Gabriella Freeman
1/24/2013 12:08:52 pm
I found this video very interesting, as I had never actually been told which words didn't translate into English, which genuinely made me wonder which other words didn't translate well.
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Anna Pearson
2/11/2013 11:54:54 am
Words With No English Translation
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Athavan Balendran
2/13/2013 04:02:52 am
I found this article pretty interesting as I already know 2 languages fluently and am learning 2 others. Since I was small I have spoken both Tamil and English interchangeably with family and friends. It is not very hard to switch from one language to another, but when people ask me to say certain things in Tamil or vice versa, it is hard because the structures of the two languages are very different. I asked my father if he knew any words in Tamil that did not translate into English. Out of a list of many, one of the most relatable was the word selathirupavar which is said about a person who may be physically in one place, but mentally in another. I have often felt this way when I daydream during a class or a boring lecture by my parents, but it has always been inexpressible as an English word. In the video there were many more of these types of words from many different languages. I think another thing that it shows us is that English is not a perfect language, and that language itself is not the most perfect way of communication. The video showed no words that are in English that are not in other languages, but I suspect that there are plenty. It brings a little diversity to our understanding that there are no words for certain expressions. Words could possibly be invented to fit those gaps as we often would need to use them. Also, in many movies and stories the characters often say they get a feeling they cannot explain. We as viewers get a sort of nostalgia from this as we may have had the same feeling before. Thus it can be said that perhaps it is good that there is not a word for every type of feeling. Some feelings are best expressed through other means than just a simple word.
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Mr. Smith
2/25/2013 09:38:31 pm
I am selathirupavar all the time.
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Mari Teixeira
2/15/2013 05:06:02 am
This article was really interesting as served to show how languages are not always able to express everything. Since I was a child I have spoken two languages and as I get older I have realized how hard it is to express yourself in one language alone. In everyday conversations with friends and family, various times, I have noticed that there are words in each language that express exactly what I am feeling and cannot be translated. Every once in a while, in conversations I have realized that I mix both languages to better express what I am feeling. Languages all over the world have words that express exactly what we are feeling and are cannot be translated into other languages. A very common word in Portuguese that has no translation to English is 'saudade'. This word means a certain nostalgia and longing for a person that one misses and is far away. However, this also works the other way around when translating English to Portuguese, there are some words that do not exist. An example could be 'understatement', since in Portuguese there is no such word to explain what an understatement is. Although there are ways to express the same feeling there is no word in Portuguese to express this. This lesson serves to show that each language is unique in it own words, facilitating one's expression through it.
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Thiago Gatto
3/31/2013 10:32:21 am
I foud this article very curious because it shows not only that there are certain words that do not have a translation to english, but shows how each culture or country creates certain words that are applicable only to their reality or that have been adopted due to constant use of the population. I made a research after seeing this video in order to search for words that did not translate or exist in english and found a list of these words that have very interesting meanings in their respective languages. The link is this one: http://sobadsogood.com/2012/04/29/25-words-that-simply-dont-exist-in-english/ and I selected some words that I found most interest and funny, which were: Backpfeifengesicht (German): A face badly in need of a fist. Ilunga (Tshiluba, Congo): A person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time. Sgriob (Gaelic): The itchiness that overcomes the upper lip just before taking a sip of whisky. Tingo (Pascuense language of Easter Island): to borrow objects one by one from a neighbor’s house until there is nothing left and Yoko meshi (Japanese): literally ‘a meal eaten sideways,’ referring to the peculiar stress induced by speaking a foreign language.
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Sarah Godoy
4/19/2013 04:19:29 am
This video is actually pretty interesting. Words that do not translate to English are actually one of the contemporary dilemmas, and therefore the English language studiers have already proposed a language reform in which a list of over 30 new words that still do not exist in English would be officially incorporated to the language. One of the words I miss the most when I am writing papers, which actually has something to do with “miss”, is “saudade”, a Portuguese term. “Saudade” refers to the feeling of missing someone or something, and in the lack of this word in English, I personally feel limited in words to describe my feelings sometimes as they really are. Yes, “I miss you” theoretically means the same as “tenho saudades de voce”, but I feel the necessity of an English word as strong as “saudade” to express such an intense feeling. However, this lack of translation to English can also be viewed positively, since it contributes to the linguistic variety of different countries, which ultimately gives a unique identity to each one.
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8/1/2022 01:16:27 pm
Web sitemize giriş yaparak Instagram Türk beğeni satın almak çok kolay. Instagram ucuz beğeni satın al yöntemleriyle Instagram beğeni satın al ve fenomen olmanın keyfini çıkart.
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May 2013
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