BBC NEWS | Africa | Congo word 'most untranslatable'
The top three most difficult words to translate according to the article, based on a survey of 1,000 linguists:
1) Ilunga (Tshiluba, Congo): a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time
2) Shlimazl (Yiddish): chronically unlucky person
3) Naa (Japanese, Kansai dialect): used to emphasise statements or agree with someone.
Posted by kwc at June 24, 2004 08:57 PM