A good example of this is ATP, or adenosine triphospate. I know that the periodic table has been esperantized, but chemistry has a lot of specialty terms that probably won't be voted on by the Akademio for a long time.
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vortaro.net/#ATP– miĥaŭCommented Nov 14, 2016 at 6:20
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1Could you clarify what you mean by "original word." Do you mean "the word in English"?– Tomaso AlexanderCommented Nov 14, 2016 at 10:56
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If you don't find it in Esperanto then that would be a good time to use a loan word.– Lumo5Commented Nov 14, 2016 at 14:58
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@TomasoAlexander Exactly my question too. :) Maybe I should propose the „original“ Bulgarian abbreviation: АТФ.– Lyubomir VasilevCommented Nov 15, 2016 at 15:20
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It all depends on how specialized the terminology is. In mathematics, most modern terminology exists only in English because essentially all current literature is in English. I would say by "original word" the poster means the "international word", and in science nowadays that is generally English or for older terminology Latin (or English with Latin origin anyway). Nomenclature is often agreed upon by international organizations regardless of language, and other languages adopt those names. ATP is a good example, see the wikipedia articles in different languages.– Jiri LeblCommented Nov 15, 2016 at 17:08
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2 Answers
If something doesn't exist then use a loanword. In scientific literature, names for things change in time even in other languages, and generally slowly migrate to a single international nomenclature. The scientific community in your field is too small to have many different words for the same things. The key is understanding. I'd say that if an Esperanto word does not completely fit or is confusing, it may also be best to use a loanword if that will necessarily be understood better. You aren't going to break the language by using a loan word in a very specialized and esoteric context. Other languages face the same issues, and I'd have the same advice there. In scientific literature, the main thing is to be understood, language purity is totally unimportant. That's true even in English. On the other hand always think of your audience. And if a reasonable Esperanto word exists and does not cause confusion, there is no need to come up with a new one. Be consistent with the body of literature targeting the same audience.
If the word does not exist in Esperanto then I think it is a good time to use the loan word. However, it is probably best to Esperantize it.
