Impossible translations: why we struggle to translate words when we don’t experience the concept

arts, ideas & societyanalysisThe Conversation: Arts + Culture (US)

Impossible translations: why we struggle to translate words when we don’t experience the concept

the gist

Many languages have words with no exact English equivalent, such as Danish hygge, Japanese shibui and Portuguese saudade. The question is whether a missing word means that speakers cannot experience the idea at all. This is the question behind linguistic relativity, also called the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which holds that language shapes thought. Its strong form, linguistic determinism, has been widely rejected, because speakers can understand and learn concepts from other languages. The weaker form has more support: languages divide experience differently and make some distinctions easier to notice. Research on Himalayan and Aslian languages shows how vocabulary often reflects local geography and environment.

how it works

Each language groups experience into categories through its vocabulary and grammar. A language with many words for one kind of thing trains speakers to notice distinctions that others might overlook, though anyone can learn the distinctions of another language.

so what

Untranslatable words are less a prison than a set of habits. Concepts can be borrowed across languages, but the native habits of a language can still shape what people notice first.

the bigger pattern

Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf proposed these ideas in the 1920s and 1940s, and later studies on colour terms and spatial language have tested them with mixed results, usually supporting the weaker version.

The Conversation

source: The Conversation: Arts + Culture (US) ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗