English Borrowings in Romanian Computer Terminology

Abstract

The explosive development of computers and of the internet has slowly influenced almost every aspect of our lives. Nowadays we rely heavily on the use of technologies that enable instant transmission of ideas and information. Moreover, globalization has facilitated communication, thus enabling participation of world nations in global economy. The present paper devotes special attention to the English borrowings in computer science and computer-mediated communication since their number is increasingly higher. It also aims at providing a complex classification of computer science-related English borrowings with examples selected from the print or broadcast media, demonstrating that the Romanian computer lexicon is continuously changing, incorporating the most recent words that emerge to designate major developments in science and technology. The number of English borrowings is therefore increasingly higher as these words denote certain realities that do not have equivalents in Romanian or would require long explanatory paraphrases.