TED translators Dick Lundgren and Els De Keyser with the “21 untranslatable words” tray, at the Open Translation Project workshop before TEDGlobal 2012, June 24, 2012, Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo: Ryan Lash
On the weekend before TEDGlobal began, 22 volunteer translators converged from around the world to talk all day about translating TEDTalks. Among them, these 22 volunteers have translated more than 3,000 TEDTalks — part of a project to share TED in 88 languages and counting.
To celebrate, designer Dick Lundgren (who’s also a TED translator) made up this cool tray, covered in “untranslatable” words from 21 languages. The full word list (with definitions) is below …
21 Words Worth Spreading
Dutch:
pretoogjes: ‘fun-eyes,’ the eyes of a chuckling person
who is up to
some benign mischief
ˈprɛto:xjəs
Polish
bakalie: any dried fruit, nuts, and candied citrus peel used in baking or added to ice cream
baˈkaljɛ
Croatian
milozvučan: having a voice that sounds nice and sweet
milozʋutʃan
Serbian
мерак: pleasure derived from simple joys, such as spending time feasting and merrymaking
mɛ̌raːk
Norwegian
dugnad: a planned (semi-)volunteer work session in/for a community or local interest group
du:gnad
Spanish
sobremesa: the time spent after lunch or dinner, talking to people you shared the meal with
so.bre.mé.sa
French
savoir-être: knowing-how-to-be, soft skills, the relational equivalent of savoir-vivre
savwarˈɛtr
Czech
panenka: a trick to confuse your opponent, named after Panenka’s surprising penalty in the 1976 European Championship
ˈpanɛŋka
Bulgarian
чародей: an arch-Bulgarian wizard, magician, sorcerer, necromancer, enchanter
ˈt∫arodei
Russian
тьмутаракань: the back of beyond, the middle of nowhere, the underdeveloped depths of the country
tjmʊtərəˈkanj
Greek
φιλότιμο: ‘friend-honour,’ to respect and honour your friends, the quintessence of Greeks
fiˈlɔtimɔ
Italian
fattapposta: ‘made-on-purpose’: passkey of Italian conversation, can mean any object, especially when clarified by a gesture
fat.tapˈpɔsta
Thai
tɕāj: sincere kindness and willingness to help others, even before they asked, without expecting something in return
náːm
Japanese
いただきます: a phrase to start a meal with gratitude to all: from cooks and farmers to lives to be eaten
itadakimasu
Swedish
mångata: a roadlike reflection of the moon in the water
moːnɡɑːta
Klingon
Qapla’: “Success” or “good luck” often used as an exclamation or in parting (“farewell”)
qχɑpˈlaʔ
Latin
aemulatio: Roman alternative to plagiarism: to show respect for literary predecessors by delivering an improved version of their work
aimuˈlaːtiɔː
Arabic
mo:ru:ɐ: the peak of manhood, a mixture of bravery and kindness
mo:ru:ɐ
Chinese
yù: jade, a five-stroke character representing five virtues: benevolence, righteousness, bravery, wisdom, trustworthiness
yù
Armenian
χatʃkɑɹ: ‘cross-stone’, a carved, memorial stele bearing a cross
χatʃkɑɹ
Urdu
goya: a contemplative “as-if” which nonetheless feels like reality
goya
22 TED translators, plus TED staff, pose with their “21 untranslatable words” platters during the Open Translation Project workshop before TEDGlobal 2012, June 24, 2012, Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo: Ryan Lash
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Alexander Frey commented on Jan 16 2013
Here are some more words that you can add to the list:
-Geisterfahrer (German) literately means ”ghost driver” and refers to someone who is driving on the opposite or wrong side of the road.
-Manja (Malay) Refers to the childlike behavior of a woman in order to be pampered by the man.
Forelsket (Norwegian) Refers to the euphoric feeling of falling in love at the beginning of a relationship.
See http://www.language-united.com/non-existent-words.html for some more words.
commented on Nov 21 2012
Reblogged this on manyminimusings and commented:
As someone who speaks other languages and dialects, I can definitely relate to having words you just can’t translate in English with an equivalent
Martino Sorbaro commented on Sep 17 2012
I’m sorry to tell you that the word “fattapposta” does not exist in Italian, as you can verify with online dictionaries such as
http://dizionari.hoepli.it/Dizionario_Italiano.aspx?idD=1
http://dizionari.corriere.it/dizionario_italiano/
We use the phrase “fatta apposta”, but it’s not true it can mean any object. And the gesture thing is not true, and derives from a prejudice.
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Anwar Dafa-Alla commented on Jul 16 2012
Keep going…
Kelli Stein commented on Jun 28 2012
From American Sign Language (written here in English gloss): TRAIN-GO-SORRY. It’s used when someone has just joined a conversation and too much information has been shared for anyone to be able to go back and fill in the new person.
Brian Barker commented on Jun 28 2012
For those who think Klingon should be the future international language please see
Nevena Karanovic commented on Jun 27 2012
“Merak” is not a Serbian word, but Turkish, and it’s not even as widespread in Serbia as it is in Bosnia and Macedonia…
Evgeniy Beloshytskiy commented on Jun 26 2012
Indeed, TEDTalks are sometimes a real test for translators and I find it great! If I were a Minister of Education and Science I would introduce original TEDTalks in the curriculum of English in Ukrainian shools.
Cesar Ca11ao commented on Jun 26 2012
Saudade – Portuguese. It is a feeling for a moment in history that feels as alive today as when it was experienced, but best left in our memories. It is beyond missing, craving, or longing. You can share openly as if it were universal.
Felix Malmenbeck commented on Jun 25 2012
Qapla’, mughwI’pu’ quv! {Success, honored translators!}
Dianne Brooke commented on Jun 25 2012
I love this… I wish I could pronounce them in English so that I may incorporate them into conversations! Thank you for sharing.
John Whipple commented on Jun 26 2012
Dianne, I’m sure you see the phonetic symbols, like in the Klingon one where it’s written ” qχɑpˈlaʔ “. The link below takes you to an interactive chart where you can find and here each sound. The International Phonetic Alphabet has a fascinating story and I’d love to hear a TED talk on it.
John Whipple commented on Jun 26 2012
Thanks to the University of Victoria
http://web.uvic.ca/ling/resources/ipa/charts/IPAlab/IPAlab.htm
Sueli Brodin commented on Jun 25 2012
Thank you for this beautiful, inspirational list! I would like to share another word, which I discovered through Ridley Scott’s Life in a Day documentary film. It’s the word “mamihlapinatapai”, from the now almost extinct indigenous Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, which means “that moment or feeling when two people both want to initiate something but neither wants to be the one to start it.” I find it very moving. (See Life in a Day: http://youtu.be/JaFVr_cJJIY, at 0:51:36)
commented on Jun 29 2012
Wonderful!
Marco Lavagnino commented on Jul 12 2012
I’m from Argentina and in our schools they don’t even teach the existence of that tribe. Thank you for sharing it, it’s a beautiful concept :)