The Taste and Texture of Words

20 Awesomely Untranslatable Words from Around the World: "For myself, the hardest part about learning a new language isn’t so much getting acquainted with the translations of vocabulary and different grammatical forms and bases, but developing an inner reflex that responds to words’ texture, not their translated “ingredients”. When you hear the word “criminal” you don’t think of “one who commits acts outside the law,” but rather the feeling and mental imagery that comes with that word.

Thus these words, while standing out due to our inability to find an equivalent word in out own language, should not be appreciated for our own words that we try to use to describe them, but for their own taste and texture. Understanding these words should be like eating the best slab of smoked barbequeued ribs: the enjoyment doesn’t come from knowing what the cook put in the sauce or the seasoning, but from the full experience that can only be created by time and emotion."

That was Jason Wire, in a recent blog post for Matador Network. Many people know that I'm a quick study when it comes to learning languages. I think part of it is an ability to remember the "feel" of a word, when I hear it used. Although I've made some huge bloopers, I get into colloquial conversation much faster by recalling a word or phrase that "tastes" right for the context.

Do read Jason's article for the list of words. I think these words reveal so much about the cultural context: shadenfreude speaks to German humour, kyoikumama to Japanese competitiveness. One of my favourites is saudade, which I learned (and felt) in Mozambique.