Tag: untranslatable

How French made its mark on the English language

An estimated 80,000 English words are of French origin, with expressions like “c’est la vie” or “je ne sais quoi” a common part of English vocabulary. But how did that particular language have such a profound influence on its linguistic cousin?

Ten German words and phrases that don’t translate well into English

English and German are both are classified as “Germanic,” meaning they descended from the same Indo-European language thousands of years ago. With such strong linguistic ties, translating between them should be easy, right? Unfortunately, no.

Ten Spanish expressions that don’t translate well into English

Spanish is the world’s most widely spoken Romance language, and its proliferation in different countries and locales presents its own set of translation challenges. These ten common expressions don’t have English equivalents.