November 2, 2023
IT Terms - One of Challenges for IT Comtors
If you have just known foreign languages (Japanese, English, etc.), you cannot become an IT Comtor.
First, you have to deal with IT Terms. IT Terms are difficult. I don't really understand.
By the time you memorize the words, they are already old, and many new words have appeared.
This impression is often associated with IT Terms.
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So, have you ever wondered Why are IT Terms so difficult? Because:
- They can be imaged like a huge store of words.
No one knows how many IT Terms there are in the world.
Just know that they were born and developed along with n number of
- Programming Languages
- Tools
- Databases
- Operating Systems
- Application Frameworks
- Cloud Technologies
- Agile
- DevOps
that exist in the current IT market.
- They can be imaged like a parade of abbreviations.
To understand an IT term, you have to go through a complicated thought process each time, such as thinking of the official name and then thinking about the meaning of the term.
- Most of them are conceptual and cannot be visualized.
This lack of direct connection to the image seems to contribute to people feeling that it is difficult to grasp.
- The number of new IT terms increases constantly.
Before you know them, the number of IT terms you don't know is increasing.
- New services being released into the world almost every day,
- the fast pace of change in technology,
- in combination with the complex and ever-evolving nature of IT systems,
can make it seem like an uphill battle to keep up.
- There are a lot of IT terms that cannot be understood without prior knowledge.
When looking up an IT term, other IT terms are used to explain that term, so it's common to find that when you look up the meaning of an IT term you don't understand, the number of terms you don't understand increases.
Going deeply into researching related terms can make you lost, not knowing what you are researching. And the less IT knowledge a person has, the more research they have to do.
However, this is necessary for those who have little or no prior IT knowledge.
- There are a lot of English alphabets and Katakana words.
There are a lot of IT terms including English letters / Katakana / both.
| Ex: | SQL | IDaaS | アカウント | アド | IPアドレス | DATファイル |
Even if Katakana is used to transcribe words borrowed from foreign languages such as English, the pronunciation of Katakana and the pronunciation of English are not the same.
| Ex: Terms | English Pronunciation | Japanese Pronunciation |
|
SQL |
ɛsˌkjuˈɛɫ |
エスキューエル(Esukyūeru) |
|
IDaaS |
ai di: ei ei ɛs |
アイダース(Aidāsu) |
|
アカウント |
əˈkaʊnt |
Akaunto |
|
アド |
ˈædvɝˌtaɪzɪŋ |
Ado |
|
IPアドレス |
ai pi æˌdɹɛs |
Aipīadoresu |
|
DATファイル |
Dæt fīl |
Dattofairu |
It is very difficult to read them fluently even after practicing again and again.
In addition, when meeting with the Japan side, there are definitely English words that you don't know how to pronounce in Japanese, so you pronounce them in English. Most Japanese people will not understand the words you say.
Or vice versa, there are English words that Japanese people say that you cannot figure out which English word they are, then it is very difficult for you to convey accurate information to Dev.
I think IT terms are not only an obstacle for IT Comtors, but also IT engineers certainly have times when they have headaches with IT terms. Because no one knows everything.
- Lack of confidence when translating without understanding
I can't use an IT term until I understand it. Even if it is possible to translate without understanding, it makes me lack confidence and it can be frustrating.
For example, the preposition "で" (de) in Japanese has many meanings "in, at, by, due to, with..." so when translating into English, if you don't know what the word before "で" means, it's very difficult to translate correctly.
As example, "FTPでファイルを転送する。"
- If I understand that FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is one of the communication protocols for transferring files between clients and servers on a computer network, I translate as below.
- FTPでファイルを転送する。 → Send file by FTP.
- If I don't understand what FTP is, I'm not confident enough to decide whether to use "in" or "by".
- FTPでファイルを転送する。 → Send file in/by FTP.
So in this case, I have to let Dev (who understands what FTP is) select the appropriate preposition.
Summary
Going into IT field is a worthwhile journey but in order to succeed you must dare to challenge yourself because you will burn out quickly if there is no passion behind it. Nothing that’s worthwhile is ever easy.
No matter how much I lament it, it remains difficult. So let's find merit in difficult things. You should be able to study more positively that way. Try to memorize as many IT terms as possible.
Before you end up thinking that "I'm not good at the IT world" equals "IT is difficult", please try to think of ways to deal with it.
I'm sure the day will come when IT terms that you don't understand at all will become a part of your daily life!
[Reference Source]
- https://jethrojeff.com/
- https://www.visualcapitalist.com/11-tech-trends-to-watch-2023/
- https://nexwebsites.com/database/database-management-systems/valuecoders.com
