Journal |
Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale
Journal issue | 61 | 2025 | Supplemento
Research Article | The Frame of Western Learning and the Systematicity of Chinese Translated Technical Terminology
The Frame of Western Learning and the Systematicity of Chinese Translated Technical Terminology
Abstract
Modern scientific terminology relies on univocity (clear meaning) and systematicity (organised structure). Strict definitions are key to distinguishing technical terms from everyday language. Yan Fu noted China’s tradition of mutual glossing but lack of definitions. Systematicity, as seen in Linnaeus’s eighteenth-century classification, organises growing knowledge. China and Japan adopted Western science differently: Chinese actors used new characters, while Japan focused on synthesis. The method employed in Japan proved more effective. This paper explores their linguistic approaches to developing scientific terminology, ensuring univocity and systematicity.
Submitted: Oct. 4, 2024 | Accepted: Jan. 22, 2025 | Published May 30, 2025 | Language: en
Keywords Affixation • Newly coined words • Systematicity • Neologisms
Copyright © 2025 Guowei Shen. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2025/02/010
