I loved this, especially the last story where the people in the group would ask "what is this." We played a similar game on the kibbutz with a young boy who would hang out with us. "Ma zeh" what is this." We'd point to something and he'd give us the Hebrew word for it.
I love that thought of our native language as being a 'home' that we take with us. I don't think that's something you realize unless you've lived abroad.
The other stories you picked are wonderful, I always find it interesting to read about words that are only or mostly used to address specific groups of people, like ‘shikamoo’, and words that can’t be translated easily into other languages, like ‘whānau’.
In Dutch, an example of the latter would be ‘gezellig’. It means cosy, fun, inviting, and can describe a relaxed situation or a moment shared with friends or family. It’s an abstract concept which makes it hard to translate, but it’s usually used to describe a positive atmosphere shared between two or more people. Maybe you’ve already come across this word in Belgium!
My MIL (RIP) was born and lived in South Africa until she was in her early 30s, went to Denmark as a refugee during apartheid and spoke Danish with a South African English accent that was also peppered with Zulu and Afrikaans. There are certain words she used — mostly when she was angry or frustrated and no English or Danish word would do — that remain unwritten, though I can clearly hear them in my head as well as reproduce them in speech. I could perhaps use my rusty IPA to attempt to transcribe, but seems like a distant memory from a long time ago that she would like to have best left forgotten. There are now really only three of us left who ever heard her when she was alive. Anyway...
I loved this, especially the last story where the people in the group would ask "what is this." We played a similar game on the kibbutz with a young boy who would hang out with us. "Ma zeh" what is this." We'd point to something and he'd give us the Hebrew word for it.
Gorgeous piece Candace, and lovely to see my word featured ❤️ Thanks so much 😊
I love that thought of our native language as being a 'home' that we take with us. I don't think that's something you realize unless you've lived abroad.
Thanks for sharing my story, Candace!
The other stories you picked are wonderful, I always find it interesting to read about words that are only or mostly used to address specific groups of people, like ‘shikamoo’, and words that can’t be translated easily into other languages, like ‘whānau’.
In Dutch, an example of the latter would be ‘gezellig’. It means cosy, fun, inviting, and can describe a relaxed situation or a moment shared with friends or family. It’s an abstract concept which makes it hard to translate, but it’s usually used to describe a positive atmosphere shared between two or more people. Maybe you’ve already come across this word in Belgium!
Shikamoo. I love that. Probably because I'm older and would love to hear a special, reverent greeting.
Lovely to see different languages celebrated in this way. Thank you Candace and kolay gelsin!
I love that you organized this as a sort of scavenger hunt, gathering these charming words and stories as you went.
My MIL (RIP) was born and lived in South Africa until she was in her early 30s, went to Denmark as a refugee during apartheid and spoke Danish with a South African English accent that was also peppered with Zulu and Afrikaans. There are certain words she used — mostly when she was angry or frustrated and no English or Danish word would do — that remain unwritten, though I can clearly hear them in my head as well as reproduce them in speech. I could perhaps use my rusty IPA to attempt to transcribe, but seems like a distant memory from a long time ago that she would like to have best left forgotten. There are now really only three of us left who ever heard her when she was alive. Anyway...