All languages supposedly have hard-or-impossible-to-translate words and phrases, bits of vocabulary for very specific, even over-specific, things that other culturo-linguistic groups simply don't possess. The Meaning of Tingo: And Other Extraordinary Words from Around the World is another in a long line of such books about weird words from around the world. In it, the Germans once again show themselves to be the masters of weird and wonderful language, with such words as "Putzfimmel" (mania for cleaning) and "Kummerspeck" (weight gain due to emotionally-driven overeating).
However, Lanugage Log and Languagehat, guys with a lot more linguistic expertise than I have, advise to take the information in books of "untranslatable" words with a grain of salt. Apparently, they're not always that accurate.
No comments:
Post a Comment