SAMPLE 1

III.3 Contrastive Analysis from an Etymological Point of View

This chapter is dedicated to the analysis of the terms present in the glossary from an
etymological standpoint and in it, I will also try to separate the terms into simple terms (made up
of one word) and complex terms (made up of two or more words) and present the main
languages of origin for these terms. We begin by defining the concepts of contrastive analysis
and etymology.
Contrastive analysis is the study and comparison of languages, by looking at structural
differences and similarities between a pair of languages. There are two main goals to this study;
the first is to create inter-relationships between languages in order to create a linguistic family
tree and the second goal is to help with second language acquisition.
Etymology has more than one definition. It is “a chronological account of the birth and
development of a particular word or element of a word, often delineating its spread from one
language to another and its evolving changes in form and meaning”1. It also is “the study of
historical linguistic change, especially as manifested in individual words”2

III.3.1 Analysis of terms

I have chosen twenty terms with different etymologies and I will attempt to break them
down and show their origin, provide their Romanian equivalent and explain the formation of the
term if it is a complex one (i.e. made up of two or more words).
Ablation is a simple term. It derives from the Latin word ablation (ablate + -ion) and it
means to carry away. The Romanian equivalent is ablație.
Aerobraking is a simple term. It is a compound of air + -o- + -brake and the suffix –ing.
The Romanian equivalent is a compound term frânare atmosferică.

1
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/etymology?s=t
2
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/etymology?s=t
 Air lock is a compound term made up of two nouns. Air derives from the French air.
Lock derives from Old English loc and it means fastening. The Romanian equivalent is a simple
term ecluză.
Albedo is a simple term derived from the Latin term albedo which means witness. Its
Romanian equivalent is albedo.
Anti-matter is a simple term formed by derivation of the word matter with the prefix
anti-. The base (matter) comes from Middle English mater and it means substance, material. The
term itself means the opposite of matter. The Romanian equivalent is antimaterie.
Binary star is a compound term made up of an adjective (binary) and a noun (star).
Binary derives from Latin binarius and it means double. Star comes from Middle English sterre.
The Romanian equivalent is also a compound term made up of a noun and an adjective stea
dublă.
Combustion chamber is a compound term made up of two nouns. Combustion is
derived from Late Middle English. Chamber comes from French chambre. The Romanian
equivalent is also a compound term which additionally has a linking preposition cameră de
ardere. The role of the preposition is to connect the two nouns and to show the purpose of the
chamber.
Doppler effect is a compound term made up of two nouns. Doppler is a proper noun and
it comes from Austrian physicist Christian Johann Doppler. Effect is derived from Latin effectus
which means the carrying out of (a task, etc.), hence, that which is achieved, the outcome. The
Romanian equivalent is also a compound term efect Doppler.
Ejection seat is a compound term made up of two nouns. Ejection is a term derived from
the Latin term ejection which means a throwing out. Seat comes from Middle English sete. The
Romanian equivalent is also a compound term scaun catapultabil.
Gravity is a simple term derived from the Latin gravitat which means heaviness. Its
Romanian equivalent is gravitație.
Heat shield is a compound term made up of two nouns. Heat is derived from Middle
English hete and shield also comes from Middle English shelde. The Romanian equivalent is
scut termic.
 Interferometer is a simple term. It is derived from the verb (to) interfere which comes
from Latin inter- + -ferire which means to strike and the suffix –meter which comes from Neo
Latin –metrum and means measure. The Romanian equivalent is interferometru.
Jupiter is a simple term. It is the name of the largest planet in the solar system and it
comes from the supreme deity of Ancient Rome Jupiter. The Romanian term remains
unchanged.
Lagrangian point is a compound term made up of an adjective (Lagrangian) and a noun
(point). Lagrangian is an adjective derived from the name Joseph-Louis Lagrange with the
suffix –ian. Point comes from Middle English point which means dot, mark place or moment.
The Romanian equivalent is a compound term that also has a linking preposition punct de
librație. The role of the preposition is to underline the purpose of the point.
Laser is a simple term. It is a lexicalised acronym of light amplification by the stimulated
emission of radiation. In Romanian the term stays the same.
Light speed is a compound term made up of two nouns. Light comes from Old English
lēoht. Speed comes from Middle English spede and means good luck, prosperity, rapidity. The
Romanian equivalent is also a compound term viteza luminii.
Low Earth orbit is a compound term made up of an adjective and two nouns. Low is
derived from Middle English lowe, Earth comes from Middle English erthe and orbit comes
from the Latin orbita which means wheel track, course, circuit. The Romanian equivalent is the
compound term orbită terestră joasă.
Orbital node is a compound term made up of an adjective and a noun. Orbital is derived
from Latin, orbitalis. Node is also derived from Latin, nodus which means knot. The Romanian
equivalent is a simple term nod.
Plasma is a simple term derived from the Greek plasma which means something molded
or formed. The Romanian equivalent is plasmă.
Satellite is a simple term. It derives from Latin, satellit and it means attendant, member
of bodyguard or retinue. The Romanian equivalent is satelit.

Most of the terms in English in this glossary come from Latin, 54%. That is because
Astronomy is an ancient field of study which has its roots in Ancient Rome. Most of the concepts
have been discovered or predicted then and they have also been named. The second dominant
origin is French, 19%. Then, there are words coming from several other languages: Dutch (9%),
Greek (7.2%), German (5.4%) and Italian (1.8%). The rest (3.6%) are words that come from
Middle or Old English.
The terms are mostly words; however, there are 25 complex terms, all of which are noun
phrases. 13 of them are made up of two nouns, NN, such as light year, radiation belt, heat shield,
lander spacecraft, etc, 11 are made up of an adjective and a noun, AN, like liquid hydrogen,
lunar module, Milky Way, lagrangian point, etc., and there is one term which is made up of three
words, an adjective and two nouns, ANN, Low Earth Orbit.
Lastly, 5 of the terms in this glossary are lexicalised acronyms or blends: laser (Light
Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation), parsec (PARallax arc SECond), pulsar
(PULSating stAR), quasar (QUASi stelAR object) and radar (RAdio Detection And Ranging).
Two of them name concepts after famous persons: newton (Sir Isaac Newton) and Doppler effect
(C. J. Doppler). And 8 of them name planets after Roman gods: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter,
Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.
There are 5 suffixes and 2 prefixes that are used to form some of the terms in this
glossary: -ant (propellant) which is a suffix coming from French, -meter (accelerometer) and –
ion (ablation, acceleration) which are taken from Latin, -less which comes from German and –
ness which is an English suffix (weightlessness). The two prefixes, re- and retro-, are both of
Latin origin (reentry, retrorocket).
SAMPLE 2

Conclusion

In this paper the submarines and war ships of World War II were presented in a 100 word
bilingual glossary. This glossary contains 100 words in English and 100 in Romanian as their
equivalents. All these terms are very representative for this domain. The glossary can help a
person interested in learning more about World War II’s naval warfare and about the most
important war ships used in that period by both the Allied forces and the Axis forces.
The paper contains a complex vocabulary of terms related to naval warfare in WWII, elements
related to war ships like battleships, destroyers, battlecruisers, minesweepers, aircraft carriers
and especially submarines; there are terms related to weapons and ammunition used by naval war
ships, such as torpedoes; terms related to different parts of ships or auxiliary equipment and
various terms designating names of some of the most important submarines used in WWII, such
as Ammiraglio Cagni Ocean-Going Attack Submarine, FS Rubis, HMS Upholder, IJN I-400
Submarine Aircraft Carrier, U-boat U-505 Diesel-Electric Attack Submarine, USS Bowfin SS-
287 etc.
One of the most noticeable characteristics of writing this glossary is that all the terms are either
nouns or nominal groups: active acoustic homing torpedo, anchor chain locker, anti-aircraft
weapon, nuclear weapon, periscope, battery, battleship, bow, ASDIC, diving cylinder, control
room, deck, destroyer, direction finding, shipyard, engine room, homing guidance, naval mine,
hull, keel, knot, sonar, infrasound, compass, mine, oil tanker, propeller, propulsion, radar, radio
wave, rudder, starboard, stern, submarine, schnorkel, U-boat, batyscaphe, torpedo, mesoscaphe,
Russsian submarine Kursk, midget submarine, nuclear submarine, remotely operated
underwater vehicle, transmitter, NMS Delfinul, diesel engine, ship, German submarine U-18,
German submarine U-24, Kriegsmarine, Navy, port, wharf, dock, Port of Constanta, levee,
watercraft, boat, rigid-hulled inflatable boat, ammunition, high-explosive anti-tank warhead,
armor-piercing shell, anti-aircraft machine gun, armor plate, azimuth, cartridge, commander,
machine gun, radio station, radio, ventilation, Ammiraglio Cagni ocean going attack submarine,
B-class submarine, FS Rubis, FS Surcouf, JIJMS ro-100, HMS Thames, HMS Upholder, IJN ha
201, Type IX U-boat ocean going warfare submarine, U-boat U-505, USS Bowfin, USS Gato
attack submarine, auxiliary machinery, capstan, Mark 50 torpedo, G7a torpedo, Kaiten, gun
turret, minesweeper, international code of signs, saddle tank, suonobyoy, submarine aircraft
carrier.
We can observe a lot of terms originating from Latin: torpedo, navy, ammunition, levee, armor
plate, radio, gun turret etc; Old English: port, ship, knot, wharf, watercraft, boat, saddle tank
etc; Old French: navy, azimuth, cartridge, commander, machine gun, battery etc; Greek:
ventilation system, auxiliary machinery, periscope etc.
The Romanian vocabulary has adopted some of these terms that are very similar or identical to
the foreign terms (port, azimuth, U-boat, sonar, capstan, radio etc.). Translations have been
provided in order to fully understand the meaning of the terms. It is also interesting that the
English and Romanian languages themselves have different origins: English is a Germanic
language, while Romanian is a Latin language. Most of the Romanian terms originate from
French. The Romanian language also lacks some of these terms because Romania didn’t have a
well developed fleet during World War II.
“Submarines and war ships of WWII” is a vast and interesting domain, mostly based on technical
details and the history of World War II. I consider it to be a very interesting domain, but
unfortunately, the Romanian language and culture is not a very rich one in this domain,
compared to the English language, but I have provided enough material, in both languages, to
support some of the most well known elements related to this domain.
I hope this glossary will be useful for those who have the curiosity to find out more about the
naval history of World War II.