Expressing Japanese technical terms in the field of electrical engineering

Following technical innovations in the field of electrical engineering by Edison, Siemens, and many others, the technology has been introduced into Japan using foreign languages, and then a variety of the technical terms have been translated into Japanese. The technology has since been popular among radio amateurs and audiophiles as well as experts, however, some Japanese technical terms, mismatching the original English ones, have been newly invented and introduced for use. One of the most unsuitable Japanese terms may be considered to be "ryoha-seiryu", suggesting "full wave rectification" in English as a technique for the conversion of alternating current to direct current, and this Japanese word has constantly made confusion. This article discusses the relationship between the English term and the corresponding Japanese term regarding rectification of single phase alternating current. This article also reviews the history and present status of Japanese technical terms and proposes a simple and reasonable method of classification of the electronic circuits for rectification. In the first stage of the method, rectification processes are classified into "hanpa-seiryu" and "zenpa-seiryu", which mean "half wave rectification" and "full wave rectification", respectively. In the second stage, the latter is also classified into "center-tapped type" and "bridge type". This method seems to correspond to a global standard of English.