Auxilary

AuxiliaryAux

AuxiliaryUntranslatable

Untransferable

Quintessential

People who, on paper, may seem similar; be it that they are the same age, have the same hair colour or that they are an equal height have grown up in different ways purely because of geography. A person’s nationality forms part of their identity that some people may wish to change, such as a Frenchman who is crazy about everything British, a Chinese girl who dreams of being from New York or a Scottish man who knows all there is to know about Germany. As much as they can learn about a country it is not possible for them to truly be a native. In fact their true nationality will often become stronger through over compensating or trying too hard making their natural tendencies give the game away. These people will always be an outsider in a country they wish to call home because there is such a vast array of differing customs within a culture. These customs are so deeply ingrained in the person that it makes it hard to define the difference at times, and other times the differences is glaringly obvious. One element that is rarely constant from one culture to the next is the language. There are so many words that do not translate between languages making it impossible for someone trying to adopt a new nationality to really understand them. The words separate the person from the people around them leaving them on the outside looking in.

The following pages show windows into different cultures and languages. The windows are second hand with imperfections and blemishes that are traces of the lives that have lived behind them. Lives that the viewer can only guess at. They display messages about every aspect of human existence from humour to affection, and from work to weather. The frames have been placed together because no culture exists on its own and it is this mix that adds colour to everyday life and everyday objects that you take for granted. There is no need for people to wish they were from another country because the fact that it is different is what makes it interesting. It wouldn’t do for us all to be the same.

This word reflects affection. A primal instinct that runs much deeper than many parts of everyday life. Although affection comes naturally to most people the way that people talk about it is different reflecting the attitude of that particular society compared to another. An example of these differing view could be that typically Latin people do not hesitate to make eye contact with strangers in the street. It is less usual in countries like Britain where would be seen as confrontational or inappropriate behaviour.

C a f u n é

Brazilian..........................Portuguese

It roughly translates into

English as tenderly running your

fingers through someone’s hair.

Masculineka-fu-nay

Curiosity is universal. There are times when it is an important and irresistible urge that people get. Inuit life is an extreme lifestyle because of the harsh weather conditions that prevail in the Arctic regions that they call home. It is possible that as a result of this that the word came to be. Legend has it they have over twenty words to describe the various ways of waiting outside in the weather while the host puts off their iktsuarpok-ing duties.

i k t s u a r p o k

Inuit

There is not a single word equivalent in

English; it kind of means going outside

to see if someone is coming.

VerbEet-soo-ahr-pohk

This word also refers to the weather and how it effects they way you feel but in a very different way to the Inuit word seen on the previous pages. Where the Inuits have very harsh weather conditions to deal with the French are used to good weather and a relatively warm climate so they have a common turn of phrase that reflects this lifestyle. Although the English may have a similar climate compared to the drastic difference between the French and Inuit the phrase would not work in the UK as it does in France. It literally translates as the bottom of the air. Not like the arse of the air. More like the liquid at the bottom of a glass making the glass wet where the rest of it is dry. It just doesn’t make sense.

L e f o n d d e

l’a i r e s t f r a i s

French

This is talking aboutwhen you could be

tricked into thinking that it is summertime, and the weather is just

waiting to catch you off your guard and

give you a nasty cold.

Femininele-fon-deh-ler-e-froy

Also spelt hyggelig. This word is all about comfort and the cozy

feeling people can get in a warm and friendly environment.

The kind of feeling that come from feeling at home where

everything feels farmilliar safe and right, a feeling that

is hard to come by in a nation that someone is not native of.

It would take a long time to really settle a person normally

goes through four stages of adjustment before they call a

new country home. The fact that there is also a variation in the

spelling of the word shows that being part of a community is

also specific to a particular area within a nation.

huggelig

Danish

Gives connotations of a warm, friendly, cozy demeanor, but it’s unlikely that these words truly capture the essence of the word.

Nounhoo-ga-li-h

The spirit of the age. A general trend of thought or feeling

characteristic of a particular period

of time.

Masculinezite-guyst

This word dates back to the German Romantics of the late 18th and early 19th century. It has more recently been adopted in English and is used in newspapers as a name for current trends. Although this use has a relationship to its original meaning it isn’t being used in exactly the same sense. The english use is refering to a fleeting trends whilst the original meaning is representative of an era. Something to look back on and not commenting on current things. This shows how words may be common but their meanings don’t directly transfer. A bit like Chinese whispers.

zeitgeist

German

Learn from people around you, they can see things you might not.

Many people say that food is a way to someone’s heart. Enjoying food, and talking about something that is tasty is fun and at times it’s an automatic reaction. A word such as this says something about the culture and their values. If you can’t understand it you will be unaware of the richness and appreciation that is being spoken about and could easily use it in the wrong context.

lekker

Dutch ....................... Africaans

Alluring, enticing, tasty, tempting

used often when talking about

your food.

AdjectiveSaid as spelt

A talkoot is by definition voluntary it is connected to expectation and honour. How a person relates to the people directly around them.

Some people moving to the UK find it difficult to adjust to the ways of socializing. How it can often centre around the pub as opposed to big meals with friends and family. There is also a different sense of what is expected of someone as part of a community. Like people in FInland getting together in Talkoot people from other culures like Sudan in Africa would automatically know all their neighbours and would visist them regularly if they were in need. This is not always the case nowadays in Britain with many people now not knowing their neighbours at all.

ta l k o o t

F i nn i s h

A group of people gathering to work

together unpaid, for instance to build or repair

something.

Nearly always pluralTahl-kut

To truely belong to a cluture or nation you have to experience the highs and the lows. Although people experience feelings they can often not completely articulate them and the fact that there is such a padded vague

S a u d a d e

P o r t u g e s e

A Portuguese word difficult to translate

adequately, which describes a deep

emotional state of nostalgic longing for

something or someone that one was fond

of and which is lost; repressed knowledge

that the object of longing might really

never return.

Nounso-dadh

translation shos the degree of seoeration in the mind set of an Englush speaker and someone with portugese as a mother toungue and their connection to such a fundamental emotion.

J ay u s

Indoesian

A joke that is told and is so bad that you have to laugh

Nounzite-guyst

Humour is one thing that is different depending on where you are and can make a situation worse or ease it. This could be because it involves word play and colloquialisms that mean that if people do not understand the customs of a place it is unlikely they will get the humour. It is also quite likely that natives will understand the humour of the visitor. However, smilling and laughing at yourself can often help.

The way that people think about life around the world is also vastly different and the accepted values of one nation may be hard to understand from an outsider’s perspective. The Wabi-Sabi way of life accepts and celebrates the natural cycle growth and decay. Similarly to how aborigines in Australia do not speak of the dead, death is accepted and life goes on. A completely different idea to the tradition of mourning that goes on in the west.

詫び寂びJapanese

A way of living that focuses on finding beauty within the

imperfections of life and accepting

peacefully the natural cycle of

growth and decay.

nnnnNounSaid as spelt

Wabi-sabi

ta l k o o t

lekker

C a f u n é

huggelig

S a u d a d e

J ay u s

zeitgeist

L e f o n d d e l’a i r e s t f r a i s .

i k t s u a r p o k

詫び寂びWabi-sabi