untranslatable

this week i've been reading a very poorly translated edition of 'la hojarasca' or 'leaf storm' by gabriel garcía márquez. next time i think i'll just read it in spanish. for the time being i'm glad i've been able to pick up on some of the errors because in some cases it makes a fairly significant difference in how a certain passage is read. same thing goes for films...it was especially apparent when i'd watch american movies with my friend juli in argentina. she'd watch them with spanish subtitles, and a lot of the time the translations would be a bit off...nothing too serious, but definitely enough to lower the quality of the work. it's kind of annoying, but i guess it's added motivation to learn more than one language. anyways, here is an excerpt from an article which documents words that are among the most difficult to translate. i like the concept of 'wabi-sabi' and 'torschlusspanik' the best:

• Hyggelig: In Denmark, the word Hyggelig is used often, and is said to be closely tied to the Danish national character. A dictionary will provide translations along the lines of cozy, warm, and nice, but a typical Dane will argue that these words don’t come close to capturing the full meaning of the word. Perhaps a true Dane would like to share some thoughts here?

• Wabi-Sabi: We recently featured an entire blog article on the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi. It is a compound word with a long history, and carries a lot of meaning. Put succinctly, it’s a way of living that emphasizes finding beauty in imperfection, and accepting the natural cycle of growth and decay.

• Duende: This Spanish word has a long and interesting history. It’s original use was to describe a mythical entity that lives in forests, sort of like a fairy or a sprite, that possesses human beings and causes them to feel awe, fear, or a sense of beauty in their natural surroundings. Since being updated by the Spanish poet and playwright, Federico García Lorca, in the early 20th century, it is now used to refer to the mysterious power of a work of art to deeply move a person.

• Saudade: This Portuguese word was also featured in our most beautiful words post a while back. It refers to the feeling of longing for something or someone that you love and which is lost."

• Torschlusspanik: From German, this word literally means “gate-closing panic” and is used to describe the fear of diminishing opportunities as one ages. This word is most frequently applied to women who race the ‘biological clock’ to wed and bear children.

• Tingo: From the Pascuense language of Easter Island, it is the act of taking objects one desires from the house of a friend by gradually borrowing all of them.

• Ilunga: From the Tshiluba language spoken in south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, this word has been chosen by many translators as the world’s most untranslatable word. Ilunga indicates a person who is ready to forgive any abuse the first time it occurs, to tolerate it the second time, but to neither forgive nor tolerate a third offense.

• Tartle: A Scottish verb meaning to hesitate while introducing someone due to having forgotten his/her name.

• Mamihlapinatapei: From Yagan, the indigenous language of the Tierra del Fuego region of South America. This word has been translated in several ways in English, always implying a wordless yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start.