Discussion Expressing Hurt beyond English

[mold]

Wasn't sure what to tag this, but I was just sitting and thinking about it, and I also study/studied linguistics in uni.

I know this forum is in English, but as someone who is bilingual and fluent in both English and my native language, I think and speak and express myself in both. In my language, there are way more words to express feelings (both physical and emotional) and emotions than in English in my opinion.

There are a lot of words I have in my first language that I feel perfectly describes the emotions and hurt that I feel, especially all the negative ones. But when I try to express myself in English the best I can muster up is words like "hurt", "pain", "dread", or "suffering", and can't find the words in the English dictionary to perfectly describe my pain.

Do you guys speak any other languages or have experiences like this with language? Does it help to vent in one language over another for you personally? I'm just curious.

 

[heiwa2]

Iam not a native Japanese speaker but to me japnese words feel way more expressive than English words in terms of emotions and even the words of my native language. While hearing words like 痛い, 苦し, さびし, こはい you can feel the emotions. While the english words feel more rigid and analytical than emotional.

 

[mold]

Iam not a native Japanese speaker but to me japnese words feel way more expressive than English words in terms of emotions and even the words of my native language. While hearing words like 痛い, 苦し, さびし, こはい you can feel the emotions. While the english words feel more rigid and analytical than emotional.

haha funnily enough my first language is Japanese! I think the word i struggle to translate most emotionally might be 辛い or 懐かしい, which I would say the closest English equivalents are "suffering" and "nostalgia/nostalgic" but it feels slightly... different? Off? I'd say your examples do have close English counterparts, but I can definitely see them being slightly different too in certain contexts that English can't explain...

 

[Nitlott]

Do you guys speak any other languages or have experiences like this with language? Does it help to vent in one language over another for you personally?

What comes to mind first is "тоска" (toska) in Russian, with no equivalent in English. I remember Nabokov had written a small paragraph or so on it. There's probably more from different languages but that's all I can remember. I'd say it's something like melancholic yearning, but not quite... Remember seeing a guy saying that a song with this title by Molchat Doma can be seen as a definition in a music form lol. I agree a little. I don't think there's any unique cultural concept here thought, most people probably have experienced it, but either have a different word or understanding of it. I like that there're words you can't directly translate into something else.

All the times I wrote about my personal problems or struggles were in English. It feels more easy to do than in my native. I think it may be because of the feeling of alienation. Like, no matter how good you are in other languages words spoken don't feel as heavy as they would in your native...Uh, yeah... I remember seeing a video covering this topic and I remember it compared it to Jekyll and Hyde (in some way), but I didn't watch it sadly... Hope I'll find it again

 

[Life's not a comedy]

The English synanonyms didnt help either I bet

 

[Liwujin]

My first language is Spanish and I definitely feel more freedom when ti comes to expressing my emotions than English despite knowing English for the same time as I have known Spanish—all my life. My theory is that since English has become the "standard" or "global" language now, it has lost a lot of its charm, specially with all the shortcuts that are used in it nowadays, as well as slang that's just common ig?

 

[yotaka]

I've seen similar thoughts from speakers of lots of different languages expressed here. I guess I can only speak for myself, but I personally think it's great when people express themselves in whatever language they're most comfortable with.

Where you're a native Japanese speaker, I especially feel like there are lots of people here who are interested in Japan / the Japanese language. I dunno.

Anyway, よろしく

 

[webb&flow]

Category:Words and phrases with no direct English translation - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

My name's meaning for this forum is:

Saudade (English: /saʊˈdɑːdə/,[1]​ European Portuguese: [sɐwˈðaðɨ], Galician: [sawˈðaðɪ]; plural saudades)[2]​ is an emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for a beloved yet absent something or someone. It is often associated with a repressed understanding that one might never encounter the recipient of longing ever again. It is a recollection of feelings, experiences, places, or events— often illusive —[citation needed]​ that cause a sense of separation from the exciting, pleasant, or joyous sensations they once caused. It derives from the Latin word for solitude.[3]​

Nascimento and Meandro (2005)[4]​ cite Duarte Nunes Leão's definition of saudade: "Memory of something with a desire for it."

In Brazil, the day of Saudade is officially celebrated on 30 January.[5]​[6]​ It is not a widely acknowledged day in Portugal.

from wikipedia lmao