If I remember correctly, "myötähäpeä" is a Finnish word that is considered to be untranslatable. (It means "a shared sense of shame".) Other Finns can confirm this one for me, but isn't "sisu" sort of untranslatable too? It can be translated, but the meaning of it is deeply rooted in our culture so it's not completely understandable.
Different languages discussion
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I am just having real fun with untranslatable words and trying to understand them. If anyone has some of them in their native language, why not post them here?
Hungarian has a lot of those I think. Especially our poetry.
Like "sehonnai": it was used by Petőfi in one his most famous poems, the "Nemzeti Dal" (lit. National Song). The whole thing is "Sehonnai bitang ember" (with "ember" being "man" or "human"). Sehonnai and bitang basically means a person who in the time of war brings shame to those who dare to fight for their country. "Sehonnai" can mean that this person have no roots or whatsoever. "Bitang" is also negative, as it means a kind of person who does bad things without any sense of dignity.
But they aren't really used in everyday life.Let's see, there ought to be something simpler… hm...
"hajcihő" : somewhat like a commotion, but not quite. A little chaos, where everyone is hurrying and nothing seems to be at their normal places.I think I have a completely logical explanation for this…
Nolus, when you were a child did you ever perform medical emergency procedures without ever receiving professional training to do so?
Like performing a Tracheotomy with a crayon after your friend choked on a candy on the playground? And then proceeding to revive your kindergarten teacher with cardiopulmonary resuscitation after he/she passed out from seeing the crayon in your friends throat?
You just discovered the reason why: ALL Hunagrians are actualy doctors. Diagnosis: Blown mind. You're welcome, doc.I guess our secret is finally revealed~
Or is it? Maybe a simple brainwashing surgery can help in fixing this issue… -
If I remember correctly, "myötähäpeä" is a Finnish word that is considered to be untranslatable. (It means "a shared sense of shame".) Other Finns can confirm this one for me, but isn't "sisu" sort of untranslatable too? It can be translated, but the meaning of it is deeply rooted in our culture so it's not completely understandable.
That's a good one. From what I have gathered it describes a grimmer version of composure and poise in the face of apparently overhelming trouble? I don't get the implications of Sisu yet, but it must be the feeling that the finnish soldiers experienced before they whooped Russia's butt during the winter war.
In this sense the swedish "lagom" is also hard to get without cultural context. My language has a word for weather and water that has the perfect temperature. But in Sweden it's also describing a way of life that is "just right". I like that.Hungarian has a lot of those I think. Especially our poetry.
Like "sehonnai": it was used by Petőfi in one his most famous poems, the "Nemzeti Dal" (lit. National Song). The whole thing is "Sehonnai bitang ember" (with "ember" being "man" or "human"). Sehonnai and bitang basically means a person who in the time of war brings shame to those who dare to fight for their country. "Sehonnai" can mean that this person have no roots or whatsoever. "Bitang" is also negative, as it means a kind of person who does bad things without any sense of dignity.
But they aren't really used in everyday life.Let's see, there ought to be something simpler… hm...
"hajcihő" : somewhat like a commotion, but not quite. A little chaos, where everyone is hurrying and nothing seems to be at their normal places.So that means like people who fight in a war without any ideals or without anything to protect but just for the sake of fighting?
And the second one is necessarry since chaos has many shades!
For instance there is a hilarious figure of speech in the northern african arabic dialect which is called "fi ras al majnoon", which literally translates to "in the head of a madman". It's used for chaotic situations where nobody talks in order or places that are so completely messy, they drive you crazy.I guess our secret is finally revealed~
Or is it? Maybe a simple brainwashing surgery can help in fixing this issue…You mean you are improving my brain so I can be a doctor too??? :D
I trust you, I know you know what you're doing!:ninja: -
So that means like people who fight in a war without any ideals or without anything to protect but just for the sake of fighting?
Nope, more like a coward without any sense of caring for his/her country. Basically a person who cares more for his own life than his nation.
You mean you are improving my brain so I can be a doctor too??? :D
I trust you, I know you know what you're doing!:ninja:Yes, yes, of course. Of course.
Just, stay calm and when you wake up, everything will be better, I promise:ninja: -
I read some articles (well, not exactly), about languages.
I laughed. A lot.
There was one person who literally commented "As far as I know, Hungarian is not a real language". I guess it's like latin. No one else speaks it except for, you know, doctors. Or in this case, Hungarians.
Then, I read that a lot of people think Finnish and Hungarian are truly related. I'm honestly very skeptical about this one, but I'm not the one to judge yet. After I started learning Finnish, now then, I'll decide for sure.
I also realized we have way too much letters.Finnish and Hungarian are definitely related, distantly, but related nonetheless.
It's not so ridiculous to consider, I mean Irish Gaelic is related to Bengali for instance. -
@Monkey:
Finnish and Hungarian are definitely related, distantly, but related nonetheless.
It's not so ridiculous to consider, I mean Irish Gaelic is related to Bengali for instance.There's a big possibility that I'll be proved wrong. I hope so, because it'd be awesome to find a distant "brother" to my language.
I don't know why, but languages fascinate me. Maybe it'd be best for me to consider a job where I have to deal with them. Hmm…
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There's a big possibility that I'll be proved wrong. I hope so, because it'd be awesome to find a distant "brother" to my language.
I don't know why, but languages fascinate me. Maybe it'd be best for me to consider a job where I have to deal with them. Hmm…
I mean lol, you are wrong. Linguists got it all figured.
There's brothers already in Siberia to Hungarian, and your cousins are Finnish, Saami, Estonian, and a bunch of other tiny languges of peoples who live in Russia. Like those two grannies on Eurovision.
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@Monkey:
I mean lol, you are wrong. Linguists got it all figured.
There's brothers already in Siberia to Hungarian, and your cousins are Finnish, Saami, Estonian, and a bunch of other tiny languges of peoples who live in Russia. Like those two grannies on Eurovision.
Oh, that's good to hear.
I knew we had brothers, but those are smaller than Finland as far as I know, although that doesn't mean anything.
I haven't heard of the Siberian relation though. Sometimes, I have to look all this up thorough. -
During that one course I took in Hungarian I actually did realize that there are similarities between it and Finnish. Pronounciation was always difficult for me, but I never felt like I was studying a completely alien language.
Also Nolus, if you ever feel the need to listen to bands who sing in Finnish, let me know and I'll give you recommendations~
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During that one course I took in Hungarian I actually did realize that there are similarities between it and Finnish. Pronounciation was always difficult for me, but I never felt like I was studying a completely alien language.
Also Nolus, if you ever feel the need to listen to bands who sing in Finnish, let me know and I'll give you recommendations~
That's great :D Honestly, with all kinds of theories going on about Finnish-Hungarian relations, I had no idea what to believe. So I remained sceptical. Now I'm convinced.
That'd be great. I can give you some recommendations as well. ;D