untranslatable
Culture
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?
Localization
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.
Localization
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.