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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Jeffers Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4911 days ago 2151 posts - 3960 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Hindi, Ancient Greek, French, Sanskrit, German | Message 17 of 35 15 December 2013 at 9:52am | IP Logged | ||
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I know there's a Korean word for the annoying feeling of wind on your skin. I was complaining about sleeping under a fan and a Korean friend told me there was a word for it (sadly, she has since passed away).
I think these words are neither pointless nor fun. But I do object to the title "Untranslatable", since translations are then given. That reminds me of a much misused word, "ironic". 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Henkkles Triglot Senior Member Finland Joined 4255 days ago 544 posts - 1141 votes Speaks: Finnish*, English, Swedish Studies: Russian | Message 18 of 35 15 December 2013 at 1:24pm | IP Logged | ||
Of course there is; it just depends on to which language you're translating! For example "to have" doesn't translate into Finnish at all! Then again Finnish has many words that don't translate into English or many words that translate into one English word; "En kykene" "I can't (due to my [often abstract] limitations)" "En voi" "I can't (because of a hindrance)" "En pysty" "I can't (due to my [often physical] limitations)" "En osaa" "I can't (due to lack of skill or training)" "En saata" "I can't (due to fear; also translatable as "dare" though)" "En tohdi" "I can't (usually due to not wanting to upset someone, can also be translated with "want")" etc. etc. I mean, at least that's how I understood the premise, words that are untranslatable from some language to English, because I can translate at least two of those directly into Finnish. Edited by Henkkles on 15 December 2013 at 1:30pm 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| StarcrazyAngel Triglot Groupie China Joined 6001 days ago 47 posts - 61 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish Studies: Portuguese, Mandarin | Message 19 of 35 15 December 2013 at 7:29pm | IP Logged | ||
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Really like the German and the Russian words. This thread also reminded me of the
Portuguese word "saudade", which we have no translation for in English but I absolutely love it. Good excuse to start re-studying Portuguese in 2014. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| agantik Triglot Senior Member France Joined 4637 days ago 217 posts - 335 votes Speaks: French*, English, Italian Studies: German, Norwegian | Message 20 of 35 15 December 2013 at 10:10pm | IP Logged | ||
Well, in the course of my literary studies, I came across the word "sesquipedalian" which applies to a verse with "many feet". This word doesn't have an equivalent in my native language and it has since become my favourite English word both for its rarity and its funny pronunciation. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Henkkles Triglot Senior Member Finland Joined 4255 days ago 544 posts - 1141 votes Speaks: Finnish*, English, Swedish Studies: Russian | Message 21 of 35 15 December 2013 at 10:31pm | IP Logged | ||
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My favorite English word has for years been "defenestrate"; that is, "to throw out of the window".
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Einarr Tetraglot Senior Member United Kingdom einarrslanguagelog.w Joined 4615 days ago 118 posts - 269 votes Speaks: English, Bulgarian*, French, Russian Studies: Swedish | Message 22 of 35 15 December 2013 at 11:22pm | IP Logged | ||
Oh, yes, indeed "saudade" is great one! That reminded me also of "desenrascanço" which apart of its literal meaning is used as a word which describes a fashion in which one gets out of a tangled situation, without possessing the proper knowledge to do so (our Portuguese friends here on the forum will definitely explain it better than me :P) Anyway, there always is a good enough excuse to start studying this lovely language. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| betelgeuzah Diglot Groupie Finland Joined 4403 days ago 51 posts - 82 votes Speaks: Finnish*, English Studies: Japanese, Italian | Message 23 of 35 16 December 2013 at 12:40am | IP Logged | ||
Many languages have two words for "experience". One is a lesser kind of experience that can be negative or positive, leaving little to no memory trace. The other is a stronger experience that can shake you to the very core. It can be negative but usually the nuance is that it's a positive experience, leaving a memory trace. I personally feel that the English language can not be complete without the word for both kinds of experiences. It's a huge part of my life in this day and age. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| pesahson Diglot Senior Member Poland Joined 5730 days ago 448 posts - 840 votes Speaks: Polish*, English Studies: French, Portuguese, Norwegian | Message 24 of 35 05 July 2014 at 2:24pm | IP Logged | ||
I recently found different pictures illustrating the "untranslatable" words. Some of them look really good.
Taken from HERE 3 persons have voted this message useful |
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