About Untranslatable.org
Untranslatable.org celebrates the thousands of small languages still spoken in the world today.
Why small languages?
Talk to a speaker of a major language and you'll quickly discover a cherished word that is apparently untranslatable. Portuguese has saudade (longing), German has schadenfreude (gloat), Dutch has gezellig (cosy), Greek has μεράκι (with passion), and so on. These are well known, so this site covers small languages and previously unreported words.
When we linguists journey to remote places, we record speakers of undescribed languages. In the process of compiling the first ever dictionaries for these languages, we stumble on intriguing words and ideas. At other times, our work has us delving into out-of-print dictionaries, and then we hit an entry that makes us laugh out loud.
When we linguists journey to remote places, we record speakers of undescribed languages. In the process of compiling the first ever dictionaries for these languages, we stumble on intriguing words and ideas. At other times, our work has us delving into out-of-print dictionaries, and then we hit an entry that makes us laugh out loud.
Why share untranslatable words?
They’re fun! They shed light on other cultures, reveal different patterns of thought, and spark our curiosity. Sometimes, they influence how we analyze and classify the world around us.
Untranslatable words from this site are featured in a recent article in Neon Magazine.
When they compiled their dictionary of Nootka, Edward Sapir and Morris Swadesh need not have included šiˑšaˑwiɬtaqyo "powered by a monstrous supernatural porcupine-like creature" because its meaning is predictable from its parts. But we think Sapir and Swadesh knew what they were doing as lexicographers, and that they chose to include this word because its meaning is so comical to westerners. So, following the example of Sapir and Swadesh, the linguists contributing to this site want to share more of these `untranslatable' words, and in the process, show why these small languages are distinctive, valuable, and powerful, each one a treasure for all the world.
Untranslatable words from this site are featured in a recent article in Neon Magazine.
When they compiled their dictionary of Nootka, Edward Sapir and Morris Swadesh need not have included šiˑšaˑwiɬtaqyo "powered by a monstrous supernatural porcupine-like creature" because its meaning is predictable from its parts. But we think Sapir and Swadesh knew what they were doing as lexicographers, and that they chose to include this word because its meaning is so comical to westerners. So, following the example of Sapir and Swadesh, the linguists contributing to this site want to share more of these `untranslatable' words, and in the process, show why these small languages are distinctive, valuable, and powerful, each one a treasure for all the world.
Shamelessly exoticising others?
Linguists deplore the "popular eagerness to embrace exotic facts about other people's languages without seeing the evidence".
– Geoffrey Pullum (1991) The great Eskimo vocabulary hoax, p276 (pdf)
On the other hand, I find it quite easy to imagine that if the word for STAND -- say, HALUC'KIP -- were used in the same ways in an indigenous language, then some writer somewhere might be telling classrooms that this word signals some complex, dynamic relationship between bodily position, conviction, toleration, nutrition, performativity, and trees.
– John McWhorter (2003) Mohawk philosophy lessons.
We walk a fine line: we celebrate popular interest in the exotic and while challenging the racism that lies behind it. This fascination with the exotic is the hook. We go further and invite visitors to this site to learn about real words, and the careful scholarship of the linguists who work so tirelessly to collect them.
– Geoffrey Pullum (1991) The great Eskimo vocabulary hoax, p276 (pdf)
On the other hand, I find it quite easy to imagine that if the word for STAND -- say, HALUC'KIP -- were used in the same ways in an indigenous language, then some writer somewhere might be telling classrooms that this word signals some complex, dynamic relationship between bodily position, conviction, toleration, nutrition, performativity, and trees.
– John McWhorter (2003) Mohawk philosophy lessons.
We walk a fine line: we celebrate popular interest in the exotic and while challenging the racism that lies behind it. This fascination with the exotic is the hook. We go further and invite visitors to this site to learn about real words, and the careful scholarship of the linguists who work so tirelessly to collect them.