Untranslatable words
| From: | Peter Bleackley <peter.bleackley@...> |
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| Date: | Wednesday, June 23, 2004, 16:00 |
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A survey of linguists has concluded that the following are the most
untranslatable words in English.
googly
Spam (as in tinned meat)
gobbledegook
plenipotentiary
whimsy
bumf
serendipity
poppycock
kitsch
The most untranslatable words from other languages
ilunga Tshiluba word for a person who is ready to forgive any abuse a first
time, tolerate it a second time, but never a third time.
shlimazl Yiddish for chronically unlucky person.
radioukacz Polish for a person who worked as a telegraphist for resistance
movements on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain.
naa Kansai dialect of Japanese, used to emphasise statements or agree with
someone (possibly a variant of ne?)
altahmam Arabic for a kind of deep sadness
gezellig Dutch for cozy
saudade Portuguese for a certain type of longing
selathirupar Tamil for a certain type of truancy
pochemuchka Russian for a person who asks a lot of questions
klloshar Albanian for loser
Pete
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