{"id":70176,"date":"2016-05-27T11:38:05","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T10:38:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/insight\/english-language-learning-express\/"},"modified":"2025-03-07T17:27:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T17:27:33","slug":"english-language-learning-express","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/english-language-learning-express\/","title":{"rendered":"How the English language is learning to express itself"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you can\u2019t seem to find the word you need, look to other languages.<\/strong>
\n\u201cShe gazed at the map, her wanderlust<\/em> stronger than ever. She had found what she wanted and she had the chutzpah <\/em>to go after it \u2013 and she knew she wasn\u2019t alone. Travel and exploration was practically the national zeitgeist<\/em>. She asked her older brother – who was like a guru<\/em> to her \u2013 for advice, and together they made a plan and came up with a mantra<\/em> for her travels: \u2018embrace laissez-faire<\/em>\u2019. She felt a frisson<\/em> of excitement. She was ready\u201d.
\nThe English language is an explorer in its own right. It discovers intriguing words in other languages that have no direct English translation, and simply absorbs them into its lexicon. Many of these adopted words are widely used in everyday speech and their meanings are well understood.
\nThere are hundreds more words from around the world that are not yet a part of the English language, which also articulate things that we don\u2019t have a word for. In particular, there is a whole global vocabulary that encapsulates expressions of well-being, relationships and spirituality which elude English speakers \u2013 because we don\u2019t have the words.
\nDr Tim Lomas is a psychologist at the University of East London and he is curating a \u2018positive lexicography\u2019 of words in other languages that don\u2019t have an English equivalent. The list currently stands at 216 and is a work in progress. Lomas\u2019 ambitious aim is to \u201chelp expand the emotional vocabulary of English speakers \u2013 and indeed speakers of all languages \u2013 and consequently enrich their experiences of well-being.\u201d
\nSpanning all major world languages, the lexicography includes gems such as \u201chygge\u201d (a Danish noun to mean a deep sense of place, warmth, friendship and contentment), which are already gaining popularity among English speakers. Others, such as \u201cNamaka\u201d (a Japanese noun to mean a best friend or close buddy for whom one feels a deep platonic love), are almost completely unknown outside their native language.
\nAs communities around the world are becoming more ethnically and linguistically diverse and the internet continues to connect people of different tongues, language is experiencing increased homogenisation. 90% of the world\u2019s population can communicate with each other through the 10 most common languages including English, Spanish and Mandarin. If speakers of these languages start to appropriate words from other languages in order to express themselves in ways that they weren\u2019t able to before, this process of homogenization will accelerate.
\nAlthough the prospect of a universal language seems likely, it\u2019s a long way off. Words such as those included in Lomas\u2019 positive lexicography need to be translated artfully in order to preserve their unique meaning for English readers. In some cases, a more thorough transcreation process can help to articulate the finer points of a piece of content without losing the nuance of the original text. To find out more about how translation and transcreation processes work, contact the language experts<\/a> at Stratton Craig.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you can\u2019t seem to find the word you need, look to other languages. \u201cShe gazed at the map, her wanderlust stronger than ever. She had found what she wanted and she had the chutzpah to go after it \u2013 and she knew she wasn\u2019t alone. Travel and exploration was practically the national zeitgeist. She […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[305,314,318],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-content-strategy-us","category-copywriting-us","category-translation-services-us"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow the English language is learning to express itself - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strattoncraig.com\/us\/insight\/english-language-learning-express\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How the English language is learning to express itself - Stratton Craig - Global Copywriting & Content Marketing Agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When you can\u2019t seem to find the word you need, look to other languages. \u201cShe gazed at the map, her wanderlust stronger than ever. 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