Words the English Language needs

[Ban]

There are loads of useful words that in my opinion require an English translation and should be introduced to the language. Good thing that we're writers here, so we can add them ourselves. I encourage people who are familiar with languages other than English to add suggestions of their own to this discussion. I shall start with some observations I have from Dutch and Limburgish.

In Dutch we have a word called "jarig", which refers to the state of having one's birthday. One can not only be "jarig" but also feel "jarig", with the associated emotion of the latter being an indicator of one's perspective towards aging. The younger you are the more being "jarig" is a positive, and the older you are the less likely you will experience it as such. "Birthdayish" could be a translation.

A classic "untranslatable" Dutch word is "gezellig", which can refer to both a cozy location as well as amicable company. Good conversations with friends are considered "gezellig" just as well as a warm seat by the fire on a cold night. The word refers to the general atmosphere of these matters, being synonymous with a warm, pleasant, cozy and enjoyable feeling, which English so far lacks a unified word for.

Then there are simple ease-of-use words like eergisteren (the day before yesterday) and overmorgen (the day after tomorrow). So much easier to just use one word instead of three.

Finally in Limburgish we have the greatest word of all: "Enne." This word can be used as an introduction, an encouragement to continue a story and as a genuine inquiry. If someone says so and so did such and such, you can just ask "Enne?" and they'll continue their story. It's so immensely versatile and cuts through needless chit-chat. You see an acquaintance in passing? Just say enne (raising your chin in acknowledgement) and receive an "Ouch enne?" in return. Boom, you're done. If you wish to make a conversation out of it, you may. If not, the brief exchange of "enne's" is sufficient. Clean and efficient.

 

[Finchbearer]

I like hearing about words that are not translatable to English!

Maybe we (English) have a few?

Winnow - separating the grain from the chaff
Mizzle - not quite rain not quite mist
Petrichor - the smell of the earth after a rain

Can’t think of any more cause I’m not bilingual!

 

[Ban]

Afraid those are all translatable. Petrichor exists in Dutch as well, winnow is "wannen" and mizzle is "miezer".

 

[Fyri]

Adding!

Sisu: Finnish word for a certain kind of grit and determination. A strength.

Komorebi: Japanese word for sunlight filtering through forest leaves

 

[Finchbearer]

A quick google tells me that serendipity is not translatable.

 

[Ban]

A quick google tells me that serendipity is not translatable.

We have serendipiteit, though it's a loanword from English, so I'll give you this one

 

[Finchbearer]

You can thank Google for that one, but I thought maybe Shakespeare and Chaucer would have given us some unique words?

We just need some more bilingual people to come on here and contribute.

 

[Fyri]

Hmmm.

Pluviophile? A person that loves rain?

Also, I've heard that wanderlust is a word unique to English.

Also also: Finnish and other, hm, snowy languages? Have multiple words for types of snow. Soft snow. Crunchy snow. Powder snow.

 

[Ban]

For wanderlust we have reislust, though that's more specific in the sense that it refers to a desire to travel, not the need to wander that wanderlust implies. I'd count it for Dutch, but other languages may have a 1 to 1 equivalent.

 

[skip.knox]

A close relative of gezellig is gemütlich, which carries much the same connotation. I first encountered it reading about Augsburg's "gemütlich Revolution" in the 14thc. So named because it was largely peaceful, in contrast to the quite violent urban revolts elsewhere during that century. While Gemütlichkeit might get translated as "comfort" or "ease" or even "friendliness", none of those words really captures the resonance of the German.

It's funny that gezellig derives from Geselle. I figure the shift comes from drunken parties among journeymen. <g>

It's also funny that when I looked at the Wikipedia article for gezellig, down at the bottom is a link to "untranslatability". *chortle*

 

[Ban]

A close relative of gezellig is gemütlich, which carries much the same connotation. I first encountered it reading about Augsburg's "gemütlich Revolution" in the 14thc. So named because it was largely peaceful, in contrast to the quite violent urban revolts elsewhere during that century. While Gemütlichkeit might get translated as "comfort" or "ease" or even "friendliness", none of those words really captures the resonance of the German.

It's funny that gezellig derives from Geselle. I figure the shift comes from drunken parties among journeymen. <g>

It's also funny that when I looked at the Wikipedia article for gezellig, down at the bottom is a link to "untranslatability". *chortle*

Oh I know gemütlich well (I do live near the border after all), and we use it in Dutch as well under the term "gemoedelijk". Although they are similar, there's a difference between gemoedelijk/gemütlich and gezellig. Gemütlich has a quaintness and comfort to it, which gezellig does not. Gezellig is more so about the warmth and companionship than gemoedelijk.

Your suggestion on the geselle relation is correct. In Dutch a group of people can be a "gezelschap" which gezellig is related to.

 

[Karlin]

Hebrew has a word "Hesed", which is usually translated as "kindness" or "loving-kindness". The translations do not quite get the meaning right, as "Hesed" implies commitment, while 'kindness' doesn't- it's more like doing someone a favor.

 

[Finchbearer]

Ban do you always write in English? Or if you can just do a translation either way, does you your writing ever lose its integrity or meaning?

If you find languages fascinating you might like Babel by R F Kuang

 

[Ban]

I write in English, Dutch and Limburgish. In terms of translation these three languages are near enough to each other to not form an excessive hassle. At times there are words which can't be translated or would lose meaning if done so, but prose is not as constrained as poetry. When writing prose, a sentence can replace a word if need be. When writing poetry, I restrict myself to one language, because meter and rhyme are often too difficult to bridge.

 

[Fyri]

I write in English, Dutch and Limburgish. In terms of translation these three languages are near enough to each other to not form an excessive hassle. At times there are words which can't be translated or would lose meaning if done so, but prose is not as constrained as poetry. When writing prose, a sentence can replace a word if need be. When writing poetry, I restrict myself to one language, because meter and rhyme are often too difficult to bridge.

Yeah, I've tried translating songs before. Sometimes you have to replace a whole sentence with something else with different meaning but similar feeling to fit the verse. It has its own fun, but pros and cons.

 

[Rexenm]

I have some made up words. Transdiction, meaning something like impasse, but where the conversation can go further. Memeplex, where the user will know the constraints of a propaganda system, weapons of mass destruction being an example. Insilicle, meaning cyclical, but predictive. Demology, meaning something like demographics, but the complete understanding of the reasons surrounding it. I found these whilst trawling the internet for manipulation tactics.

 

[Prince of Spires]

The easiest solution is to simply transplant these words into english. Half of the english language has already been stolen from other languages anyway, so a few more words wont make a difference. So to all English natives, start using gezellig, eergisteren, and sisu in your everyday language.

 

[Finchbearer]

The easiest solution is to simply transplant these words into english. Half of the english language has already been stolen from other languages anyway, so a few more words wont make a difference. So to all English natives, start using gezellig, eergisteren, and sisu in your everyday language.

Interesting choice of word in using ‘stolen’. Perhaps a better way to put it is borrowed. Thousands of years of migration and colonisation to thank for a blended language such as English.

 

[pmmg]

I'd say more, absorbed, cause I don't think we will ever give them back.

My German friend has said many times there is no English word for 'schadenfreude', which means 'taking mirth at another's misfortune'. He uses it often enough that I know it.

These things tend to happen organically. I don't know that just by me saying a foreign word a little more frequently will be enough to get it added.

What I personally dont like with when it seems there is an effort to change the way a word has been pronounced. Every now in then this happens. Like a switch is thrown in some news room and they are all on the spot changing the way they say it. Harassment become Harrisment, and Kiev become Keev... I just find it pedantic.

I also think words are used to disguise and re-frame things in ways that attempt to prevent investigation of what is really true, particularly in political circles. Like, if I can control the word choice, I can prevent a discussion which goes places that keep my side from looking bad. And so...there is no real discussion going on, cause there no agreement on terms, and there is no acceptance of artificial frames. I think, if I had a magic wand that could fix the world, one of the things I would do is call from an exact meaning of words...cause really, words never exactly mean anything, and in truth, words are insufficient to capture what is really being meant.

Words are tricky. One of the difficulties with incorporating new words in English is that 1) there are others ways to say the same thing 2) if the word is completely unknown, there is no thought as to why it is needed.


For my own writing, I have made up many words. Some are just proper nouns, some of just adding suffixes and prefixes where there was none before, and a few are just completely made up. I don't know that I have a list. They probably wont catch on.

One word I find I am stumbling on recently is Dis-ease. I'd like to say something like, the cave left him with a feeling of 'Dis-ease', as opposed to, the cave gave him a feeling of 'unease'. Seems like it should work, 'Dis' being the opposite of, and 'Ease' being comfortable, but obviously 'Disease' means sick or sickness, so.... I cant write it that way. I find I leaves me having to write around this when it would flow better if I did not have to.

 

[Finchbearer]

Hmm I’m not sure borrowed is the right word either, absorbed is better, or evolved?

The British Isles were colonised by the Romans, then the Norsemen, then the Normans, and we have always become a ‘mongrel nation’. I don’t know what’s so attractive about these damp little isles, but there you go.