Subhanallah. I love languages because it increases my ability to speak to millions of people who also speak the same language. Unfortunately, there are some words that can't be properly translated.
For example, I often hit the roadblock of finding the right words to express myself in Arabic while talking to an English speaker. Each language belongs to a certain emotion in my mind: happiness-Korean; sadness, love, family, jokes-Arabic; academic, anger-English, thoughtfulness-French.
Right now I'm feeling really sad. The word I could use to acurately describe my feelings is in Arabic: (transliteration:) mahroo' albi. Literal translation: my heart is burned? It describes the feeling your heart/chest feels after you've cried about something so hard (you know that cry, where you hiccup and you can't speak, and your eyes are bloodshot). It means you are sad, you were sad, and you will be sad forevermore because you don't see a solution.
In case you're wondering why mahroo' albi: Syria. :'(
Granted, I could probably speak all emotions in every language if I learned the right vocabulary. But as of right now, I'm such a complicated individual, I wouldn't be able to express myself wholly with someone who only spoke on language.
On a happier note:
Eid Mubarak! It's Eid al-Adha tomorrow. Today I'm fasting yawm Arafat inshAllah.
<3 Have a blessed Eid everyone.
I think it's so amazing that you can speak so many languages! Total inspiration. I finally got to this level with my Korean where I want to use words that are perfect for the situation but don't translate well at all.
ReplyDeleteAlso I really hope the situation in Syria gets better. I can't imagine how sad that must be for you :( I'll be praying for you and the situtation.
Thanks Bri. :) You always make me feel better. Btw, did you see my unboxing video on my youtube? Go check it out!
Delete