Words hardest to translate
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Words that have rich cultural connotations and overtones often cause problems for translators because such words may not have a direct or concise translation in the target language. Words hardest to translate was a list of words compiled by Today Translations, attempting to identify some of the words that are hardest to translate.
The list by Today Translations
Words hardest to translate (Today Translations, June 2004) was a list of words reported as being the world's most difficult words to translate. The British company surveyed 1,000 linguists to create the list. According to Jurga Zilinskiene (head of Today Translations), the difficulty in translating the words identified by the survey is not finding the meaning of these words, but conveying their cultural connotations and overtones. Not all of the words in the list were legitimate. Some of them turned out to be mistakes and hoaxes.
The ten non-English words that were voted hardest to translate
- ilunga
- (Bantu language of Tshiluba for "a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time"). However, there is no independent evidence that the word actually means what the translation company claims. When asked for confirmation by one reporter, representatives of the Congo government recognized the word only as a personal name. Furthermore, the translation company failed to respond to inquiries regarding the survey.
- shlimazl
- (שלימזל) (Yiddish for a chronically unlucky person)
- radiostukacz
- (Polish for a person who worked as a telegraphist for the resistance movements on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain) It is not a real word, only a mistake or a hoax..
- naa
- (なぁ or なー) (Japanese word only used in the Kansai (関西) area of Japan, especially in Osaka (大阪府), to emphasize statements or agree with someone)
- altahmam
- (Arabic for a kind of deep sadness †)
- gezellig
- (Dutch for cosy †)
- saudade
- (Portuguese for a certain type of longing †)
- selathirupavar
- (ெசல்லாதிருப்பவர்) (Tamil for a certain type of truancy †)
- pochemuchka
- (почемучка) (Russian for a person who asks a lot of questions)
- klloshar
- (Albanian for loser †)
The ten English words that were voted hardest to translate
- plenipotentiary †
- gobbledegook †
- serendipity †
- poppycock †
- googly †
- spam †
- whimsy †
- bumf †
- chuffed †
- kitsch †
(For a definition in wiktionary, follow the †.)
Theory
Objects unknown to a culture can actually be easy to translate. For example, in Japanese, "わさび" is a plant (Wasabia japonica) used as a spicy Japanese condiment. Traditionally, this plant only grows in Japan. It would be unlikely that someone from Brazil (for example) would have a clear understanding of it. However, the easiest way to translate this word is to "borrow" it. Or you can use a similar vegetable's name to describe it. In English this word is translated into wasabi or Japanese horseradish. In Chinese, people can still call it "わさび" by its Japanese sound, or pronounce it by its Kanji characters "山葵" (pinyin: shan1 kui2). Horseradish is not usually seen in Eastern Asia; people may parallel it with mustard. Hence, in some places, "yellow mustard" refers to imported mustard sauce; "green mustard" refers to wasabi.
From English to non-English
Hebrew
have - There is no verb for this in Hebrew. Hebrew uses a combination of words that mean "There is to me"
Russian
The Russian language uses a similar construction to Hebrew to replace the verb 'to have'. The phrase means literally "at me/you/he/she/they there is"
From non-English to English
Russian
пошлость n., /posh-lost'/ roughly means a mixture of banality, commonality, vulgarity. Владимир Владимирович Набоков (Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov) mentions it as one of hardest Russian words to translate precisely into English.
See also
Reference
- MacIntyre, Ben. Why do Koreans say "a biscuit would be nice" instead of "I want a biscuit"?, The Times, August 21, 2004.