Status
Available
Local notes
410 San
Collection
Genres
Publication
Ten Speed Press (2014), 112 pages
Description
"An artistic collection of 50 drawings featuring unique, funny, and poignant foreign words that have no direct translation into English. Did you know that the Japanese have a word to express the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees? Or that there's a Swedish word to describe the reflection of the moon across the water? The nuanced beauty of language is even more interesting and relevant in our highly communicative, globalized modern world. Lost in Translation brings this wonder to life with 50 ink illustrations featuring the foreign word, the language of origin, and a pithy definition. The words and definitions range from the lovely, such as goya, the Urdu word to describe the transporting suspension of belief that can occur in good storytelling, to the funny, like the Hawaiian pana po'o, which describes the act of scratching your head to remember something you've forgotten. Each beautiful, simple illustration adds just the right amount of visual intrigue to anchor the words and their meanings"-- "An artistic collection of 52 drawings featuring unique, funny, and poignant foreign words that have no direct translation into English"--… (more)
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
112 p.; 6.75 inches
User reviews
LibraryThing member meggyweg
This was a lovely little book full of words I'd never heard of before. I recommend it if you're at all interested in language. My only complaint is that sometimes the definitions were drawn in such a way that they were hard to read. But I quibble.
LibraryThing member DavidWineberg
Words to Indulge the senses
I promised myself before I opened this book that I would not use the word whimsical in my review. Oh well.
Lost in Translation is both warm and fascinating. It’s a small collection of foreign language words that have no equivalent in English. So they need to be
Komorebi, Japanese: the way sunlight is filtered through leaves of trees.
Razliubit, Russian: to fall out of love with something or someone
Kummerspeck, German: the weight gained from emotional overeating.
Gurfa, German: the amount of water that can be held in one hand.
Kafune, Brazilian Portuguese: The act of tenderly running your fingers through the hair of someone you love.
Ella Sanders has produced a lovely, whimsical book that enhances our understanding and our pleasure at the beauty and the power of words. Great illustrations, and great choice of font, too, making the whole book work.
David Wineberg
I promised myself before I opened this book that I would not use the word whimsical in my review. Oh well.
Lost in Translation is both warm and fascinating. It’s a small collection of foreign language words that have no equivalent in English. So they need to be
Show More
explained. And illustrated. They show the preoccupations of other cultures, and the lack of same in ours:Komorebi, Japanese: the way sunlight is filtered through leaves of trees.
Razliubit, Russian: to fall out of love with something or someone
Kummerspeck, German: the weight gained from emotional overeating.
Gurfa, German: the amount of water that can be held in one hand.
Kafune, Brazilian Portuguese: The act of tenderly running your fingers through the hair of someone you love.
Ella Sanders has produced a lovely, whimsical book that enhances our understanding and our pleasure at the beauty and the power of words. Great illustrations, and great choice of font, too, making the whole book work.
David Wineberg
Show Less
LibraryThing member 4hounds
More of a gift-y book than a reading book. There was another one - I'm pretty sure it had "Tingo" in the title - that was much more in depth. This was cute, and there were some nice words.
LibraryThing member annbury
As the title says, there are some words than can't be fitted into a one word definition in any language but their own. This book provides a delightful assortment of such treasures. The selection is terrific (most of these are really interesting words), the (multiword) definitions are illuminating,
Show More
and the pictures are charming. A few of the words are moving into my permanent vocabulary: how about "kummerspeck" (weight gained from emotional overeating), or "komorebi" (sunlight shining through leaves)? This would make a terrific stocking stuffer or other small present for a language maven. Show Less
LibraryThing member debnance
Here are a few you should add to your personal dictionaries:
gezellig...a positive warm emotion, connoting time spent with loved ones…
meraki...pouring yourself wholeheartedly into something…
fika...gathering to talk and take a break from everyday routines, usually drinking coffee…
hiraeth...a
ubuntu…”I am what I am because of who we all are”...
luftmensch...a person who is a dreamer…
and, of course…
wabi-sabi...finding beauty in inperfection
gezellig...a positive warm emotion, connoting time spent with loved ones…
meraki...pouring yourself wholeheartedly into something…
fika...gathering to talk and take a break from everyday routines, usually drinking coffee…
hiraeth...a
Show More
homesickness for somewhere you cannot return to…ubuntu…”I am what I am because of who we all are”...
luftmensch...a person who is a dreamer…
and, of course…
wabi-sabi...finding beauty in inperfection
Show Less
LibraryThing member katsmiao
not really suited to reading on a kindle, as the text in the illustrations is nearly impossible to read. I like the concept, and there are some great words in there, but I couldn't get the full enjoyment due to e reader limitations
LibraryThing member katsmiao
not really suited to reading on a kindle, as the text in the illustrations is nearly impossible to read. I like the concept, and there are some great words in there, but I couldn't get the full enjoyment due to e reader limitations
LibraryThing member katsmiao
not really suited to reading on a kindle, as the text in the illustrations is nearly impossible to read. I like the concept, and there are some great words in there, but I couldn't get the full enjoyment due to e reader limitations
LibraryThing member murderbydeath
For the lovers of language, Lost in Translation is a compendium of words that lack an English translation; words that were created by other cultures to describe a concept or feeling that would require several words for English speakers to convey.
I think most of us are guilty of tsundoku - the
I could go on, there are so many great words here (my favourite might be the Dutch word struisvogelpolitiek, - acting like you don't notice when something bad happens - which is what I've been unable to do today after BookLikes being down 10 hours.) Each word has a two-page spread with the definition, an explanation of usage, and a beautiful illustration.
My only complaint, and what cost the last 1/2 star, is the lack of a phonetic pronunciation guide for each word. I'd really like to know the correct way to pronounce the Welsh Hiraeth (a homesickness for a place you can't return to, or no longer exists). I'm more than a little surprised that it didn't occur to anyone involved to include these.
A great addition to my language shelf and one I'll be referring to again and again.
I think most of us are guilty of tsundoku - the
Show More
Japanese word for buying books without reading them right away (basically, the Japanese word for "TBR"), and some of us have experienced the Italian commuovere - been moved in a heartwarming way when we've read a story that's brought us to tears. Readers of Tolkien, or just a really brilliantly written story have been to Goya - the Urdu concept of the suspension of disbelief that allows us to lose ourselves in lands with elves, fairies and vampires.I could go on, there are so many great words here (my favourite might be the Dutch word struisvogelpolitiek, - acting like you don't notice when something bad happens - which is what I've been unable to do today after BookLikes being down 10 hours.) Each word has a two-page spread with the definition, an explanation of usage, and a beautiful illustration.
My only complaint, and what cost the last 1/2 star, is the lack of a phonetic pronunciation guide for each word. I'd really like to know the correct way to pronounce the Welsh Hiraeth (a homesickness for a place you can't return to, or no longer exists). I'm more than a little surprised that it didn't occur to anyone involved to include these.
A great addition to my language shelf and one I'll be referring to again and again.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bness2
A nice fun read. I love words, so learning a bunch of unique words from a diversity of languages is just plain fun.
LibraryThing member bookofsecrets
LOST IN TRANSLATION is a lovely little book that defines and illustrates many words that do not have a precise English equivalent. The collection includes words that are funny, practical, and touching. With every turn of the page, I was smiling or thinking "Ah, ha!" A couple of my favorites:
- The
- The German noun kabelsalat, which is a "mess of very tangled cables, literally a cable-salad." Yep, seen that.
I found all the words interesting and most of them relatable, even though there is not a clear translation. There's a German word for the extra pounds you put on from emotional eating. *nods* There's a Malay word for the time needed to eat a banana (huh!), and the list goes on.
The presentation was set up with the word, drawing, and definition on a page, and the author's take on the word on the facing page. The illustrations in this book were fun and fanciful. I guess my only complaint was that the font used for definitions was sometimes hard to read, but otherwise I loved the book. Definitely one for my keeper shelf!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through the Blogging For Books program in exchange for an honest review.
- The
Show More
Swedish verb fika, which is a "gathering together to talk and take a break from everyday routines, usually drinking coffee and eating pastries...often for hours on end." Sounds great to me! - The German noun kabelsalat, which is a "mess of very tangled cables, literally a cable-salad." Yep, seen that.
I found all the words interesting and most of them relatable, even though there is not a clear translation. There's a German word for the extra pounds you put on from emotional eating. *nods* There's a Malay word for the time needed to eat a banana (huh!), and the list goes on.
The presentation was set up with the word, drawing, and definition on a page, and the author's take on the word on the facing page. The illustrations in this book were fun and fanciful. I guess my only complaint was that the font used for definitions was sometimes hard to read, but otherwise I loved the book. Definitely one for my keeper shelf!
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through the Blogging For Books program in exchange for an honest review.
Show Less
LibraryThing member PattyLee
What a lovely, delightful little book. It charms, amuses, and educates all at once.
Similar in this library
Pages
112