I can't wait for The Meaning of Tingo by Adam Jacot de Boinod to come out (next March). It's a survey of foreign words that don't have an English equivalent. (The following excerpts appeared here.)
Some of the words really support popularly held stereotypes about other cultures. Count on the Italians to have a word for "a man who seizes any chance of being in close physical contact with a woman" (pomicione) and one for "a theft carried out on a bus or train (smonta) and another for "a group of prison guards who specialize in beating up inmates (squadretta). On the other hand, I wouldn't have necessarily thought of Sanskrit speakers as being the ones who would have a word for "men who worship their own sexual organs" (narachastra prayoga).
I'm thinking that moving to Russia might involve a whole lot more culture shock than I'd previously imagined; they apparently have found the need to coin words for things like "someone with six fingers" (angushti za'id) and "a dealer in stolen cats" (koshatnik).
Anyone who's ever been a waiter/waitress will appreciate the need for these words:
zechpreller (German) - someone who leaves a restaurant without paying
seigneur-terrasse (French) - someone who spends time, but not money, at a cafe
I for one could begin using the following words tomorrow:
karelu (Tulu Indian) - the mark left on the skin by wearing something tight
mata ego (Rapa Nui language spoken on Easter Island) - eyes that reveal that someone has been crying
bakku shan (Japanese) - a woman who looks as though she might be pretty when seen from behind, but isn't when seen from the front
fucha (Portuguese) - to use company time and resources for one's own purposes
And what's tingo (from the book's title)? It's from the Pascuense language, also spoken on Easter Island. It refers to "borrowing things from a friend's house, one by one, until he has nothing left." I guess neighbors are neighbors all over the world, eh?
(Via Bookslut)
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