Do all words in another language mean something in English.
2007-02-04 08:27:26 · 11 answers · asked by ? 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
This is a good question and there is quite a bit of debate about this among the linguists. The short answer is "no". We use words to represent a particular category or concept. These concepts can mean many different things to different people. So even within a language, they vary. There are stronger differences between languages, because every attempt at making sense of a word requires interpretation, and these are different depending on culture (which comes from differences in experience, upbringing, and exposure to literature).
I do research on cross-linguistic differences in the concept of cooperation in workgroups. Americans and Chinese agree on a similar word for "cooperate", and they agree on 75% of its meaning. But 10% is very different between the cultures. And another 15% is different across individuals in both cultures.
The more abstract the word, the less consensus on its meaning. People can agree mostly on what a "dog" is (although some may extend the meaning to wolves). But a word such as "love" or "spirit" or "trust" can be quite different, and many languages have different words representing overlapping concepts. For example, we use "to understand" to mean comprehending and seeing another's perspective, while Chinese have different words for each.
2007-02-04 08:36:45 · answer #1 · answered by drjkfu 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
You would need to be a linguist to understand the root of ALL languages. Actually, the english language has had benefit of contributions from most dominant world languages, so it would be more accurate to say that most of the OTHER world languages are the root of the english/american language.
You do know why this is don;t you? Because America has had so many languages introduced into the mainstream over the course of it's history.
There are so many words in the english language that can't even come close to it's meaning in another language. That's because the english language has so MANY words!
2007-02-04 08:36:00 · answer #2 · answered by Pixie 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
English, perhaps more than any other language, is derived from many different languages, but i would not say that other languages surround it or that all other words have a meaning in English. For example Eskimos have a number of words for the different types of snow which would have no meaning in English .
2007-02-04 08:33:39 · answer #3 · answered by Pirate AM™ 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No. There are many Japanese words that have no literal American english translation. You must realize american english is not the standard but rather a hybrid of other european languages which are primarily based on Latin. Many mandarin based languages evolved completely free of Latin influence, which leads to many translation issues. Several African languages have no english translations as well.
2007-02-04 08:32:45 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
No, in any language there are words that do not have a direct translation in another language
2007-02-04 08:30:58 · answer #5 · answered by squeegie 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No not even close. But I had a friend who told me they did a around the world travel and in most countries they had no problem finding people who could speak English. It is probably the most widely known language. Probably the easiest to learn someone said. The hardest to learn is Chinese.
2007-02-04 08:32:17 · answer #6 · answered by Steven 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
"Bakku-Shan" = Japanese. It's a word to describe a woman that's hot from the back, and very ugly at the front. "Mamihlapinatapai" = Yaghan. It's a look between two people that suggests an unspoken, shared desire. "Backpfeifengesicht" = German. It's a word to describe a face that needs to be punched. "Nunchi" = Korean. The act of not becoming a Backpfeifengesicht. "Shlimazl" = Yiddish. Someone who has nothing but bad luck. "Tingo" = Pacuense. To borrow from a friend until he/she has nothing left. "Kummerspeck" = German. The excess weight gained from emotional eating. "Shemomedjamo" = Georgian. To eat past the point of being full just because the food tastes good. "Hikikomori" = Japanese. Someone who has withdrawn from social life. "Gadrii Nombor Shulen Jongu" = Tibetan. Giving an answer unrelated to the question. "Iktsuarpok" = Inuit. To go outside to check for expected visitors; over and over again. "Kaelling" = Danish. An ugly, miserable woman who yells obscenities at her kids. "Neidbau" = German. A building (often of little or no value to the proprietor) constructed with the sole purpose of harassing or inconveniencing his neighbor in some way. "Pochemuchka" = Russian. A person who asks to many questions. "Pilkunnussija" = Finnish. A person who believes it is their destiny to stamp out all spelling and punctuation mistakes at the cost of popularity, self-esteem and mental well-being.
2016-05-24 05:37:20 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
nope, havent u heard of latin? and romance language?
most of the words come from latin....
and spanish, french, dlmatian, and portugese comes from latin romance language
and of course if you take every word in the world there will be some written or sound the same as in english
2007-02-04 08:31:33 · answer #8 · answered by bmcsporran 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No actually most derive from Latin.
2007-02-04 08:30:09 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
no i mean look at persian, russian, farsi, ect..
NOpe
Meg
www.byki.com
2007-02-04 11:09:32 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋