La crise hypothécaire et ses dénominations

All living languages have the potential to coin neologisms which is indicative of their vitality to translate new knowledge and the ensuing changes in society. In economic and financial discourse, analysts, experts and popularisers often resort to figures of speech when explaining new realities in this area field, thus enabling them to have a greater impact on the recipients. The aim of this paper, based on a research corpus of texts spanning the 2007–2012 economic crisis taken from the press of four different European countries, is to attempt to resolve the difficulties involved with this kind of terminology. The questions addressed include the following: the attitude of the speakers of Romance languages towards the introduction of new concepts relating to the crisis; the field associated with each expression in the different cultures; to what extent conceptual metaphors coincide between cultures; the terminological variations involved in each case, etc. The answers to these questions can facilitate improved translator performance. The time lapse between the appearance of these terms and their inclusion in dictionaries poses a problem for translators who need to find solutions as quickly as possible, whilst at the same time providing a systematic approach to the problems encountered. Above and beyond solutions provided by dictionaries alone, translators are often faced with a choice between the terms found in vivo and those found in vitro. While an analysis of the way each concept is handled by dictionaries falls beyond the scope of our stated aims, it cannot be ignored completely inasmuch as it makes it possible to shed light on institutional terminological policies as well as divergences between the recommended standard and actual usage. At the same time, it should also be acknowledged that, despite the influx of terms within a globalised economy, there is still room for each community to maintain its own cultural specificity.