Foreign words we need in English

That last one had me going, especially the more colourful description for it.

"Check out that tail" :p


I'm sure we have a lot of English words that work the same, but we just can't say them here. ;)
 
I like...

#8. Kummerspeck (German)

Means:
Excess weight gained from emotional overeating.
"Kummerspeck" translates to "grief bacon," a word that finally acknowledges that when we are under a crushing weight of sadness or stress, many of us skip alcohol and narcotics in favor of delicious fried meats.
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Schadenfruede and zeitgeist are two of my favourite words. Unfortunately if the other person hasn't heard of them, they think you're just showing off.
 
There's noting wrong with 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.
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However, I don't agree with the text that follows that definition:
They're out there. They're reading this right now. Judging, smirking, analyzing. They care nothing about the actual meaning or fun of writing, but care everything about whether you used that semi-colon correctly.
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Some of them may care nothing about the fun of writing, but I don't see the people here who try to help others with their grammar in this light. In fact, there's quite a high correlation between those finding problems with grammar and those finding fun in language (including punctuation) in the membership of the Chrons.​
 
number 6 - Gadrii Nombur Shulen Jongu - surely that is 4 words?

I do love number 5 - Iktsuarpok -
To go outside to check if an expected visitor has arrived, over and over again.​

I have done that sooo many times.

I just the words were easier to pronounce, then I might use them.
 
Ursa major said:
There's noting wrong with Pilkunnussija (Finnish):


However, I don't agree with the text that follows that definition:

Some of them may care nothing about the fun of writing, but I don't see the people here who try to help others with their grammar in this light. In fact, there's quite a high correlation between those finding problems with grammar and those finding fun in language (including punctuation) in the membership of the Chrons.​
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You're reading too much into it. Nothing you read on Cracked should be taken ad-literam as they usually exaggerate to great degrees.
If you look up Romania there you'll find that it's a country mainly inhabited by bears (saw one once...not one of my proudest childhood memories).
 
I especially liked the one (I'd have to go back now to see what the word was) that translated as "giving a green answer to a blue question". In fact, that translation has now found a place in my vocabulary, since I'll never remember the foreign word or be able to pronounce it, and nobody would understand it anyway!
 
Call me greedy, but we need more letters. Like maybe a ж (dz / zh) or some way to tell the difference between a voiced and voiceless th.

You can use the word 'replete' to indicate having eaten enough, though it's not really the same. I knew of the Japanese word 'Otaku', which has a similar meaning to Hikikomori

I assumed we picked up words all the time and always have done and it was just a natural part of the evolution of language. For example (I never knew until I played Empire Total War) the word 'thug' comes from India: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee

Edit: I also was wondering about just randomly dropping in words from another language into my writing. I guess fine for travel writing, but in fiction? I remember reading a clockwork orange in school and it took me a few chapters to work out what a devochka was, but it wasn't until many years later when I travelled to Russia it clicked they weren't just made-up words

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee
 
Oh lord, I remember reading A Clockwork Orange and having to flip back and forth to the glossary to figure out what every other word was -- I guess I liked it enough to finish, since I did, but it was definitely a book that made you work for it.

I don't think I would advise "randomly dropping in" words from another language, but if you have a reasonable justification for using them, then go for it. Anthony Burgess and Robert Heinlein (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress) taught me bits of Russian, and Harry Harrison (Stainless Steel Rat) taught me bits of (and about the existence of) Esperanto, and I'm sure there are others with other languages. It can be interesting.
 
I suppose it depends on whether the reader needs to know what the foreign words mean.

If the PoV character is at a border crossing, say, and two border guards are exchanging the odd comment in their own language, it might be part of the world-building to have their words on the page, untranslated.
 
I read later that US publishers had insisted on a glossary against the wishes of the author, but in the UK edition I read, there wasn't one.

I was thinking more that usually you learn the meaning of a word by the context. So in the same way you can put in made up words without necessarily explaining their dictionary defenition to the reader, you could put in foreign words. But this would only be for words without an equivelant in English
 
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