For a professional global translator, there is a general notion that an expertise in languages is all you need to carry a message across different languages. However, every language has words we can describe as “unicorns.” They may not have a direct translation because they are particular to one language and culture. In fact, certain colloquialisms or slang might only apply to that geography or that community. As a result, the only way to transfer certain words to another language and convey true meaning is by providing a brief explanation.
Even the best translation services company comes across ‘unicorn’ vocabulary. Around the world, there is an enormous amount of vocabulary that lacks a direct translation and therefore can only be explained. In this sense, it begs the question how does an interpreting services provider for a conference or a business interpreter work with these words? In these cases, they must be agile and resourceful in order to capture the idea and convey the concept concisely. Below is a list of vocabulary a global translator might struggle to define from around the world:
Hyggelig: Is a Danish adjective to describe the combination of everything caring, friendly and safe. Although in English you might say intimate or cozy, the Danes’ notion of ‘hyggelig’ has a deeper connotation than either of those English words.
Cafuné: In Brazilian Portuguese, this means running your fingers tenderly through the hair of a person or child. There isn’t an easily available one-word equivalent for a global translator to use for such a verb.
Age-Otori: In Japanese, this means “To look worse after a haircut.” There is no single, clear term for something so commonplace and tragic.
Torschlusspanik: In German, this term means the fear people have of losing opportunities as they age. This phenomenon is also called, ”gate-closing panic,” which they term as torschlusspanik.
Tingo: This is a word used in one of the Easter Island languages, Pascuense. It describes the act of someone who covets what his or her friends have by slowly borrowing all the items they desire. The word they use is tingo.
Tartle: This word describes the moment when you are about to introduce someone, but you’ve momentarily forgotten the person’s name. The Scottish word for it is tartle.
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