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>there are many words that never translate well between languages Then it becomes a new word in that language. I think this is why english gains ground, becaus
by unabridged 9y ago
>there are many words that never translate well between languages
Then it becomes a new word in that language. I think this is why english gains ground, because it eats new words constantly.
- pjmlp 9y agoBecoming a new work won't be the same as in the original culture, just yet another case of lost in translation. You might translate saudade to mean home sick, missing someone, missing a place, missing an event, not being able to do something, feeling blue, among a few other possibilities. However none of them actually express 100% the same meaning as a native Portuguese speaker might be feeling when he/she says that word, because there is a mix of feelings and situations related in that single word. Or for example, the ways an Eskimo might describe a frozen landscape.
- Klockan 9y agoIt works, see for example smörgåsbord -> smorgasbord. They have exactly the same meaning.
- unabridged 9y agoBut after reading the definition I completely understand the meaning of it. And if saudade becomes popular enough, eventually it will be usable in everyday english. For example look at schadenfreude.