Lexicographical Treatment of Words of Spanish Origin in Chinese: Their Current Compilation and Problems

Abstract

Foreign terms in modern Chinese are currently more influenced by Japanese and English, which is why the  words of Spanish origin in Chinese have been little studied. This article systematically compiles and classifies words of Spanish origin in Chinese based on the data from the Hanyu Wailaici Cidian (汉语外来词词典) [Dictionary of Chinese Foreign Terms] (Cen, 1990) and the Xinhua Wailaiyu Cidian (新华外来词词典) [Xinhua Dictionary of Foreign Terms] (Shi, 2019), with the main purpose of analyzing their characteristics and their current compilation. Most entries were found to be nouns, and a more restricted vocabulary is observed in areas such as science and economics. Moreover, among the different types of calques and borrowings, the prevailing ones for Spanish words introduced into Chinese are partially assimilated borrowings and blended derivative borrowings.