Untranslatable Emotions:Feelings That Are Hard to Explain
We all experience feelings that are extremely difficult to explain or put into words.
This happens because we either lack the ability to express them or
because there are no terms in our language to do so.
Both realities are equally common.
These feelings are called untranslatable emotions.
One example might be a three or four-year-old child who gets frustrated,bursts into tears,
and has a tantrum because they still lack adequate emotional intelligence.
They know that they're feeling many things at the same time,but they don't know how to say
out loud what's happening to them.
Therefore,we can say that possessing adequate abilities in the vocabulary of
emotions makes life and coexistence easier.
One of the most essential tasks of every parent and educator is to develop
children's language skills in emotional matters.
Understanding words like fear joy,anger,or disgust allows little
ones to understand how they feel at certain times.
However,interestingly,not all emotional states ate present in every language.
For example,in Japanese,emotional states are described
in quite a subtle yet extraordinary way.
For instance,natsukashii is a word that means simultaneous feelings of nostalgia,joy,
and sadness for an experience that's been intensely lived in the past,
and that'll never come again.
Also,shinrin-yoku defines the pleasant feeling of "
taking in the forest atmosphere' or 'forest bathing'.
Harvard University published a study linked to untranslatable emotions a few years ago.
They discovered an immense variety in intercultural lexicography.
They also found that,in every existing language on the planet,
words are often crystallized to describe psychological realities that,
although universal,aren't accessible in every linguistic register.
For example,in Inuit,we find the beautiful word iktsuarpok,
which describes the anticipation one feels when waiting for someone dear.
We've all felt that emotional experience,but not all of us can express it in a word
because it doesn't exist in our dictionaries.