Many languages of the world borrow foreign words, as a rule, to denote objects previously unknown to them. Thus, khakis, jeeps and croissants have appeared in the dialects of many countries. But foreign languages are also full of far more colorful words and expressions, often describing what would take a whole sentence in one's own language. For example, how useful the phrase "bakku-shan" can be: in Japanese it denotes "a girl who looks attractive from behind, but not from the front."
Of course, in Russian there is the phrase "space between the teeth." But the Malay "gigi rongak" is both shorter and more melodious. Even shorter is the word "nakkele", present in the dictionary of Tulu, one of the Indian languages. Nakkele is a person who will lick everything on which food is brought to him.
"I simply enjoy foreign words, without giving preference to any language. English is an excellent language, but one should not be surprised that many other languages have words that simply have no English equivalent," the author explains to the reader. The diligent de Boinod read 280 dictionaries and studied 140 websites from different countries. He is convinced that the dictionary of a particular language tells much more about a country than a guidebook.
In Hawaiian, for example, there are 108 words describing sweet potato, 65 designations for fishing nets, and 47 words meaning "banana." German, with its ability to produce compound words, gave de Boinod's book many amusing definitions. "Kummerspeck" literally means "grief bacon." Germans themselves use this word to describe obesity caused by stress-induced overeating. "Putzfimmel" is a manic passion for cleaning. Deadly precise is the word "Drachenfutter" (dragon feed) which in German denotes gifts that a guilty husband gives in order to win back his wife's favor.
From the world of emotions, there is also "die beleidigte Leberwurst spielen" (to play the offended liver sausage). That is, to sulk. Perhaps the Russian translation here will be less cumbersome. Finally, also from German: "Backpfeifengesicht" - a face that just begs for a punch. Russian defines such a type of face a little more harshly - "a mug asking for a brick."
Funny words from Dutch reflect a more relaxed character of the nation. Take, for example, "uitwaaien" - a walk in the wind purely as recreation. The Maori-speaking inhabitants of the Cook Islands also live cheerfully. "Toto," they shout, signaling their readiness to start another round of hide-and-seek. The Inuit live in harsher conditions, which is reflected in the language. During long polar nights, Eskimos play a game called "igunauyaannaguak". This hard-to-pronounce combination of letters denotes a frozen walrus skeleton. The players pass around one of the participants, who tries to remain as motionless as possible - like a frozen walrus. But take the Dutch name for skipping stones on water - "plimpplampletter" - it's also hard to pronounce, but it really sounds like a game.
The Albanian language demonstrates a surprisingly close attention to hair, using 27 different words for mustaches. "Madh" are thick, walrus-like mustaches; "Posht" are mustaches with drooping tips; "Fshes" are long mustaches with fluffy tips. It doesn't stop at mustaches. "Vetullkalem" - eyebrows like a thread; "Vetullperpekur" - conjoined eyebrows; "Vetullhen" - eyebrows curved in a crescent.
Among the amusing Russian definitions, de Boinod's book cites the word "koshatnik". The translation, however, is flawed: according to the author, "koshatniks" are people who sell stolen cats. Other amusing occupations: "kualanapuhi" - a court fly-chaser in Hawaii, "chigerchi" - a seller of liver and lungs in a Turkish butcher shop, "fyrassistent" - an assistant lighthouse keeper in Denmark. And those who do especially nothing also often have a definition. In Latin American versions of Spanish there is the word "aviador" - one who shows up at work only to receive a salary.
And finally, the mysterious word "tingo". In the Rapanui language, spoken by the inhabitants of Easter Island, it denotes a person who "borrows household items from a friend, item by item, until the friend has nothing left." What is going on between neighbors on Easter Island is unknown, but the word should be remembered - just in case it comes in handy?
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