The Top 10 Relationship Words That Aren't Translatable Into English

Discussion in 'Linguistics' started by KilljoyKlown, Apr 26, 2012.

  1. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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  3. keith1 Guest

    Shhh....
    These feelings of open vulnerability (especially the La Douleur Exquise, which implies double for both sexes as, "a weakness of identification abilities" and the other end of the spectrum, "don't warn off my lovesick entourage, as I'm using them to keep my real interest jealous"

    "Discretionary censorship of terminology", that expose personal weakness, and expose levels of the "appearance of naive innocence" in others, and other shady ego schemes, are an English-speaking pastime.
     
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  5. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    Yeah! I liked that one too. For some reason I feel as if in my past I've had the painful feeling that was described. Your analysis does make a very good point, but could use some expanding to describe those continued feelings over time or is that covered by your jealous interest comment?

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  7. keith1 Guest

    "Having spare tires always available to rebound from a flat on the rough road of love." (Please never refer that back as my quote--anyway, it's not an American sentiment alone, I'm certain--and there is no terminology for it--it's not romantic enough for words

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    ).
     
  8. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    What do you think of this one?

    Forelsket: (Norwegian): The euphoria you experience when you’re first falling in love.

    This is a wonderful term for that blissful state, when all your senses are acute for the beloved, the pins and needles thrill of the novelty. There’s a phrase in English for this, but it’s clunky. It’s “New Relationship Energy,” or NRE.

    I definitely know about the euphoria part, but the "New Relationship Energy" is as new to me as is Forelsket, and I can't really think of any name I used to call it.
     
  9. scheherazade Northern Horse Whisperer Valued Senior Member

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    One may also experience this feeling of longing when there is a sudden and dramatic change in their life which has a profound experience on the relationship.

    Much remains the same, yet one longs for how things were before, and can never be....
     
  10. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    Maybe when I was much younger, but now the expectation of change is the norm even when it involves a big loss. I know I'm reaching an age where I might be out living friends and loved ones and have done much to resolve the feelings of loss before they happen.
     
  11. keith1 Guest

    smitten. sounds germanic.
    falling in love in an airplane: Messerschmidten
     
  12. wynn ˙ Valued Senior Member

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    On principle, anything can be said in any language. It may just require a bit more words to do so.

    The reasons why a word or a phrase has or develops a particular meaning that seems to be impossible to translate into another language in a simple word-to-word manner, are likely cultural.

    We can also observe how within the same language, words change their meanings over time, and also how some words come out of use altogether.

    Perhaps in some earlier period, a few hundred years ago, English, too, had simple words and phrases for those ten meanings mentioned in the OP, but over time, those words either changed their meaning or came out of use.


    Also see this, for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtly_love, note the development of the German word "Minne" and how the notion of "courtly love" apparently developed over time, as well as the historical controversies around it.
     
  13. scheherazade Northern Horse Whisperer Valued Senior Member

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    'Grieving in advance', I tend to think of such 'preparing oneself for the inevitable'.

    So much of our life and energy revolves around relationships and love....

    Seeking, finding, sharing, denied, unrequited, unattainable, and loss inevitable.

    Logical understanding and acceptance cannot completely hold one's emotions at bay and words do not adequately convey the complexity of emotions one may experience without becoming clumsy....
     
  14. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    I'm always reminded of my favorite quote from "Guiding Light."
    Optimism is a much better attitude. Yeah sure, if you expect the best and you get the worst, maybe you will feel a little tiny bit worse than if you had expected the worst all along, although after the first couple of days it will be just about the same. But for all those days, weeks, months, years before it happens, you will be much happier.

    If there's some planning you can do to reduce the impact, like stocking up on food for an earthquake, then by all means do it. And then put it out of your mind.

    There's no "planning" you can do to mitigate the impact of a broken heart. All you can do is avoid commitments, and that is the shittiest possible way to live.

    Live, love, take your lumps, come back and love again. The odds are that you'll find the right one before too long.
     
  15. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    Nothing hurts like love betrayed and the realization you've been played.

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    I don't know of a single word to express that in any language and I can't see anyone even wanting to express it in one word.
     
  16. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    I'm not sure 'grieving in advance' is quite right. The context I was thinking of is when your parents are getting closer to passing. 'preparing oneself for the inevitable' is a very good thing to do, painful as it may be.
     
  17. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    How soft are lives are here in the safe, opulent West. The worst thing that ever happens to most of us is being fired, losing a pet, or being dumped by a lover.

    Check with the folks in Baghdad.

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    Did you ask the Finns? The longest word in their language is generally agreed to be lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas, something to do with aircraft maintenance. And no, I can't make that space go away if you're seeing it too. It's all one word.
    If you know for absolute certainty that something is going to happen, then of course it's reasonable to prepare for it.

    Hell, even if it's a 50/50 chance or one in ten, we still do it. After all, that's why everybody has (or should have!) insurance.

    But to go into every relationship with all your defenses up, afraid that it will end badly, is not the same thing. The other person will surely pick up on the attitude, if only unconsciously, and it will then play a role in shaping the relationship.

    Besides, even Warren Buffett's company doesn't sell broken-heart insurance.
     
  18. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    Now you tell me.

    Anyway have you ever heard someone try and pronounce that Finnish word?

    lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliups eerioppilas

    My spell checker really doesn't like it.

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  19. wynn ˙ Valued Senior Member

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    Yeah, there should be a word for the feeling that accompanies the above idea.
     
  20. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    I don't think I've ever heard anyone speak Finnish. But I know that their alphabet is compulsively phonetic. The double vowels are actually twice as long as the single ones. Go through it slowly and I'm sure a Finn would understand you.
    How about "serial optimism?" That way it's not limited to matters of the heart.
     
  21. quadraphonics Bloodthirsty Barbarian Valued Senior Member

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    It doesn't help that the Finns are famous for speaking little-or-not-at-all in the first place. My Finnish acquaintances always answer everything with grunts, or even just head movements. Trying to hold a consversation with them is like pulling teeth.

    In other news, I like how the OP says these words aren't translatable into English, and then links to a site that translates every single one of them into English so that we can understand what they mean. Okay I'm being picky - the point is there is no single-word English equivalent - but I when I initially opened the link I thought the idea was that they had found concepts that were literally unexpressable in English. Should have known better.
     
  22. KilljoyKlown Whatever Valued Senior Member

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    Who's to say how accurate those translations were? Could be only close approximations. Anyway I thought they could be a good subject to talk about.
     
  23. Pete It's not rocket surgery Registered Senior Member

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    First World Problems

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    I thought it was a really bad kerning problem, but no... it seems that a space is inserted after 50 characters. Odd.
    Putting it in a code block is a workaround:
    Code:
    [b]lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas[/b]
    I'm sure Plasma Inferno would fix it if you message him.
     

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