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NPR : 'In Other Words': Translating the Untranslatable
"Linguist Christopher J. Moore has made a career of searching out some of the world's most 'untranslatable' expressions -- words from around the globe that defy an easy translation into English."

Heard this great, short segment on NPR this morning, interview the author of this book about "untranslatable" terms from various languages. I love the unique nuances of life various cultures have been captured in in phrase - terms like WabiSabi.

Here's a couble of choice terms from the interview:

• taarradhin [tah-rah-deen] (noun) - Arabic - Arabic has no word for "compromise" in the sense of reaching an arrangement via struggle and disagreement. But a much happier concept, taarradhin, exists in Arabic. It implies a happy solution for everyone, an "I win, you win." It's a way of resolving a problem without anyone losing face.
• meraki [may-rah-kee] (adjective) - Greek - This is a word that modern Greeks often use to describe doing something with soul, creativity, or love -- when you put "something of yourself" into what you're doing, whatever it may be. Meraki is often used to describe cooking or preparing a meal, but it can also mean arranging a room, choosing decorations, or setting an elegant table.

-- LynnwoodBrown - 20 Jan 2005

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