Thinking about words and what they mean...

               English is one of the most-spoken languages in the world. Many people want to learn it, schools have programs to teach foreign language speakers, and knowing the language will probably help you throughout various countries in the world. The roots of languages have always been fascinating to me, and this visual representation below shows how intertwined they can be:

(larger version here)

               Although the English language is an amalgamation of words from across the globe, we are still missing out on some key untranslate-able words or phrases. Here are some of my favourites:

Kummerspeck (German)- Excess weight gained from emotional overeating. It literally means "grief bacon".

Esprit de l'escalier (French)- Thinking of the perfect retort too late. Literally meaning "staircase wit". We've all been there.

Fernweh (German)- Feeling homesick for a place to which you've never been. I feel this for Scotland, the home of my grandparents.

Age-otori (Japanese)- To look worse after a haircut. It's one of the worst feelings.

Forelsket (Norwegian)- The intoxicatingly euphoric feeling you experience when you're first falling in love. A similar English phrase would be NRE, or New Relationship Energy.

Gigil (Tagalog)- The overwhelming, irrestible urge to grab or pinch something extremely adorable.



               If you want to watch a funny video of Rhett & Link talking about similar words and making their own English translation (trust me, you do), check out the video below: