Ask HN: What are software bugs called in other languages?
I realized today that "bug" is a pretty idiomatic term. Are there parallels in other languages? How do you refer to a software bug in your native language?
I pronounce it ['bu.ge] in both languages, although the pronunciation might vary quite a bit in Portuguese; the last vowel can be [e ɪ i ə] or non-existent, depending on the dialect. It's just epenthetic, given neither language likes hard codas.
And the vowel itself might vary quite a bit. I use [e] due to my dialect (Sulista) still keeping the post-stress final /e/ vs. /i/ distinction (e.g. "SETI" and "sete" sound different for us), but [ɪ] and [i] are likely more common for people who merged both.
To debug is "déboguer", which only means to debug (and not opening/removing the chestnut burr).
Alternatively, "défaut" is also used (defect). Sometimes the more general "erreur" (error) can be used.
However, the English word "bug" is getting used more and more (along with "débuguer", the French way to turn "to debug" into something usable in the language).
True, except I've only heard it pronounced "boog".
However there is an official translation "teqel" (תקל). It is a derivative of a root that means "to stumble". It suggests a resolvable setback more than an "error".
Some demographic is using "bug" but the classical industry (e.g. automotive, manufacturing etc) still uses German terms.
There's a "famous" course at the KIT in Karlsruhe where the professor only uses German terms for everything related to Computer Science to make a point about most stuff originating by German researchers when it comes to basic concepts in CS. So the professor is using terms like "Stapel" instead of stack, or "Rechner" instead of CPU etc.
There are also several verbs:
"To make a bug": BUGATA.
"To act erroneously because of a bug": BUGITTAA.
"To have habit of causing bugs or acting errorneously": BUGAILLA
So most of the time we just use the word bug, and it's a third of the syllable count.
Interestingly the word clicks a lot better with the other English use of "bug", which is to sneak a microphone into a room.
From a poetic angle, "pijak" means step (on). I don't know if that's the etymology, but it evokes the idea that "pepijat" is something with a lot of little steps and something you want to step on.
With a computer bug, you can't really step on it, but with a microphone bug you can.
Sometimes is called "erro" (error) or "defeito" (defect).
In Faroese it is “lús” (lice) which refers to a “villa” (mistake) or “brek” (defect) in software, according to the dictionary. I would personally refer to a bug as “villa” or “feilur” which is the same as the Danish word “fejl”.
To debug is to “kemba” (comb), and debugger “kembari” (comber, if that is a word, someone who combs).
My guess is that the other countries in America that speak Spanish use this mix, but in Spain they may use the translated version.
The origin of the word "bug" doesn't come from the insect sense of the word. Bug has roots in a word "bogey" meaning devil. You still see its remnants in words like bugbear and bugaboo.
In fact, in Hopper's notebook she even writes "First actual case of bug being found". The use of the word "actual" implies that the word bug has been used before and etymologies back this up.
[1]https://www.nationalgeographic.org/thisday/sep9/worlds-first...
“The Middle English word bugge is the basis for the terms "bugbear" and "bugaboo" as terms used for a monster.
The term "bug" to describe defects has been a part of engineering jargon since the 1870s and predates electronic computers and computer software; it may have originally been used in hardware engineering to describe mechanical malfunctions. For instance, Thomas Edison wrote the following words in a letter to an associate in 1878:
It has been just so in all of my inventions. The first step is an intuition, and comes with a burst, then difficulties arise—this thing gives out and [it is] then that "Bugs"—as such little faults and difficulties are called—show themselves and months of intense watching, study and labor are requisite before commercial success or failure is certainly reached.”
That page also says:
“The related term "debug" also appears to predate its usage in computing: the Oxford English Dictionary's etymology of the word contains an attestation from 1945, in the context of aircraft engines.”
A funny slang term is バグる ("baguru") - it's an artificially constructed verb that means "to behave buggily", often used to describe when a game or software glitches.
So that's what's up, Zelda II programmers were having fun with names.
Spanish. South America.