Indirect translation and its influence on term variation

Abstract

Abstract Term variation occurs when different designations are used to name the same concept. In institutional settings, such as the European Union, term variants multiply, partly as a result of the different languages and directions involved. Indirect translation is a recurrent practice in these multilingual contexts since it limits the number of language combinations, besides reducing costs and the need for translators. This paper describes how indirect translation via English has an influence on Spanish term variation in the European Union. We analyzed the EUR-Lex and Europarl English and Spanish corpora in Sketch Engine. The focus was on concepts related to Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action, which are specifically addressed in these institutional corpora as a result of a long-standing environmental awareness. Our analysis indicates that indirect translation seems to have a subtle effect on term variants, since their proliferation seems to be mitigated when indirect translation is used.