Translation of the Untranslatable Words

by Target Language Translation Services

- December 30 2021

As a linguists, chances are you might be familiar with some words, phrases and concepts that do not exist in another language—often regarded as “untranslatable”.

Untranslatable moments occur when a vocabulary or word cannot encapsulate the cultural context of a particular word from another language. In other words, the equivalent word or idea does not exist in another language.

Several books and articles have been written on how words cannot say everything all the time. As Friedrich Nietzsche said, words symbolize the relationship between things and people but they do not pertain to the inviolable truth.

Translation, according to some writers, is an underappreciated art. It is a complex multilingual gymnastics, to show that words belong to one another. Words reveal many things about the conditions of human beings. Foreign words are rich and their meanings are layered that despite the unusual vocabulary of the English language, many of these concepts are almost untranslatable.

About Untranslatable Words

In fact, untranslatable words are what make languages unique and worth the arduous attempts of translation.

There is so much that we can gain from navigating the jungle gym of the untranslatable word.

Imagine how boring it would be if there was an exact translation for every word in every language, or if there were no culturally specific references attached to a word.

More importantly, the phrase becomes devoid of any linguistic and cultural uniqueness—rendering different languages or cultures pointless.

Thankfully, over 7,000 languages in the world account for the varying breadths, depths and nuances of our existence and way of life.

Because of our diversity, certain phrases are therefore specific and require more effort and thoughtfulness to translate. The act of translating an untranslatable word is not just a technical concern to convey specific ideas and context behind a word. It can also unravel a plethora of meaning behind a culture.

How Do Translators Do It?

It is fascinating to discover the relationship between words and their meaning. Linguists are experts in translating words, ideas and concepts from a source language to a target language. They take words apart to discover why there are various ideas and feeling built into them that some words cannot describe.

However, even the best of them could be stumped when they encounter words that are difficult to translate due to differences in cultures.

Each culture has its own concepts, ideas and terms that do not have an exact equivalent in English and other languages. Let’s take a look at the translation techniques used by linguists that allow us to appreciate such specific cultural nuances.

Adaptation: The resident cultural expert

Adaptation -- also called “free translation” -- is when the linguists uses other words or phrases in the target language deemed appropriate to convey the context and essence of the original phrase. There are many instances when a linguist might use this technique—namely when the direct translation doesn’t give contextual meaning, or when there is no direct translation for the word.

Adoption: Getting creative with vernacular

When literal or free translation fails, translators often turn to borrowing words from other languages to best illustrate the word.

It is always exciting to see word adoption into another language when the essence of a word is so unique that it cannot be captured otherwise.

The act of adopting a word can therefore implore us to consider how translations can be creative and reflect a community’s understanding of foreign concepts.

Some Untranslatable Expressions

Here are some of the world's most "untranslatable" expressions -- words from around the globe that defy an easy translation into English.

Arabic

taarradhin [tah-rah-deen] (noun)

Arabic has no word for "compromise" in the sense of reaching an arrangement via struggle and disagreement. But a much happier concept, taarradhin, exists in Arabic. It implies a happy solution for everyone, an "I win, you win." It's a way of resolving a problem without anyone losing face.

Chinese

guanxi (Mandarin) [gwan-shee] (noun)

This is one of the essential ways of getting things done in traditional Chinese society. To build up good guanxi, you do things for people such as give them gifts, take them to dinner, or grant favors. Conversely, you can also "use up" your guanxi with someone by calling in favors owed. Once a favor is done, an unspoken obligation exists. Maybe because of this, people often try to refuse gifts, because, sooner or later, they may have to repay the debt. However the bond of guanxi is rarely acquitted, because once the relationship exists, it sets up an endless process that can last a lifetime.

Czech

litost [lee-tosht] (noun)

This is an untranslatable emotion that only a Czech person would suffer from, defined by Milan Kundera as "a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one's own misery." Devices for coping with extreme stress, suffering, and change are often special and unique to cultures and born out of the meeting of despair with a keen sense of survival.

French

esprit de I'escalier [es-pree de less-ka/-iay] (idiom)

A witty remark that occurs to you too late, literally on the way down the stairs. The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations defines esprit de l'escalier as, "An untranslatable phrase, the meaning of which is that one only thinks on one's way downstairs of the smart retort one might have made in the drawing room."

German

korinthenkacker [core-in-ten-cuck-er] (noun)

A "raisin pooper" -- that is, someone so taken up with life's trivial detail that they spend all day crapping raisins. You can spot these types a mile off -- it's that irritating pen pusher or filing fanatic whose favorite job is tidying up the stationery cupboard.

Greek

meraki [may-rah-kee] (adjective)

This is a word that modern Greeks often use to describe doing something with soul, creativity, or love -- when you put "something of yourself" into what you're doing, whatever it may be. Meraki is often used to describe cooking or preparing a meal, but it can also mean arranging a room, choosing decorations, or setting an elegant table.

Japanese

tatemae [tah-tay-mye] (noun)

A term often translated as "form," but it also has the specific cultural meaning of "the reality that everyone professes to be true, even though they may not privately believe it." For privately held views, the Japanese have a different term, honne, meaning, "the reality that you hold inwardly to be true, even though you would never admit it publicly." The British civil servant muttering the reproach "bad form, old boy" over a drink in the club, may be expressing something very close to the quality of tatamae.

Spanish

duende [dwen-day] (adjective)

This wonderful word captures an entire world of passion, energy, and artistic excellence and describes a climactic show of spirit in a performance or work of art. Duende originally meant "imp" or "goblin" and came to mean anything magical. It now has a depth and complexity of meaning that crosses artistic borders, from flamenco dancing to bullfighting. The Spanish poet Garcia Lorca wrote an eloquent essay on duende that explores the complex and inspirational flavor of its sense, and I know no better introduction.

This article is reprinted from NPR, jala and Day Translations.

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