Status
Available
Publication
New York : Walker Pub., 2004.
Description
"Ever racked your brain for a word you're convinced should exist, yet is inexplicably absent from the dictionary? All languages have their limitations-should English fall short, the expression may lie elsewhere. That's where this book comes in: a quirky, international lexicon of linguistic gems that capture cultural untranslatables with satisfying precision. Take for example the Japanese yoko meshi, "a meal eaten sideways," describing the experience of trying to communicate in an alien tongue, or mono-no-aware, the appreciation of life's sadness. From the distinctive coziness of the Danish hygge, to the unrestrained dis of the Mayan bol ("in-laws" and "stupidity"), to the profound collectivism of the Zulu concept of ubuntu (roughly, "I AM because WE ARE"), these mots justes are grouped according to language and prefaced with insightful overviews of the relevant cultures by linguist Christopher J. Moore. Embellished with 20 entertaining new untranslatable words and phrases and 90 characterful color illustrations by Lan Truong, and with a foreword by Simon Winchester, In Other Words is amusing, profound, and unputdownable--a gorgeously packaged gift book to entertain even the most well-versed polyglot with marvels of language from around the world."--Amazon.com.… (more)
Media reviews
Kanske reagerar jag med viss övermättnad, som efter att ha ätit för mycket tårta, helt enkelt för att jag har läst igenom boken. Förvisso är den säkert mest nöjsam som uppslagsbok
User reviews
LibraryThing member bibliobibuli
English is a language with kleptomanic tendencies and has appropriated vocabulary from just about every corner of the globe it has come into contact with. And for good reason – contact with different cultures brings English into contact with ideas and concepts that are new. Some terms just cannot
This book is a collection of around 250 “untranslatables”, collected from over 55 countries. As editor CJ Moore explains the words are chosen randomly and he has made no attempt to be exhaustive either in language or in words. He draws on the work of linguists across the globe to take the reader on a tour of cultures as diverse as Hopi Indian and along the way drops in fascinating cultural and historical notes. The result is a quirky little book that is great fun to dip into and Moore’s writing is entertaining rather than pedantic.
It’s impossible to read this book and not acquire a few new favourites. I loved “did baagh baagh ho – gaya” - “my heart is become a garden” and the Greek word "meraki" which means doing something with soul, creativity and love and "craic" which is essentially an Irish get-together but now means a combination of all the elements adding up to a good time.
It isn’t often that I rave about the physical appearance of a book, but this little volume is as pleasing aesthetically as it is for its contents. The layout is attractive, the book feels good in the hands and Neil Packer's illustrations which look like papercuts are charming. This book is a keeper, or an ideal Christmas stocking filler for word lover.
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be directly translated because these is just no English equivalent. And such expressions give a window into the culture which coined them.This book is a collection of around 250 “untranslatables”, collected from over 55 countries. As editor CJ Moore explains the words are chosen randomly and he has made no attempt to be exhaustive either in language or in words. He draws on the work of linguists across the globe to take the reader on a tour of cultures as diverse as Hopi Indian and along the way drops in fascinating cultural and historical notes. The result is a quirky little book that is great fun to dip into and Moore’s writing is entertaining rather than pedantic.
It’s impossible to read this book and not acquire a few new favourites. I loved “did baagh baagh ho – gaya” - “my heart is become a garden” and the Greek word "meraki" which means doing something with soul, creativity and love and "craic" which is essentially an Irish get-together but now means a combination of all the elements adding up to a good time.
It isn’t often that I rave about the physical appearance of a book, but this little volume is as pleasing aesthetically as it is for its contents. The layout is attractive, the book feels good in the hands and Neil Packer's illustrations which look like papercuts are charming. This book is a keeper, or an ideal Christmas stocking filler for word lover.
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LibraryThing member Othemts
This would be a good reference book more so than reading it end to end. The book is a lexicon of words in different languages across the world and in the past that define specific things for which there is no word in English. Some of the words seem eminently useful and others are fantastically
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specific or rooted in the culture. Show Less
LibraryThing member PuddinTame
This is intended as a collection of words, not in English, that convey concepts that are unfamiliar, or simply not so succinctly put. The book is divided into section by language or geography, with separate sections on indiginous languages and creoles & pidgins. Pronunciation is given, although I
Moore seems to be seeking to introduce other cultures, as much as different words. I am not quite certain how to take his generalizations about national character. Presumably for this reason, he introduces a lot of idiomatic expressions, as well as individual words. Around the same time that I got this book, I got Made in Japan, about Japanese commercial art. Makes me somewhat skeptical that something that doesn't have "wabi", tranquility, isn't Japanese.
I don't find this one of the best of its type. For one thing, I find Moore's introductions somewhat patronizing, not the least to English speakers. He also includes a number of works, like yinyang, Schadenfreude, demi-monde and guru that I think are already part of the English-speaking vocabulary. He sometimes explains the meaning in terms of English-language idioms that aren't familiar to me.
This is interesting, but not the first book that I would buy.
Interested readers might also want to check out They Have a Word For It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases by Howard Rheingold, and The Meaning of Tingo: and Other Extraordinary Words from Around the World by Adam Jacot de Boinod. (tingo: to take all the objects one desires from the house of a friend, one at a time, by borrowing them.)
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had understood that "feng shui" is pronounced more like "fung schway" than "feng shoo-ay". The book includes an index.Moore seems to be seeking to introduce other cultures, as much as different words. I am not quite certain how to take his generalizations about national character. Presumably for this reason, he introduces a lot of idiomatic expressions, as well as individual words. Around the same time that I got this book, I got Made in Japan, about Japanese commercial art. Makes me somewhat skeptical that something that doesn't have "wabi", tranquility, isn't Japanese.
I don't find this one of the best of its type. For one thing, I find Moore's introductions somewhat patronizing, not the least to English speakers. He also includes a number of works, like yinyang, Schadenfreude, demi-monde and guru that I think are already part of the English-speaking vocabulary. He sometimes explains the meaning in terms of English-language idioms that aren't familiar to me.
This is interesting, but not the first book that I would buy.
Interested readers might also want to check out They Have a Word For It: A Lighthearted Lexicon of Untranslatable Words & Phrases by Howard Rheingold, and The Meaning of Tingo: and Other Extraordinary Words from Around the World by Adam Jacot de Boinod. (tingo: to take all the objects one desires from the house of a friend, one at a time, by borrowing them.)
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LibraryThing member Fledgist
A pleasant guide to the byways of language and the difficulties of translating cultural concepts.
LibraryThing member whitreidtan
I love words. I love them singly. I love them together. I am fascinated by the way that language originated and the way it is still changing today. I love idioms and word origins. I am tickled when I learn about words that have no translation and wonder why one culture needs a word to describe a
This is by no means a comprehensive list of words and phrases that we don't use or have a translation for in English; it is more a sampling of those that Moore found most interesting. He showcases many different and diverse cultures' languages, offering tidbits of history or etymology in explaining the phrases. His phrases range from Turkish to Maori, Navajo to Gaelic, Greek to Norwegian, Yiddish to Mandarin, British English to Bantu, and more. Interestingly, some of the words Moore includes (and he originally published a very similar book with much of the same content in 2004) have made their way into English and no longer need to be included in the words that have no translation. They no longer need one because, as English is wont to do, we have appropriated them wholesale and use them cheerfully, having adopted them and embraced their concepts (hygge comes to mind here). The book is organized into roughly geographical or historical chapters with a few oddballs thrown in. The illustrations are simple and in a paper collage kind of style, leaving the words and phrases themselves to be the stars of the show. Because of the nature of the book, it is probably better as a thing to dip in and out of rather than reading straight through. It is entertaining and generally informative but could easily have be longer. It would be interesting to see what lexical gems Moore left out that someone else might think worth including. Over all though, this is a brief word nerd's delight, an amuse bouche of books.
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certain phenomenon and why another culture doesn't. In short I am your stereotypical word nerd. So Christopher J. Moore's In Other Words was completely and totally the type of book I was guaranteed to buy, inhale, and enjoy.This is by no means a comprehensive list of words and phrases that we don't use or have a translation for in English; it is more a sampling of those that Moore found most interesting. He showcases many different and diverse cultures' languages, offering tidbits of history or etymology in explaining the phrases. His phrases range from Turkish to Maori, Navajo to Gaelic, Greek to Norwegian, Yiddish to Mandarin, British English to Bantu, and more. Interestingly, some of the words Moore includes (and he originally published a very similar book with much of the same content in 2004) have made their way into English and no longer need to be included in the words that have no translation. They no longer need one because, as English is wont to do, we have appropriated them wholesale and use them cheerfully, having adopted them and embraced their concepts (hygge comes to mind here). The book is organized into roughly geographical or historical chapters with a few oddballs thrown in. The illustrations are simple and in a paper collage kind of style, leaving the words and phrases themselves to be the stars of the show. Because of the nature of the book, it is probably better as a thing to dip in and out of rather than reading straight through. It is entertaining and generally informative but could easily have be longer. It would be interesting to see what lexical gems Moore left out that someone else might think worth including. Over all though, this is a brief word nerd's delight, an amuse bouche of books.
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LibraryThing member OptimisticCautiously
Word per page (on average) like trivia. Cute, but no real insight, short.
LibraryThing member japaul22
[In Other Words] by [[Christopher J. Moore]]
An illustrated sampling of words and phrases whose meanings are unique to a language and therefore illuminate something about the culture of the country. And about the cultures that don't include a word or saying that is similar.
It is a nice little book,
An illustrated sampling of words and phrases whose meanings are unique to a language and therefore illuminate something about the culture of the country. And about the cultures that don't include a word or saying that is similar.
It is a nice little book,
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but not thorough enough to be really interesting. Just a small sampling of examples. Show Less