Lost in Translation

 

Description

An artistic collection of more than 50 drawings featuring unique, funny, and poignant foreign words that have no direct translation into English.
Did you know that the Japanese language has a word to express the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees? Or that there's a Finnish word for the distance a reindeer can travel before needing to rest? 

Lost in Translation brings to life more than fifty words that don't have direct English translations with charming illustrations of their tender, poignant, and humorous definitions. Often these words provide insight into the cultures they come from, such as the Brazilian Portuguese word for running your fingers through a lover's hair, the Italian word for being moved to tears by a story, or the Swedish word for a third cup of coffee.

In this clever and beautifully rendered exploration of the subtleties of communication, you'll find new ways to express yourself while getting lost in the artistry of imperfect translation.

 

Review

 

Having a love for language in all its forms, this book really intrigued me.  I think that part of it comes from growing up around people who spoke various languages.  However, another part is my jealousy.  I often feel that English is very limited in its scope.

I am sure you are wondering what I mean by it being limited.  I know that myself and others around me sometimes struggle to find the right words to describe situations.  However, many other languages will have just one word to describe it so beautifully.

This book uses pictures and descriptions to translate these wonderful words for us.

The first word is a Norwegian word that really reminded me of my dad.  This would have been a word that he would have loved.  Pålegg describes anything that you can basically put between two slices of bread and eat, not necessarily sandwich materials though.  My dad always used to make sandwiches out of everything.  One Thanksgiving, my Uncle Russ joked that he would even put a piece of pumpkin pie between two slices of bread and eat it.  Of course, being who my dad was, he had to go ahead and do it.  So that wouldn't be a "normal" sandwich by any means.  As you can see, pålegg definitely describes what my dad made.

There are a ton of other useful and some not so useful words.  Or at least I haven't found a use for them yet. 

I definitely enjoyed this book and will refer back to it often to bone up on these fantastic words.  Then again, I was the geek in high school who would choose a random word in the dictionary every day and try to work it into some sort of usage that day.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any form of compensation.