Untranslatable words

The mystique of untranslatable words

A while ago a friend gifted me a little box set of “Untranslatable words”. Inside is a set of cards, each with a word in a foreign language describing a concept for which there is no direct equivalent in English. Even non-linguists seem to enjoy the idea that another language might have a specific word or phrase for something which requires a whole paragraph to explain in English. For instance, a random rummage in my box of untranslatables brings up L’esprit de l’escalier (French) “The witty or cutting retort that we should have delivered […] but that comes to mind only after we’ve left the gathering and are on our way down the stairs.”

Why are some words untranslatable?

There is something delightful about the idea that speakers of a different language have collectively decided that something is so important it requires its own word. And learning about these words identifies entertaining gaps in our own vocabulary as well as highlighting concepts and situations which are often incredibly familiar but which, for some reason, have never warranted a specific label. For instance, why has English never realised the need for an equivalent to the Czech Litost to describe “The humiliated despair we feel when someone accidentally reminds us, through their accomplishment, of everything that has gone wrong with our lives”. Although the pedant might point out that some artistic licence is at work in this definition and that “self-pity” or “regret” might be perfectly fine translation options.

Previous research

This fascination with arguably untranslatable words has spawned a range of books from Nicola Edwards “What a Wonderful Word: A Collection of Untranslatables from Around the World” to Ella Frances Sanders “Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words” or Yee-Lum Mak’s “Other-Wordly: Words Both Strange and Lovely from Around the World”. Common to all these texts is a delight in language and a belief that learning an unusual item of vocabulary might enrich our world view, maybe even opening our eyes to something we had previously only been peripherally aware of.

Examples of untranslatable words

I may be biased as a German translator, but this linguistic pinpointing of fundamental human experiences is something Germans excel at. In my little box set, most languages are represented by a single card, Spanish and Japanese manage two entries, but German has three cards to its name. The concept of Schadenfreude (pleasure derived from someone else’s misfortune) has proven so essential it gained its own OED entry back in 1982. It’s a classic example of the German talent for using compound nouns to express complex psychological concepts. For instance, how does English get by without the notion of Torschlusspanik, (gate-closing + panic). The fear that time is running out, that you have missed the boat and opportunities have passed you by. Or what about Zugzwang (move + compulsion), a situation in which a player is forced to make a move, even though not moving would be infinitely preferable (originally applicable to chess, now also used figuratively). Or the equally splendid Kummerspeck (grief + fat), excess weight or body fat gained due to emotional overeating.

Untranslatable Words and Positive Psychology

If you are in search of some idle online linguistic browsing guaranteed to boost morale, take a deep dive into the magnificent “positive lexicography” project curated by Dr Tim Lomas. This is a collection of untranslatable words related specifically to wellbeing, highlighting the relationship between untranslatable words and positive psychology.

In a TedX talk describing the project, Lomas begins with a question: “If words label and even create our world, what does it mean to lack a particular word in our own language?” This line of enquiry goes back to period Lomas spent teaching English in China, where he was drawn to the concepts of Taoism and Buddhism and began reflecting on lexical items that lack a direct equivalent in English.

The philosophy or spiritual tradition underlying Taoism is itself dependent on a concept that English struggles to articulate. Lomas describes “Tao” as relating to the “entire warp and weft of reality, both being and becoming, form and function” but ultimately concludes that it is “ineffable”. Wikipedia opts for the more prosaic “source, pattern and substance of everything that exists”; at any rate, this is clearly something that lacks a succinct summary in English but is fundamental to a whole way of life for adherents of Taoism.

Having had his eyes opened to English’s lexical lacunae, when Lomas subsequently specialised in the study of psychology, he realised how this field has been shaped and potentially limited by being conducted mostly in English. A conference on “positive psychology” (the scientific study of wellbeing) then drew his attention to another lexical gap in English. A speaker at the conference described the Finnish concept of “sisu”, which is roughly akin to extraordinary courage, particularly in the face of adversity and, most importantly of all, is regarded by many Finns as central to their national identity.

And thus, the idea was sparked to start a collection of similar words, not just as a source of linguistic oddities but with a view to enhancing our understanding of the mind and maybe expanding our horizons. Initial research threw up a couple of hundred such words, which were published in the journal Positive Pscychology in 2016. This prompted other people to get in touch with suggestions in their own language, and the lexicon has now grown to well over 1000 items (although Lomas notes that only 100 languages are represented, so there is plenty of untapped potential).

Some of the entries describe a familiar concept, even if you do not have a precise word for it. The French joie de vivre is a good example and has been officially adopted in English for good reason. As Lomas puts it in his book The Happiness Dictionary, you can imagine one of our English forbears exclaiming “That’s exactly how I feel! How handy to have a word for it.”

Other lexical entries are more remote and strange, describing concepts that are difficult to comprehend even once they have been explained several times. These words are more intriguing as they tap into our suspicion that our conceptual framework is constrained by the limits of our vocabulary. Lomas talks about the concept of “Wu wei” in Taoism, meaning something akin to “doing by not doing”, a concept that is antithetical to the action-focused mindset of many of us in the Western World.

The project and accompanying TEDx talk are a reminder of the power words have “to uplift and transform our reality in many positive ways.” These words teach us about other people, but also shed light on our own existence by showing the relationship between untranslatable words and positive psychology.

About the Author

Alison Tunley

Alison is a seasoned freelance translator with over 15 years of experience, specialising in translating from German to English. Originally from Wales, she has been a Londoner for some time, and she holds a PhD in Phonetics and an MPhil in Linguistics from the University of Cambridge, where she also completed her First Class BA degree in German and Spanish… Read Full Bio

Sources

https://www.drtimlomas.com/lexicography

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_mLsucNMVY

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taoism

https://hifisamurai.github.io/lexicography/

https://www.theawl.com/2011/10/a-joyful-malicious-history-of-schadenfreude/