Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words

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Did you know that the Japanese language has a word toexpress the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees? Or that there’s a Finnish word for the distance a reindeercan travel before needing to rest? Johny Pitts is a writer, artist and broadcaster. His new series, The Failure of the Future, will air on BBC Radio 4 from 16 January Each one is accompanied by a brief explanation of the context in which the word is used as well as a cute colorful drawing made by the author herself, which makes everything nicer and more pleasing to the eye.

Lost in Translation: Words with incredible meanings - BBC Lost in Translation: Words with incredible meanings - BBC

This loss drives the action of the novel, leading inexorably to the end, the final period, the thing that hangs over all else: death. Early in the book, Camus links the death of Meursault’s mother with the oppressive, ever-present sun, so that when we get to the climactic beach scene, we see the symbolism: sun equals loss of mother, sun causes Meursault to pull the trigger. In case we don’t get it, though, Camus makes the connection explicit, writing, “It was the same sun as on the day I buried Maman and, like then, my forehead especially was hurting me, all of the veins pulsating together beneath the skin.” As the trigger gives way, so, too, does today, the beginning—through the loss of Maman—succumb to death, the end. This book helped me find parts of myself and old memories that I'd unfortunately forgotten. And for that I'm beyond grateful. The cover is fantastic. The content, too. The drawing were good and very imaginative. It was a pleasure to read. Given this complexity of translation, there is (understandably) a substantial academic field dedicated to the theory of translation. Many theorists suppose that exact translation is impossible. Some stress that form may be impossible to translate, but the focus should be on conveying the intention and meaning of the text. but there are plenty of others that so perfectly capture universal human experiences, it's a shame that there's no english (for example) equivalent that also encapsulates the situation in a single word:

What to know

So if Matthew Ward finally corrected the mother problem, what exactly has he, and the other translators, gotten wrong? Writing of “The Stranger” ’s first line in the Guardian, Guy Dammann says, “Some openers are so prescient that they seem to burn a hole through the rest of the book, the semantic resonance recurring with the persistence of the first theme in Beethoven’s fifth symphony.” Not far behind, though, is Maman. Reflective of Camus’s life, Meursault shares a unique relationship with his mother, due in part to her inability to communicate (Camus’s own mother was illiterate, partially deaf, and had trouble speaking). Both Camus and Meursault yearn for Maman, for her happiness and love, but find the expression of these emotions difficult. Rather than distancing mother from son, though, this tension puts Maman at the center of her son’s life. As the book opens, the loss of Maman places her between Meursault’s ability to live for today and his recognition of a time when there will no longer be a today.

Lost in Translation: A Novel: Mones, Nicole: 9780385319447

Commuovere — Italian v. To be moved in a heartwarming way, usually relating to a story that moved you to tears.

The tricky business of translation

Un libro curioso, insolito, in cui vengono presentate 50 parole (illustrate dai disegni deliziosamente infantili dell’autrice) con cui nelle diverse lingue si esprimono – con un’unica parola – stati d’animo particolari, piccoli gesti quotidiani, o anche concetti che richiederebbero ampie descrizioni per essere comunicati. MERAKI adj. Pouring yourself wholeheartedly into something, such as cooking, and doing so with soul, creativity and love. From Greek. It is not a surprise that Greeks have a word for this - a word to live by! This one was quite good, to be honest. There's also an Italian word inside. I would have never though that it's an untranslatable. But I can guarantee that it's used widely exactly for that meaning.