Lost in Translation, part 1

Some of the best words, in my opinion, are the ones that come from different languages. Every language has words that don't translate to other languages. One example, to give you an idea, is this phrase from the French: L'espirit d'escalier, which doesn't make any sense when translated literally. The Spirit of the Staircase really doesn't make sense to English-speakers.  But if you translate the meaning, it is When you come up with the perfect comeback after the conversation is already over.

Tingo- Pascuense

So, something I never really realized until I researched this word is that there is an official language on Easter Island (Rapa Nui), and it's called Pascuense. And it's actually a really interesting language. 

Anyway, Tingo comes from this Pascuense language and has one of the most obscure, exact definitions I have ever seen. Tingo is a term used to describe "stealing from your neighbor by borrowing items from them and never returning them, until they have nothing left."

You'd figure that it wouldn't happen very often, but it must happen enough to make it into a singular word...

Tsundoku- Japanese

You're guilty of it. I'm guilty of it. Most people have committed this act in the past year. Some even in the past month, or even week.

Tsundoku is a term that is "buying lots and lots of books, but leaving them to pile up without ever being read." You know it's happened to you. Funnily enough, this word is actually just a pun. It comes from the term Tsunde Oku, which means To Pile Up, but around 1900, the term took a turn. People started writing it as Tsunde Doku. Doku means To Read in Japanese, so after Tsunde Doku became too difficult to say, the term was shortened to Tsundoku.

Rire Dans sa Barbe- French

So have you ever experienced a time when you think of a joke? A really funny joke. But you don't want to tell anyone because it's a joke intended for teenagers but you're around 85 year-olds, so you can't help laughing at it. But then they ask you what you're laughing at and so you say that it was just something you thought of.

That's where Rire Dans sa Barbe comes in to save the day. Literally meaning Laughing In The Beard, this phrase describes exactly what it means. But, unlike English, the French have a simple phrase for it. It's used to describe not just a giggle, but when you think of something funny, but you can't share it with others, so you laugh to yourself.

Try as I might, I couldn't find an English word that was untranslatable. Except for a few slang words, like Googly, or Sleazy.

The one word that I could find that has no single-word equivilent is Jaywalk.

In Indonesian, the phrase Jaywalk can only be translated as menyeberang jalan dgn tdk memperhatikan lalu lintas. It's a really long phrase that literally translates to To Cross the Way with Ill Notice.

Part 2 next week.