Book review: In Other Words
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This book was first published in North America and has now become
available from Oxford University Press in the UK. It presents some
intriguing examples of words from other languages for which English
has no good equivalents - the author, Christopher Moore, calls them
"untranslatables".
The author's intention is to say something about the culture of the
originating language group though the mental associations certain
words evoke for native speakers - associations that cause problems
for translators. For example, he argues that Spanish "duende" for a
quality of passion and inspiration, especially in the performing
arts, has no good English equivalent. In Arabic, it seems, "bukra"
literally means "tomorrow", but it really refers to an
indeterminate future in comparison to which Spanish "mañ;ana" is
urgent.
In some cases, English has got around the difficulties by taking
over the word and its associations as a job lot. For example, the
Irish "craic" literally means "chat", but that doesn't begin to
describe the mixture of fun, laughter, music, storytelling and good
company that's really understood and which has resulted in the word
becoming widely known in Britain and beyond. Though Chinese "feng
shui" would need a long paraphrase to render it in English, we've
got around the problem by taking over the original.
Many of the examples are wryly humorous, such as "Drachenfutter",
"dragon fodder", the peace offering German husbands make to their
wives when they have engaged in some inappropriate behaviour. The
Italian "attaccabottone", for a boring person from whom it is
impossible to escape, lacks a good English equivalent. In Tierra
del Fuego, a "mamihlapinatapei" is a shared private and unspoken
moment "when each knows the other understands and is in agreement
with what is being expressed".
It's a slim volume, with some small things to think about, but with
the cultural background for each word severely constrained by the
brief entry given to each. It's worth considering for browsing, but
for a more meaty look at untranslatable words, Howard Rheingold's
They Have a Word For It (see
http://quinion.com?THAW) is worth a
considering.
[C J Moore, In Other Words: A Language Lover's Guide to the Most
Intriguing Words Around the World, Oxford University Press; 31
March 2005; hardback, pp127; ISBN 0192806246; publisher's UK price
£9.99; available in the USA from Walker & Company, ISBN 0802714447
and in Canada from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, ISBN 1550418645]
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