Here’s a follow-up to a 2013 post about words and phrases that don’t have an equivalent in other languages. (“In Sweden, mangata is the word for the roadlike reflection the moon casts on the water. In Finland there’s a word for the distance reindeer can travel comfortably before taking a break: poronkusema.”)
Now Maria Popova at Brain Pickings has posted about a book that offers more on the subject. It’s Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Catalog of Beautiful Untranslatable Words from Around the World. It’s by Ella Frances Sanders, the artist who did the illustrations that were in my original post.
“Beautifully elusive words is what writer and illustrator Ella Frances Sanders, a self-described ‘intentional’ global nomad, explores in Lost in Translation,” reports Popova. …
“From the Japanese for leaving a book unread after buying it to the … Italian for being moved to tears by a story to the Welsh for a sarcastic smile, the words Sanders illustrates dance along the entire spectrum of human experience, gently reminding us that language is what made us human.
“In addition to the charming illustrations and sheer linguistic delight, the project is also a subtle antidote to our age of rapid communication that flattens nuanced emotional expression into textual shorthand and tyrannical clichés. These words, instead, represent not only curiosities of the global lexicon but also a rich array of sentiments, emotions, moods, and cultural priorities from a diverse range of heritage.”
I’m remembering that a while back, Erik explained a few Swedish idioms to me (something about an owl in the moss?), and I tried them out on his parents when they visited. I could tell at once from their blank looks that the phrases were indeed untranslatable!
Art: Ella Frances Sanders
An illustration of an untranslatable Norwegian word.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
In Swedish “Pålegg” is spelled “pålägg” and it has got many different meanings, not only topping on bread in general. It is also used in words like “påläggskalv” which means that you got a special chance to move up in an organisation — “an up- and- coming- man” sometimes even a woman. (In the future I hope more of the last…) Then it means also extra charge.
Next time I see you, I hope you will tell me how to pronounce it. I will need it. I think it applies to all our grandchildren — up and coming!
Yes. I will. You will need it both for a man and a woman.
This sounds like a wonderful book–anything that celebrates the richness and diversity of human communication gets my vote.
I’m going to try to be more alert to untranslatable English expressions. It might be fun to collect a few and write a post on them.