Recently, I was asked to write an article in Good to know section of TCS magazine.. I thought this might be intrestingly safe..
Ever wondered, what would you call a person who is ready to forgive any abuse the first time it occurs, to tolerate it the second time, but to neither forgive nor tolerate a third offense. Unless you were born in Congo, you’d be speechless about this one. The correct answer is “Ilunga”[ee-Iun-ga], originated from the Tshiluba language spoken in south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. This would also be the world’s most difficult word to translate according to an article published by the BBC on June 22, 2004.
There are other bizarre words running close in the competition. Take “Torschlusspanik” [To:-sh-lus-pæ-nik] for an example. This German word literally means “gate-closing panic” and is used to describe the fear of diminishing opportunities as one age. This word is most frequently applied to women who race the ‘biological clock’ to wed and bear children. Even more intriguing is “Mamihlapinatapei”[Mam-ihlapi-na-tapei] from Yagan, the indigenous language of the Tierra del Fuego region of South America, implying a wordless yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start. The Guinness Book of World Records calls it the "most succinct word".
If those words struck a chord of familiarity, try the French phrase “l'esprit d'escalier” [e-SPREE des-kal-i-YE], or spirit of the staircase, used to describe the precise moment a person comes up with a clever repartee to an embarrassing insult. It is usually after leaving the party, and walking down the stairs that the mind gets that smart reply, and hence the phrase.
Ending with my personal favorite, “mokita” from New Guinea, which is the truth that everybody knows about but nobody speaks.
So, if you have a love for strange words, there is a whole world out there, at times unique to a language which for you means a sense of weird joy, but for the translator, nightmares!!
Ever wondered, what would you call a person who is ready to forgive any abuse the first time it occurs, to tolerate it the second time, but to neither forgive nor tolerate a third offense. Unless you were born in Congo, you’d be speechless about this one. The correct answer is “Ilunga”[ee-Iun-ga], originated from the Tshiluba language spoken in south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. This would also be the world’s most difficult word to translate according to an article published by the BBC on June 22, 2004.
There are other bizarre words running close in the competition. Take “Torschlusspanik” [To:-sh-lus-pæ-nik] for an example. This German word literally means “gate-closing panic” and is used to describe the fear of diminishing opportunities as one age. This word is most frequently applied to women who race the ‘biological clock’ to wed and bear children. Even more intriguing is “Mamihlapinatapei”[Mam-ihlapi-na-tapei] from Yagan, the indigenous language of the Tierra del Fuego region of South America, implying a wordless yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start. The Guinness Book of World Records calls it the "most succinct word".
If those words struck a chord of familiarity, try the French phrase “l'esprit d'escalier” [e-SPREE des-kal-i-YE], or spirit of the staircase, used to describe the precise moment a person comes up with a clever repartee to an embarrassing insult. It is usually after leaving the party, and walking down the stairs that the mind gets that smart reply, and hence the phrase.
Ending with my personal favorite, “mokita” from New Guinea, which is the truth that everybody knows about but nobody speaks.
So, if you have a love for strange words, there is a whole world out there, at times unique to a language which for you means a sense of weird joy, but for the translator, nightmares!!
