Translations don't really work.
I mentioned a while back that no non-trivial translation is perfect. And while this is true on a macro scale as well, I felt at the time that it was way bigger on an international scale. And I had a really inelegant way of describing it at the time. Now, I have an example!
The video in the link is from a series made by a couple living in Japan. One is American and the other is Japanese. And the video itself is about words the American (Rachel) feels we need equivalents of in English.
I started this video expecting some super uncommon words I hadn't heard in Japanese before or perhaps some I had heard but hadn't really thought of their meanings in English. To my surprise (and apparently to the surprise of Jun in the video) the words selected were actually quite common in English. And in some cases using the English equivalent would be quicker/easier.
Here's the thing though. I TOTALLY understand the choice of words. Because it ties back to my earlier post PERFECTLY.
懐かしい（なつかしい）[natsukashii] -> This word means nostalgic. I've listened to their explanation of when they use it. I've heard it in MANY MANY MANY contexts in Japanese. Describing it as meaning "nostalgic" is pretty spot on as best as I can tell. I can't say I've ever heard it pop up in a scenario where the word "nostalgic" would be inappropriate or even out of place.
The problem isn't that we don't have a word for it in English. It is that we don't have a word which has the same "feeling". Nostalgia is a feeling we all have, at all ages. But, for some reason, in English we only tend to actually call something nostalgic when we are older and the thing we are thinking about happened long ago. In Japan, it might be odd to refer to something that happened earlier in the day as 懐かしい, but then, I'm pretty sure I've even heard this sort of usage. And even from youths.
But, it isn't that the meaning is any different, it is that the connotation is different. The cultural context is different. I could use the word nostalgic in English in the same manner as Japanese people use 懐かしい and I'd be understood. I could, with intonation, probably even give off the same sort of impressions of the word. Despite the word not being wrong in any way and my intention being fully understood though, I'd probably get some odd looks or even some questions.
めんどくさい (mendokusai) is another one. This one is a little harder to nail down. The Japanese word could be translated to "annoying" or "troublesome" and possibly a number of other things based on context. In any given case, there is a perfectly natural English translation which suits the bill. It isn't a single all-encompassing word as it is in Japanese. And perhaps there is some allure to that. But the reason (I think) why others think we're missing this word in English is again because of context. In Japanese, people say this casually, and quite often. Using the English equivalent would likely offend someone, even if it wasn't intended. Even if it was clear from the context that no offense was intended. Even if the statement was understood in a way equivalent to the Japanese.
Some words in English are simply understood to be negative. "Annoying" is never a good thing, or even an OK thing to say about someone or a situation here. And, while めんどくさい can certainly be used to the same effect as we use those words in English, without changing the literal meaning, it can simply have a totally different impact in Japanese.
What I think the video is identifying with is, in Japanese, she finds scenarios were she can more freely express what she really means because the words which bear the meanings she wants to express are or can be closer to her intended usage in that language. And there are likely examples opposite to that.
The key take away for me though was, even when words appear to have a good, or even perfect translation they still don't in some cases. And, this isn't even touching things like verbs which only sort of line up or words or figures of speech which just flat out don't exist, or cases where a word can be a really good translation in one context buy totally wrong in another.
At the end of the day, the only perfect translation of 懐かしい and めんどくさい and their ilk is to simply use that word instead of a translation and just accept that people who don't speak both languages will think you're an alien. :)
The video in the link is from a series made by a couple living in Japan. One is American and the other is Japanese. And the video itself is about words the American (Rachel) feels we need equivalents of in English.
I started this video expecting some super uncommon words I hadn't heard in Japanese before or perhaps some I had heard but hadn't really thought of their meanings in English. To my surprise (and apparently to the surprise of Jun in the video) the words selected were actually quite common in English. And in some cases using the English equivalent would be quicker/easier.
Here's the thing though. I TOTALLY understand the choice of words. Because it ties back to my earlier post PERFECTLY.
懐かしい（なつかしい）[natsukashii] -> This word means nostalgic. I've listened to their explanation of when they use it. I've heard it in MANY MANY MANY contexts in Japanese. Describing it as meaning "nostalgic" is pretty spot on as best as I can tell. I can't say I've ever heard it pop up in a scenario where the word "nostalgic" would be inappropriate or even out of place.
The problem isn't that we don't have a word for it in English. It is that we don't have a word which has the same "feeling". Nostalgia is a feeling we all have, at all ages. But, for some reason, in English we only tend to actually call something nostalgic when we are older and the thing we are thinking about happened long ago. In Japan, it might be odd to refer to something that happened earlier in the day as 懐かしい, but then, I'm pretty sure I've even heard this sort of usage. And even from youths.
But, it isn't that the meaning is any different, it is that the connotation is different. The cultural context is different. I could use the word nostalgic in English in the same manner as Japanese people use 懐かしい and I'd be understood. I could, with intonation, probably even give off the same sort of impressions of the word. Despite the word not being wrong in any way and my intention being fully understood though, I'd probably get some odd looks or even some questions.
めんどくさい (mendokusai) is another one. This one is a little harder to nail down. The Japanese word could be translated to "annoying" or "troublesome" and possibly a number of other things based on context. In any given case, there is a perfectly natural English translation which suits the bill. It isn't a single all-encompassing word as it is in Japanese. And perhaps there is some allure to that. But the reason (I think) why others think we're missing this word in English is again because of context. In Japanese, people say this casually, and quite often. Using the English equivalent would likely offend someone, even if it wasn't intended. Even if it was clear from the context that no offense was intended. Even if the statement was understood in a way equivalent to the Japanese.
Some words in English are simply understood to be negative. "Annoying" is never a good thing, or even an OK thing to say about someone or a situation here. And, while めんどくさい can certainly be used to the same effect as we use those words in English, without changing the literal meaning, it can simply have a totally different impact in Japanese.
What I think the video is identifying with is, in Japanese, she finds scenarios were she can more freely express what she really means because the words which bear the meanings she wants to express are or can be closer to her intended usage in that language. And there are likely examples opposite to that.
The key take away for me though was, even when words appear to have a good, or even perfect translation they still don't in some cases. And, this isn't even touching things like verbs which only sort of line up or words or figures of speech which just flat out don't exist, or cases where a word can be a really good translation in one context buy totally wrong in another.
At the end of the day, the only perfect translation of 懐かしい and めんどくさい and their ilk is to simply use that word instead of a translation and just accept that people who don't speak both languages will think you're an alien. :)
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