Way with words

[Victor Steinbok]

I came across yet another list of supposedly "untranslatable" words that
could use an English equivalent. In its original form, the list had 23
words. After some bitching from the readers, a correction was placed,
linking to another list from 2012, but this one with a link of such
words to literary and cinematic plots or whole works that they might
describe. The aforementioned disputed word was #1 on that list, but also
suffered a correction. The word, supposedly from Russian, does not
exist, except in the imagination of the people compiling these lists.
Since the lists tend to borrow heavily from each other, the error
self-propagates. To make matters worse, the HuffPo piece opens with more
nonsense:

> The claim that Eskimos have about a trillion words for snow may be a
> false one -- actually, Eskimo languages have about as many synonyms
> for /snow/ as English does -- but it remains true that the language of
> a culture can be fascinating and illustrative. It makes sense that
> Italians, whose meals typically last longer than American's, would
> have a word for the ring of condensation that appears around a glass
> that's been sitting on a table.

(Hmm... I seem to recall the actual stain left on a wooden table being
described *in English* as "water ring".)

So, here's the link and the list (sense of humor required):

http://goo.gl/Asd4eZ
Schadenfreude (German <<--- well, we can certainly say that there is a
word like that in English now, sort of; it's schadenfreude)
Lagom (Swedish <<--- French is one of many languages that has a similar
expression, although, technically, it's an idiomatic expression
consisting of several "words")
Mencomot (Indonesian <<--- really?)
Hygge (Danish <<--- probably the most popular word on such lists)
Shouganai (Japanese)
Fargin (Yiddish <<--- what situation does Yiddish *not* have a word for?)
Saudade (Portuguese <<--- sounds remarkably closely related to another
favorite on these lists -- the Russian "toska")
Komorebi (Japanese)
Litost (Czech <<--- another from the top 5 words from such lists)
Han (Korean)
Tampo (Filipino)
Culaccino (Italian <<--- this is supposed to be the aforementioned water
ring)
Pena ajena (Spanish)
Waldeinsamkeit (German <<--- I suppose, communing with nature does not
imply specifically "in the woods")
Psithurism (Greek)
Koi No Yokan (Japanese)
Shemomedjamo (Georgian <<--- I would imagine that proper English manners
would demand the existence of such a word in English!)
Razbliuto (Russian <<--- This is the word that does not exist. The
correction points out that "The claim that Eskimos have about a trillion
words for snow may be a false one -- actually, Eskimo languages have
about as many synonyms for snow as English does -- but it remains true
that the language of a culture can be fascinating and illustrative. It
makes sense that Italians, whose meals typically last longer than
American's, would have a word for the ring of condensation that appears
around a glass that's been sitting on a table." Uhm... NO!)
Forelsket (Norwegian)
Mangata (Swedish)
Aşermek (Turkish <<--- apparently, mere craving, despite a broad array
of jokes, is not the same)
Madrugada (Spanish)
Pana po'o (Hawaiian)

Here's the list from io9 that's cited for the ridiculous pseudo-Russian
word:
Aware (Japanese)
Maya (Sanskrit)
Wei-wu-wei (Chinese <<--- which Chinese?)
Bricoleur/Bricolage (French <<--- raise your hand if you have not heard
it used in English as is; Beuller? Beuller?)
Verschlimmbessrung (German)
Orenda (Huron <<--- I kind of like this one; would make a good name for
a kid -- of either gender)
Gâchis (French)
Weltschmerz (German)
Kalpa (Sanskrit)
Razbliuto (pseudo Russian)

Not only is this silliness here, but it's at the top of the list. And,
again, this one had a correction (that, apparently, the HuffPo people
failed to notice on first pass):

> After some comments from Russian speakers, I took a look around the
> internet for razbliuto. It seems to be up on some dictionary sites,
> but only one site traces the history. I got the words for this entry,
> including razbliuto, from They Have a Word for It, a book about words
> by Howard Rheingold. It seems his information came from a book called
> HodgePodge, by J Bryan in 1986. Before that, it looks like it came
> from a mistaken translation and conglomeration of two words, one of
> which means 'a lost love' and the other meaning 'whore'. However, it
> seems since it's only English linguists who use the word - it's kind
> of an English word after all. I say we keep it.

I wonder if the reanalysis is correct. If anything, the word seems to be
related to something entirely different from "lost love" (more likely
meaning the *verb* "razliubit'", to stop loving) and whore (meaning
"bliad'", which is closer to "slut" than "whore"). There were a number
of proposed reforms of the Russian language, few more comical than the
one supposedly proposed toward the end of Stalin's regime (more likely a
work of satire a few years later). That supposed early 1950s list
included two proposed words that were supposed to offer native tokens
for borrowed words: "bliudonoska" (a woman who carries dishes) for
waitress, "offitziantka") and "razbliudovka" (a detailed list of dishes,
i.e., "meniu" for menu). Both are related to the word "bliudo" (platter,
dish, in both senses) rather than "liubov'", love, or "liubit'", to
love. Either way, it's gibberish. There was at least one suggestion that
the word originated from a typo in the script of The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

VS-)

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