Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World

It's a cute looking book with nice illustrations. I would have wished that the author used better descriptions for the words; adding a place of origin, where that certain word is used instead of the language it's from, would've been helpful. The way words are used change from place to place, depending on the dialect or speech form. For instance, I speak Spanish, and the word "Vacilando", where I grew up means "to joke" or "to tease". In other Spanish speaking places, it could mean "to enjoy" or even "to date". So I'm just saying, adding a little bit more info would have made the experience of this book so much better and less confusing (for those that speak the languages of the words mentioned in this book but have never heard such definitions of them).

Purchased the hardcover version. I liked the idea and content, but the fonts, and page color / font combinations, made it difficult to read for me and therefore difficult to enjoy.

What a wonderful gift. Charming illustrations paired with a wonderful list of words you probably don't know. Favorites included tsundoku, the Japanese word for "leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books". Everyone loved passing this around and trying out the new words. Something for everyone, especially word lovers.

Of course, as a writer, I love language--and I'm always looking for that perfect word to reflect an emotion or action. This brief book is filled with perfect words collected from around the globe. It's also a little peek into the soul of different cultures.While it's generally agreed that English has the most words (according to Bill Bryson's book 'Mother Tongue', English has about 200,000 words in common use, German 184,000 and French 100,000), sometimes it's the magic of that one word that can suddenly shift your perspective to understand something in a truly extraordinary way. And sometimes it's not about being raised to the sublime, but rather about the efficiency of economy. Why use 10 words when you can use one?Every word is included with a definition and charming illustration by the author. The facing page reiterates the word and definition again, with a short commentary.Similar to The Book of Awesome, this book will help lift your spirits as it reminds you of the uniqueness of being human.My favorite word? Mangata. The road-like reflection of the moon in the water.

I loved the idea behind the book. However, each of the words would have benefited from a pronunciation guide. Also, the hand scripted font on the illustrated pages was often difficult to decipher. And, the very small white font on the information pages was sometimes difficult to read depending on the background color of the page.

What a lovely book to sit and read as you imagine how and where you could use each word. I've read it with my curious kids, and we've used it to name our car. The words selected have a romantic feeling and easily put me in a good mood.Great coffee table book or conversation starter. And as mentioned before, great to get kids thinking about other languages and the magical quality of words. It gives them a feeling of how culture impacts the creation of language (e.g., Poronkusema in Finnish is "The distance a reindeer can comfortably travel before taking a break.").That said, some definitions are hard to see because of the poor selection of contrast colors. A shame.Still, I'm glad I bought it, and will give to friends as gifts.

As the title says, there are some words than can't be fitted into a one word definition in any language but their own. This book provides a delightful assortment of such treasures. The selection is terrific (most of these are really interesting words), the (multiword) definitions are illuminating, and the pictures are charming. A few of the words are moving into my permanent vocabulary: how about "kummerspeck" (weight gained from emotional overeating), or "komorebi" (sunlight shining through leaves)?

This is a book about words that are wholly new concepts. Ones that may change the way you think about little things, and make you better understanding foreign countries.This is a better type of dictionary - list of new concepts, instead of list of aliases.

Arrived early, and was in perfectly acceptable condition as described; but as regards the contents it was a big disappointment. This is more of a miniature coffee table book than a work of any substance. Approximately 51 words are introduced in a short paragraph on unnumbered pages of thick paper, presumably to make the skimpiness of the content less apparent.

- The illustrations are cute but unremarkable.- the illustrations have been prioritised over clarity - the actual text is often difficult to read.- There is very little text to read.- Some of these " alien words" are really portmanteaux(?) in foreign languages e.g. "kablesalat" i.e. "Cable-salad" in German (seems self explanatory). There aren't enough challenging, thought provoking examples that really defy an easy English translation.Disappointing overall.

I am a professional translator/editor, British by birth, working on university-level scientific texts for publication in English (or American) in the world's top journals, so naturally I found 'Lost in Translation' very interesting, very intriguing! My list of False Friends from Italian to English and vice versa increases by the day, which on one hand is exasperating but on the other often hilarious. I shall look out for any more of Ella Sanders' work!

I just live this little book - purchased another after being given one as a gift. Some of the extracts are quite moving and really does give you something to think about. The illustrations are lovely - a great gift idea. Arrived really quickly and in perfect condition.

This is a great book for anyone who has an interest in language, to either pick up and browse occasionally or as a coffee table book to spark discussion. Some of the words have beautiful meanings. My only criticism is that the typeface used for the definitions is slightly difficult to read, particularly on pages where the illustrations are more colourful. However all in all I'm really pleased to have added this book to my collection.