Where does all the weird Chinese component terminology come from?

[harerod]

Schwein werfer? Pig thrower?

ger. "Scheinwerfer" - engl. "sheen - caster" - a device that casts a sheen on the scene. As in a car's headlight.
"Schweinwerfer" would be a sample of pre-internet German humor. Insert/warp a part of a word and you end up with something funny, i.e. "Schwein" - "pig".
"Scheinwerfer" allows for another - wrong or sarcastic - meaning: "Schein" -> "banknote" / "Werfer" -> "person who throws". "Person who throws money to people / at things."

[amyk]

Behold the right ear VGA disk: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000103927037.html

[gamalot]

Behold the right ear VGA disk: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000103927037.html

Basically nothing seriously wrong here, it's the right ear control panel flex cable connect to the hard drive backplane (next to the VGA port).

People may be confused by this description, but I think those who are really looking for it will understand.

[amyk]

Came across this one recently. Figuring out the meaning is left as an exercise for the reader

[gamalot]

Came across this one recently. Figuring out the meaning is left as an exercise for the reader

This is too easy to Chinese native speakers.

wheat = 麦 = 麦克风 = microphone

[harerod]

amyk, gamalot - nice. GT reads 麦克风 as màikèfēng. So no big etymology, just hanzi being used for their sound value, right?
(I checked and found no reference to this in Japanese, where the term is just rendered in katakana as  マイクロフォン.)

[Whales]

American throat clamps

(I think this is perfect)

[pdenisowski]

This is too easy to Chinese native speakers.

wheat = 麦 = 麦克风 = microphone

Marketing probably thought "话筒" isn't cool enough

I can understand why 风 would be a good choice of hanzi here, but 麦克 seems like a random decision.  I suppose those are better than 埋客 

(风 = wind, 埋 = hide or bury, 客 = guest or customer)

[coppice]

This is too easy to Chinese native speakers.

wheat = 麦 = 麦克风 = microphone

Marketing probably thought "话筒" isn't cool enough

I can understand why 风 would be a good choice of hanzi here, but 麦克 seems like a random decision.  I suppose those are better than 埋客 

Its a poor transliteration of microphone. That one is easy to figure out, but why is the Chinese for a power supply a fire cow?

[harerod]

Quote from: coppice on Today at 12:00:53

...Its a poor transliteration of microphone. That one is easy to figure out, but why is the Chinese for a power supply a fire cow?

Logographic writing takes "technical jargon" to a whole different level...
I wonder if one day I will find the spare time to delve into hanzi. So far, Japanese and its writing system keeps me plenty busy entertained.

[gamalot]

This is too easy to Chinese native speakers.

wheat = 麦 = 麦克风 = microphone

Marketing probably thought "话筒" isn't cool enough

I can understand why 风 would be a good choice of hanzi here, but 麦克 seems like a random decision.  I suppose those are better than 埋客 

Its a poor transliteration of microphone. That one is easy to figure out, but why is the Chinese for a power supply a fire cow?

fire cow = 火牛 = power transform

火牛 is the name for power transformer in Cantonese, toroidal transformer in Cantonese called 环牛.

[coppice]

This is too easy to Chinese native speakers.

wheat = 麦 = 麦克风 = microphone

Marketing probably thought "话筒" isn't cool enough

I can understand why 风 would be a good choice of hanzi here, but 麦克 seems like a random decision.  I suppose those are better than 埋客 

Its a poor transliteration of microphone. That one is easy to figure out, but why is the Chinese for a power supply a fire cow?

fire cow = 火牛 = power transform

火牛 is the name for power transformer in Cantonese, toroidal transformer in Cantonese called 环牛.

You write that like is makes some obvious sense. Native Cantonese speaking engineers just shrug their shoulders when asked to explain it. 火牛 isn't just a transformer. Its the name used for complete power supplies, like an ATX supply for a PC.

[harerod]

Quote from: coppice on Today at 13:26:57

...You write that like is makes some obvious sense. Native Cantonese speaking engineers just shrug their shoulders when asked to explain it. 火牛 isn't just a transformer. Its the name used for complete power supplies, like an ATX supply for a PC.

Assuming that your native language is English: Even your mother tongue names step-down converters after male ungulates... 
The fun with Asian languages (in my case Japanese) is that you lack all those levers, which make gaining a basic understanding of multiple Western languages so simple...

[pdenisowski]

The fun with Asian languages (in my case Japanese) is that you lack all those levers, which make gaining a basic understanding of multiple Western languages so simple...

Actually, in my experience, there is a "shared" vocabulary base for technical terms in CJKV languages (i.e. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese) in the form of Chinese roots.  One of the reasons I started studying Chinese (and in the process started the largest open Chinese-English dictionary project: CC-EDICT*) was to help me more easily acquire technical vocabulary in Japanese and Vietnamese.

Even though (modern) Korean and Vietnamese no longer use Chinese characters (hanzi), it's still easy to recognize cognates in technical terms, e.g. "telephone"

Chinese: 電話 (电话) / (diàn huà)
Japanese: 電話 (den wa)
Korean: 전화 (jeon hwa)
Vietnamese: điện thoại

where the first morpheme is "electric" and the second is "talk" or "converse" 

If you know the "electric" morpheme, it's easy to recognize or remember words like "current" and voltage" across CJKV languages

Chinese:  电流 / (diàn liú) and 电压 (diàn yā)
Japanese: 電]流 (den ryū) and 電圧 (den atsu)
Korean: 전류 (jeon lyu) and 전압 (jeon ap)
Vietnamese: dòng điện and điện áp

where in each case the other morpheme is "flow" (流) and "pressure" (压), respectively.

Yes, there are a lot of irregularities and it's not possible to accurately predict JKV technical terms from the Chinese equivalent, but it does help (me, at least )





* https://cc-cedict.org/wiki/

[coppice]

The fun with Asian languages (in my case Japanese) is that you lack all those levers, which make gaining a basic understanding of multiple Western languages so simple...

Actually, in my experience, there is a "shared" vocabulary base for technical terms in CJKV languages (i.e. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese) in the form of Chinese roots.  One of the reasons I started studying Chinese (and in the process started the largest open Chinese-English dictionary project: CC-EDICT*) was to help me more easily acquire technical vocabulary in Japanese and Vietnamese.

Even though (modern) Korean and Vietnamese no longer use Chinese characters (hanzi), it's still easy to recognize cognates in technical terms, e.g. "telephone"

Chinese: 電話 (电话) / (diàn huà)
Japanese: 電話 (den wa)
Korean: 전화 (jeon hwa)
Vietnamese: điện thoại

where the first morpheme is "electric" and the second is "talk" or "converse" 

If you know the "electric" morpheme, it's easy to recognize or remember words like "current" and voltage" across CJKV languages

Chinese:  电流 / (diàn liú) and 电压 (diàn yā)
Japanese: 電]流 (den ryū) and 電圧 (den atsu)
Korean: 전류 (jeon lyu) and 전압 (jeon ap)
Vietnamese: dòng điện and điện áp

where in each case the other morpheme is "flow" (流) and "pressure" (压), respectively.

Yes, there are a lot of irregularities and it's not possible to accurately predict JKV technical terms from the Chinese equivalent, but it does help (me, at least )

* https://cc-cedict.org/wiki/

If the term came into use before 1949, there tends to be one term across East Asia. If it came into use after 1949 there tends to be a PRC one, and one everyone else uses.

[harerod]

pdenisowski, first of all - thanks for your effort. Out of curiosity - have you met Jim Breen? He is a hero for many students of Japanese.

Regarding "shared words" in Asian langauges - I am fully with you guys. What I actually meant to say: Learning my first Asian language (Japanese) made me feel like a toddler, because it made me start at about zero vocab and grammar. Things are improving. Of course one can find some familiar terms, it always makes me smile when I see technical terms based on old German works. My hometown is the birthplace of Siebold, a doctor who may have brought lots of medical terms into the Japanese language.
The examples chosen by coppice show how easily one can browse Chinese datasheets. One knows what to expect, hanzi and unit give a hint or serve as a sanity check.

[schmitt trigger]

Every language has its own idiosyncrasies.

In Spanish, cargar means, to charge, to load or to lift.

Therefore the phrase: carga la bateria, could mean charge the battery, load the battery or lift the battery. The true meaning is known by context.
Also, when one actually wants to mean to load the battery, one uses a more complete sentence like apply the load to the battery, aplica la carga a la batería.

[gamalot]

Quote from: coppice on Today at 13:26:57

...You write that like is makes some obvious sense. Native Cantonese speaking engineers just shrug their shoulders when asked to explain it. 火牛 isn't just a transformer. Its the name used for complete power supplies, like an ATX supply for a PC.

Assuming that your native language is English: Even your mother tongue names step-down converters after male ungulates... 
The fun with Asian languages (in my case Japanese) is that you lack all those levers, which make gaining a basic understanding of multiple Western languages so simple...

In Cantonese, the term "牛" is used to specifically refer to a transformer. Some people call modern power adapters and even ATX power supplies "牛" just because they think those devices are also transformers. 

[coppice]

In Cantonese, the term "牛" is used to specifically refer to a transformer. Some people call modern power adapters and even ATX power supplies "牛" just because they think those devices are also transformers. 

So, A power supply is a transformer on fire?

[Bud]

Yes. Submarine-iron fish, bomber-pregnant bird. If there will be shortage of Navajo people by next world war, we could recruit some Chinese to talk code.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talker

[gamalot]

In Cantonese, the term "牛" is used to specifically refer to a transformer. Some people call modern power adapters and even ATX power supplies "牛" just because they think those devices are also transformers. 

So, A power supply is a transformer on fire?

Even I as a native Chinese speaker can't find a reasonable explanation, but I know that the term "火" here means "electricity". Relatedly, in Chinese, the live wire is called "火线", literally means "fire wire".

[coppice]

In Cantonese, the term "牛" is used to specifically refer to a transformer. Some people call modern power adapters and even ATX power supplies "牛" just because they think those devices are also transformers. 

So, A power supply is a transformer on fire?

Even I as a native Chinese speaker can't find a reasonable explanation, but I know that the term "火" here means "electricity". Relatedly, in Chinese, the live wire is called "火线", literally means "fire wire".

And the formal word for electricity (literally spark) 電, forms 電車 which literally means electric vehicle, but actually means a gas powered motorbike. Languages are a mess.

[gamalot]

In Cantonese, the term "牛" is used to specifically refer to a transformer. Some people call modern power adapters and even ATX power supplies "牛" just because they think those devices are also transformers. 

So, A power supply is a transformer on fire?

Even I as a native Chinese speaker can't find a reasonable explanation, but I know that the term "火" here means "electricity". Relatedly, in Chinese, the live wire is called "火线", literally means "fire wire".

And the formal word for electricity (literally spark) 電, forms 電車 which literally means electric vehicle, but actually means a gas powered motorbike. Languages are a mess.

"電單車" is a traditional Chinese term. In mainland Mandarin, motorcycle is transliterated as "摩托车".

[EPAIII]

What I find most curious here is that the Chinese can actually read those characters at the scale that they appear on my computer screen. Either they have very sharp eyesight or they must have a different type font size setting on their computers.

not 三级管 but 三极管
极 means "pin"
 

In this case, "极" is a short-hand for "电极", or "eletrode". Just like how the suffix "-ode" in "diode" and "triode" came from "eletrode" in English. The terminology was originally a faithful translation.

[EPAIII]

A lot of this is centered around Chinese, but they do not have an exclusive on terminology differences and confusion. Back in the 80s I worked in a TV station when the Japanese companies, like Sony and Ikegami, started to make equipment sales to the US TV market. I am talking about professional equipment, not consumer. This equipment came with thick manuals where maintenance and set-up procedures were explained on a step by step basis. Often there would be two or more thick manuals for a given item of equipment so there was a lot in them.

One such manual, translated from the original Japanese, that I recall had a cover title that immediately told you that you were going to have real problems understanding what was within. That title read, "Color Handi Lookie System".

It was not unusual to see small groups of our TV engineering staff standing around for a half hour or longer trying to understand just one sentence or phrase in that manual. And the item of equipment was stuck on a maintenance bench until the meaning was figured out. With our people afraid of messing things up to where only the factory could fix it, procedures that should have taken only a few minutes, wound up taking all week.

The translations did get better with later generations of equipment. I am sure there was some unpleasant feedback on that manual.

PS: If you haven't figured it out, "Color Handi Lookie System" meant "Hand-Held, Color, TV Camera".