Abstract
Translating technical and military terminology from Russian into English is a challenging area of specialized translation because the two languages organize terminology through different lexical, syntactic, and conceptual patterns, while many terms are strongly dependent on their specialized context. In such texts, a word-for-word equivalent does not necessarily provide an accurate representation of the intended concept. The translator must therefore consider not only the linguistic form of a term but also its position within the conceptual system of the relevant field.
This study examines major challenges in selecting English equivalents for Russian technical and military terms and analyzes strategies for transferring their specialized meanings into English. The study follows a descriptive-analytical approach and draws on selected terminology from technical, military, and particularly aerospace domains. The analysis focuses on polysemy, differences in semantic range, multiword terminology, contextual dependence, differences between conceptual systems, and the role of subject-matter knowledge.
The findings indicate that successful equivalence selection often requires moving beyond literal translation toward conceptual transfer. The simultaneous use of specialized dictionaries, textual sources, contextual comparison, and subject-matter knowledge can improve translation accuracy. On this basis, a six-stage model is proposed for Russian-English terminology work: term identification, domain identification, contextual analysis, concept identification, comparison of equivalents, and final evaluation and consolidation.
Keywords: Technical terminology; Military terminology; Russian-English translation; Equivalence selection; Conceptual transfer; Terminology
Publication information
| Item | Information |
|---|---|
| Article type | Research Article |
| Received | 2026/08/21 |
| Accepted | 2026/09/28 |
| Online publication | 2026/10/01 |
| Pages | 24–38 |