

3.3 Nouns to adjectives

Generally, the flexibility of English syntax facilitates the use of nouns as
adjectives by simply placing them before another noun, whereas Spanish needs
the addition of adjectival affixes, e.g. array (matriz) > array processor (proce-
sador matricial), or of certain prepositions, e.g. mouse (ratón) > mouse pointer
(puntero del ratón). Thus, while almost every English noun can be turned into
an adjective in computer terminology, the Spanish translation usually entails
the use of prepositions, particularly de. Unfortunately, due to an abuse of de,
this preposition has recently acquired a wide range of functions in certain
technical fields such as computing, covering practically all possible senses:
origin, material, finality, vehicle, etc., as observed by García Yebra (1989). This
overuse of the preposition de, neglecting other forms such as por or para,
sometimes produces vagueness and ambiguity in the Spanish translation. For
example, packet exchange in its Internet-related sense is frequently translated as
intercambio de paquetes, although it actually refers to an ‘information exchange
through small packages’, thanks to the TCP/IP Internet protocol, and would
probably be more accurately rendered as intercambio por paquetes, using por
(means, vehicle) instead of de (content, type).
Examples of this type of syntactic conversion in English and their transla-
tion through prepositions in Spanish, generally de, include data (datos) > data
processing (procesamiento de datos), file (archivo, fichero) > file format (for-
mato del archivo), sound (sonido) > sound card (tarjeta de sonido), text (texto)
> text editor (editor de textos), word (palabra) > word processor (procesador de
textos), voice (voz) > voice mail (buzón de voz), etc. Occasionally, the English
term can be replaced by a Spanish synonym, thus avoiding the excessive use of
de, for example computer + noun, where computer is often translated through
the adjective informático, such as computer program (programa informático),
computer network (red informática), computer system (sistema informático),
computer crime (delito informático), etc. But the use of the preposition de is,
nevertheless, overwhelmingly abundant in Spanish in this type of syntactic
construction.
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3.4 Adjectives to nouns

As was mentioned, the use of adjectives as nouns is sometimes considered a
common process in English, resulting from ellipsis of the noun head rather than
a real case of conversion. Thus, Bauer (1983: 230) states that “established
examples of adjective > noun conversion are relatively rare, and are frequently
restricted in their syntactic occurrence. [But] This type seems to have become
much more productive recently with examples such as a creative, a crazy, a
double, a dyslexic, a gay, a given, an inflatable, a nasty”. In computer terminolo-
gy, most of the examples of adjective-to-noun conversion are the result of
nominalization, i.e., the use of an adjective as a noun when the noun head is
omitted due to frequent occurrence of the two elements. In these cases, the
Spanish translation easily follows the original English version, such as a portable
computer (ordenador portátil) > a portable (un portátil).
Curiously, an anglicism is sometimes adopted in Spanish that corresponds
with the nominalized English adjective, such as desktop computer (un ordenador
de escritorio) > a desktop (un desktop) or a floppy disk (un disco flexible) > a
floppy (un floppy). In the second example, we may also find in Spanish the
alternative disquette, stemming from French disquette and also used in English
as diskette. Thus, although a floppy disk may correspond in Spanish with un
disco flexible or un disquete, its nominalized version, a floppy, is generally
translated through the anglicism un floppy or the galicism un disquette, but
never with the authentic Spanish adjective un flexible. In fact, computer
terminology is the source of most anglicisms recently adopted into Spanish,
such as floppy, clic, hardware, Internet, etc., as described in several dictionaries
of new Spanish terms such as Rodríguez and Lillo (1997) and Seco (1998).

3.5 Verbs to adjectives

On the whole, verbs can be used as adjectives when they are placed before a
noun. This construction is noticeably frequent in English computer terminolo-
gy. As in the previously described case of noun-to-adjective conversion, English
verbs are used with a different syntactic function without changing their form,
whereas Spanish needs to use certain prepositions, particularly de, for this type
of conversion. Some examples of this type are to print (imprimir) > print queue
(cola de impresión), to read/write (leer) > read/write heads (cabezales de lectura
y escritura), to start (empezar, arrancar) > start bit (bit de arranque), etc.
As can be observed in the preceding examples, the Spanish translation of
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this English construction requires two successive processes: first, the introduc-
tion of a preposition, generally de, to reveal the subordinate relation between
verbs turned into adjectives and nouns; and second, the incorporation of
certain affixes into those verbs that are used as adjectives. Since a preposition is
placed after the noun head, nominal affixes such as -ción are added to the verb
stems in Spanish. As a result, the original English structure, consisting of a verb
(used as an adjective) and a noun head, becomes in Spanish a combination of
a noun (English verb with a nominal suffix) and a preposition, immediately
followed by the noun head. For example, to check (comprobar) > check bit (bit
de comprobación).
Moreover, this English construction can be further expanded with the
addition of other grammatical elements such as adverbs, for example answer-
only modem (módem sólo de respuesta). In these cases, special attention must
be paid to Spanish word order if we want to avoid common mistakes such as
placing the adverb after the preposition, rather than before it. In fact, construc-
tions such as Read Only Memory, more popularly known as ROM, are some-
times translated into Spanish through the grammatically incorrect structure
memoria de sólo lectura, by inserting the preposition before the adverb. The
accurate translation of this type of construction would place the preposition
after the adverb, i.e. memoria sólo de lectura, or less often place the adverb at the
end, i.e. memoria de lectura solamente.

3.6 Abbreviations to adjectives

Abbreviations abound in computer terminology. They can be used as nouns, i.e.
CD-ROM, and therefore pluralized, CD-ROMs, or as adjectives, when preced-
ing a noun head, i.e. CD-ROM drive. Generally, these abbreviated forms are
adopted in Spanish with their original English form, even if the translation of
the different elements does not coincide with the original order of the English
construction. Thus, RAM, from Random Access Memory, always appears in
Spanish with its original form RAM, never as *MAD or *MAA, as its two
alternative translations Memoria de Acceso Directo and Memoria de Acceso
Aleatorio, may respectively suggest.
Consequently, the combination of an abbreviation with a noun head is
translated into Spanish with the noun placed first, immediately followed by a
preposition and the English abbreviation in its original form, for example
CD-ROM drive (unidad de CD-ROM) or DOS environment (entorno de DOS).
However, as Barry (1991) and Aguado de Cea (1993) observed, some of
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Conversion in English computer terminology 327

these abbreviation + noun constructions are actually tautologies, since the noun
head corresponds with the last initial in the abbreviated form, for example RAM
memory, where the M and Memory have exactly the same meaning. Spanish
computer terminology abounds in this type of tautological formation, some-
times derived from calques of the original English expressions such as memoria
RAM, from RAM memory. On other occasions, these tautological formations
occur only in Spanish for clarification reasons, since the English abbreviation is
not translated, for example pantalla LCD for LCD, which stands for Liquid
Crystal Display. Thus, pantalla and D from Display convey the same meaning in
the Spanish version.

3.7 Abbreviations to verbs

Although not exceptionally common, some abbreviations and clipped forms
can be used as verbs. For example, the popular term e-mail, stemming from
electronic mail and adopted in several languages worldwide, is an example of a
noun turned into a verb which is present in popular English expressions such
as I e-mailed my friends this morning. Likewise, abbreviated forms such as IRC,
coming from Internet Relay Chat and designating a program for on-line chat, or
DDC, originating from Display Data Channel and identifying a command for
picture exchange through the IRC program, are equally used as verbs in
sentences such as I can’t IRC or I can’t DDC.
In all these cases, since Spanish tends to adopt the original English abbrevia-
tion without any adaptation, it is necessary to use Spanish expressions for their
appropriate translation. Thus, in the previous sentence I e-mailed my friends,
the verb to e-mail is translated as enviar or escribir un correo electrónico, meaning
literally ‘to send or write an e-mail’ in English. Similarly, in expressions such as
I can’t DDC, for ‘I cannot send my picture through DDC’, the verbal abbrevia-
tion to DDC becomes in Spanish enviar por DDC, signifying ‘to send through
DDC’ in English.

3.8 Other types

Although conversion mainly affects the grammatical categories known as open
classes — particularly nouns, adjectives and verbs — other classes may also
intervene in conversion processes, such as abbreviations, prepositions or adverbs.
In fact, Bauer (1983: 230) provides several examples taken from the general lexis
and from literary works, where “prepositions, conjunctions, adverbs, interjections
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328 José R. Belda Medina

and even affixes can all act as heads for conversion, as is shown by to up
(prices), but me no buts, the hereafter, to heave-ho (a recent example)”.
Similarly, we can find in the terminology of computers and the Internet
examples such as forward, an adverb meaning ‘ahead’ or ‘onward’ in English, that
is already used as a verb in the general lexis in sentences such as please forward your
price list, where forward means ‘to send’. Likewise, the adverb forward can be
used as a verb in computer terminology with the meaning ‘to advance’. For
example, most mail programs have an option named forward, which designates
the action of resending a message that has already been sent or received.

4. Conclusions

Although the exact definition and boundaries of conversion are controversial

(Adams 1973; Bauer 1983; Quirk et al. 1985; Stekauer 1996), we have seen that
English computer terminology is much inclined to apply this process to term
formation. Actually, almost any term belonging to a certain grammatical category
can be used with a different syntactic function, depending on how it combines
with other elements in the sentence. This is partially due to the flexible use of
conversion in English, in contrast with other more inflected languages, such as
Spanish and most Romance languages, where affixes are preferred.
Spanish lacks this flexibility and more markedly tends towards derivation.
Thus, the translation of these converted forms requires some kind of morpho-
logical modification, primarily the introduction of affixes in order to indicate
the grammatical category to which these terms belong and their syntactic
function on each occasion. But sometimes the use of derivatives is avoided in
Spanish, since the derived terms seem to be too long or convey a different
meaning in the general language, and computer users reject them. In other
cases, problems arise in the Spanish translation, the two most common being
the emergence of semantic calques, i.e. a portable (un portátil) and the appear-
ance of excessively long expressions, particularly for the translation of verbs
with particles, i.e. a backup (copia de seguridad). However, an anglicism is
sometimes adopted in Spanish with its original form or partially adapted, i.e. a
desktop (un desktop), to click (cliquear). This new anglicism may even coexist
with native alternatives to convey the same meaning; e.g. to click (pinchar,
pulsar, picar, cliquear, clicar, hacer clic).
Finally, two main problems which are frequently neglected in the transla-
tion of Spanish computer terminology are worthy of mention: on the one hand,
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Conversion in English computer terminology 329

the lack of consistency in translating some pairs that are formally related in
English, e.g. to download (bajarse) and a download (descarga); and on the other,
an overuse of the preposition de at the expense of equally valid Spanish preposi-
tions, leading to vagueness and ambiguity in the translated version, e.g. packet
exchange (intercambio de paquetes).
In light of these common problems and mistakes, the translator should
whenever possible try to find the most suitable Spanish equivalent to the
English computer term, e.g. process (proceso and procesar). But it will be
necessary at times to resort to general language items, e.g. download (bajar). In
this case, the translator should be especially concerned about lack of coherence
affecting all derived English terms when translated into Spanish, i.e. a download
(descarga) and to download (bajar). For this reason, it is essential to consider all
derivational possibilities and to check previous versions before translating.
Furthermore, on-line connection with other translators through current discus-
sion groups (Tecnotrad, Tradumatica, LANTRA, etc.) will help to reconsider
and possibly avoid some of the inconsistencies pointed out in this paper.

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Appendix: Terminology used

The dictionaries used to compile this list of words appear at the end of each definition as follows:
Oxford = Oxford dictionary of computing for learners of English edited by Sandra Pyne and
Allene Tuck
Webster = Webster’s new word dictionary of computer terms compiled by Donald Spencer
Desktop = The computer Desktop Encyclopedia by Alan Freedman
The Spanish equivalent is given between square brackets. When several options for the
Spanish translation exist, they are all included.
alt abbr. [alt]
a key on a computer or telex keyboard that is pressed at the same time as another key to
access a range of characters and symbols: ‘the character obtained by holding down the
alternate key and pressing “A” is usually referred to as ALT-A.’ (Oxford)
array processor noun (hardware) [procesador matricial]
a computer system with several processors linked together to process large number of arrays:
‘the computer images are stored into hard disk memory by an array processor.’ Æ ‘high
speed two-dimensional array processors.’ (Oxford)
332 José R. Belda Medina

bridge noun (hardware) [puente]

a device that connects two similar networks and allows them to exchange data without
electronic problems or loss of power: ‘use a bridge to link two local area networks in different
buildings.’ (Oxford)
bridging noun [puentear]
the process of joining two networks with a bridge. (Oxford)
caps abbr. [mayús]
> capital (Oxford)
capital noun
a letter in a large format such as A, B and C … Æ ‘the heading should be written in block
capitals.’ (Oxford)
CD-ROM abbr. (hardware) [CD-ROM]
compact-disc read-only memory. A compact disc which is a popular format for multimedia
products and stores sound, images and text, etc.: ‘a CD-ROM version of the software’ Æ
‘multimedia CD-ROM publishing’ Æ ‘the application is available on a CD-ROM.’ (Oxford)
CD-ROM drive noun (hardware) [unidad de CD-ROM]
part of the computer that holds the CD-ROM and passes the information it contains to the
computer: ‘the CD-ROM drive was bundled with the multimedia computer’ Æ ‘The PC has
an inbuilt CD-ROM drive.’ (Oxford)
check verb [comprobar, verificar, chequear in South American Spanish]
to make sure that something is correct or in a certain condition: ‘check the value of the
variables’ Æ ‘check that the network is operating.’ (Oxford)
check bit noun [bit de comprobación]
a binary digit added to any item of binary data to make sure that it is entered or transmitted
correctly. The bit depends on the rest of the data item and if the data is changed the bit will
no longer be correct: ‘add a check bit to a block of transmitted data.’ (Oxford)
click verb (operations) [pinchar, pulsar, picar, cliquear, hacer clic]
to press a button on a mouse: ‘place the cursor in the box and click once to open the file.’
(Oxford)
connect verb [conectar]
1. to join or link two devices: ‘the cable connects the mouse to the keyboard.’ (Oxford)
computer network noun [red informática]
> network (Oxford)
network noun
a number of computers, peripherals and other devices that are connected by cables,
telephone lines and other communications links: ‘the office network allows users to share
files and software, and to use a central printer’ Æ ‘electronic mail messages can be sent over
a global network.’ (Oxford)
computer system noun [sistema informático]
a central processor and the peripherals such as disk drives, keyboards and monitors that
work together. (Oxford)
 Conversion in English computer terminology 333

desktop computer [ordenador de escritorio, ordenador de sobremesa, computadora de

escritorio]
A personal computer or professional workstation designed to fit on a standard-sized office
desk that is equipped with sufficient memory and disk storage to perform business comput-
ing tasks. (Webster)
data processing noun [procesamiento de datos]
> processing (Oxford)
processing noun (system operation) [procesamiento]
the work that a program does on data in order to produce an output. (Oxford)
del abbr. [supr]
> delete (Oxford)
delete verb [suprimir, borrar]
1. to remove a letter, word or line, etc. from a piece of text: ‘delete a mistake in the memo’
2. to remove files from a magnetic disk, etc.: ‘delete unwanted files to make space on the hard
disk.’ (Oxford)
DOS abbr. [DOS]
disk operating system. The part of an operating system that controls and manages files and
programs on disk. (Oxford)
e-mail noun [correo electrónico]
1. electronic mail. Data and messages sent to users on a computer network: ‘send e-mail over
the Internet’ 2. a way of sending messages and data to users on a network: ‘communicate by
e-mail’ Æ ‘send a fax by e-mail’ 3. a message or data sent to a user on a network: ‘e-mails
requesting help with computers are sent to the systems analyst all the time.’ (Oxford)
e-mail verb [enviar un mensaje, enviar un e-mail]
to send electronic messages to users on a computer network: ‘the group administrator
e-mailed details of a meeting to all members of the department.’ (Oxford)
format noun [formato]
1. a structure for storing or processing data: ‘the format of the video is VHS’ Æ ‘the company
only produces electronic products in a CD-ROM format’ 2. the way in which a text and
graphics, etc. appears on screen or on a printed page: ‘a format consisting of three columns.’
(Oxford)
format verb (user operation) [formatear]
1. to prepare a disk, etc. to receive data. This is usually done by the operating system or a
utility program: ‘format a 14 Mb floppy disk’ 2. to give text a certain layout: ‘format the text
so it is centred’. (Oxford)
frame [marco]
1. in data communications, a unit (packet) of data that is transmitted via network 2. in
desktop publishing (DTP) and word processing, a rectangular are absolutely positioned on
the page. The frame can contain text, graphics, or both 3. in the world wide web (WWW), a
section of the window that has been partitioned off to display a separate document. This is
done with frame tags. 4. In animation and video, one of the still images that, when played at
a rapid speed (see frame rate), produces the illusion of continuous movement. (Webster)
334 José R. Belda Medina

LCD abbr. [LCD]

> liquid crystal display (Oxford)
liquid crystal display noun (hardware) [pantalla de cristal líquido]
an electronic device that is used to display information in many calculators and portable
computers, etc.: ‘a backlit liquid crystal display’ Æ ‘an LCD that reproduces colour.’ (Oxford)
plug-in [conector]
an auxiliary program that works with a major software package to enhance its capability. For
example, plug-ins are widely used in image editing programs such as Photoshop to add a
filter for some special effect. Plug-ins are added to Web browsers such as Netscape to enable
them to support new types of content (audio, video, etc.). The term is widely used for
software, but could also be used to refer to plug-in module for hardware. (Desktop)
program noun (software) [programa]
a set of instructions that can be understood by a computer and perform a certain task or
function: ‘write a special program and analyse the data’ Æ ‘load the program into the
computer’ (Oxford)
program verb (user operation) [programar]
to write a list of instructions in a programming language that enables a computer to perform
certain tasks or functions: ‘program the computer to sort data alphabetically’ (Oxford)
queue noun [cola]
1. a collection of things waiting for attention and which will be processed in order: ‘a queue
of print jobs waiting for the network printer’ 2. a data structure arranged as a list of data
items in order. Items may only be added at one end of the list and accessed at the other end:
‘a queue of data items to be processed.’ (Oxford)
queue verb (system operation) [enviar a la cola]
1. to add tasks to other tasks so they are ready to be processed or printed in order: ‘The
system is programmed to queue the jobs before they are processed’ 2. (of tasks) to come
together to be processed in a certain order: ‘The print jobs are queuing.’ (Oxford)
RAM noun (hardware) [RAM, memoria de acceso directo, memoria de acceso aleatorio]
random access memory. Memory in which locations may be accessed in any order. All RAM
locations take the same amount of time to access: ‘the computer needs 1.6Mb of RAM to run
the program’ Æ ‘the program is resident in RAM.’ (Oxford)
ROM abbr. (hardware) [ROM, memoria sólo de lectura]
read only memory. A part of memory that contains permanent instructions or data which
the computer can access but cannot change: ‘this type of computer has a 3.2.-bit ROM
already installed.’ (Oxford)
store noun [almacenamiento]
> storage (Oxford)
storage noun (hardware) [almacenamiento, almacenaje]
place where data and programs are held so that they are available to a computer: ‘the
computer’s storage includes RAM, ROM, disks and buffers.’ (Oxford)
 Conversion in English computer terminology 335

support noun [soporte, ayuda]

the help offered to the user by a company who makes or sells a computer: ‘telephone support
is available 24. hours a day.’ (Oxford)
support verb [funcionar con, permitir]
1. the ability of a system to work with other systems, devices or programs: ‘The computer
supports 3.2. dial-in user terminals’ 2. the ability of computer or system to use certain
methods to do calculations on data: ‘The CPU supports floating-point arithmetic.’ (Oxford)
tab noun [tab]
> tab stop (Oxford)
tab stop
(a position in a line of a document that is fixed). It shows where a piece of text or a column
of figures, etc. will be written: ‘the default tab stops at 3.cm.’ (Oxford)
tab verb (user operation) [tabular]
to move the cursor to a certain part of a text such as a new paragraph or to the next column
in a table: ‘tab across to the next column.’ (Oxford)
sound card [tarjeta de sonido]
See sound board (Webster)
sound board
An adapter that adds digital sound reproduction capabilities to an IBM PC-compatible
personal computer, making it more competitive with Macintosh computers and better suited
to multimedia applications. (Webster)
start bit noun [bit de arranque]
a binary digit used in asynchronous communication to show the beginning of a piece of data:
‘each data word is preceded by a start bit.’ (Oxford)
text editor noun [editor de texto]
software that can be used for processing text: a text editor designed for editing program
source code
note the term ‘text editor’ is sometimes used to talk about a simple word processor without
advanced functions. (Oxford)
transfer noun [transmisión]
a move from one place to another: ‘the transfer of data from one computer to the other took
place overnight.’ (Oxford)
transfer verb [transmitir, transferir]
1. to move something from one place to another: ‘data is transferred over a wide area
network’ 2. to pass the control of program execution from one part of the program to
another part of the program: ‘transfer control to a routine or module.’ (Oxford)
update noun (software) [actualización]
a piece of new data that replaces old data: ‘the latest update added the names and addresses
of all new clients to the database.’ (Oxford)
update verb [actualizar]
to replace old data with data that is current. (Oxford)
</TARGET "bel">

336 José R. Belda Medina

voice mail noun [buzón de voz]

a system for recording telephone messages as computer data; Remote/Access can allow the
user to listen to the messages. (Oxford)
word processor noun (hardware) [procesador de texto]
a computer that runs a word processing application and is usually used to produce docu-
ments such as letters and reports: ‘type and edit the letter on the word processor’ Æ ‘key the
text into the word processor.’ (Oxford)

Résumé

Ainsi que l’ont souligné de nombreux auteurs, la terminologie informatique est récemment
parvenue à étendre son influence à d’autres langues que l’anglais. L’un des problèmes
majeurs rencontrés par la traduction espagnole dans ce domaine tient au fait que l’anglais
dispose d’une grande flexibilité à la conversion, c’est-à-dire qu’il peut associer, sans en
changer la forme, une seule catégorie grammaticale à différentes fonctions syntaxiques.
Même en l’absence d’un accord sur la définition et l’extension de la conversion, il s’agit d’un
processus qui pose des problèmes considérables à la traduction espagnole. Cet article vise à
analyser et à classer les grands types de conversion dans la terminologie informatique anglaise
et à décrire les problèmes majeurs de la traduction en espagnol.

Author’s address
José R. Belda Medina
Dept. of English Studies
University of Alicante
SPAIN
e-mail: [email protected]