They Have a Word for It takes the reader to the far corners of the globe to discover words and phrases for which there are no equivalents in...
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Jun 13, 2007
Christine
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Language can expand or contract our experience of the world. Rheingold has assembled a collection of words from cultures other than American for which there are no English equivalents. That meaningful look exchanged between two people, for instance, has a word to express it in Tierra del Fuegan. In Sanskrit, there is a word for the confusion between a symbol and the reality it represents.
Learning words for things we have difficulty even describing in English, or for which we lack eve More...
Learning words for things we have difficulty even describing in English, or for which we lack eve More...
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Oct 06, 2011
Talia
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Here, at Goodreads, we are all lovers of words.... This collection of words from other cultures is both entertaining and enlightening.
For all those that think that English is a rich language, comes this fun little book that shows us how other cultures have developed words to express "just that"--a situation, and emotion, and event or a relationship.
It is fun to read and to say, "Oh, yes. I wish we had this word in English." Come to think of it, there More...
For all those that think that English is a rich language, comes this fun little book that shows us how other cultures have developed words to express "just that"--a situation, and emotion, and event or a relationship.
It is fun to read and to say, "Oh, yes. I wish we had this word in English." Come to think of it, there More...
Oct 07, 2007
matthew
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i'm told the anthropology of this book is crap, and it's a little fruity, but i love words, and it's got some good'n's.
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Dec 07, 2010
This is a book full of interesting concepts that can be expressed in other languages using a single word but which we don't have a word for in English. It's a really good browsey type of a read.
It was first published in 1988 and includes a few words that I've learnt since then but I'm not sure how unusualthey were in English in 1988. Schadenfreude was one of thewords that I recognised.
My favourite so far is the Swedish word uffda which is to "ouch!" what"bless you!" is to
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Jan 09, 2010
Stephy
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To quote author Howard Rheingold:
"ho'oponopomo (HO-OH-poh-no-poh-no) Hawaiian, in origin: Solving a problem by talking it out. A social mechanism our culture desperately needs. It is a social gathering and healing process that combines the functions of a religious ceremony, group therapy, family counseling session, town hall meeting, and small claims court. An occasion for this event might be a dispute beteween in-laws, a disagreement between business partners, sexual complicat More...
"ho'oponopomo (HO-OH-poh-no-poh-no) Hawaiian, in origin: Solving a problem by talking it out. A social mechanism our culture desperately needs. It is a social gathering and healing process that combines the functions of a religious ceremony, group therapy, family counseling session, town hall meeting, and small claims court. An occasion for this event might be a dispute beteween in-laws, a disagreement between business partners, sexual complicat More...
Oct 10, 2011
Virginia
rated it: 
quante volte avremmo voluto esprimere un pensiero, un'idea, una sensazione, ma non ci siamo riusciti perche' la nostra lingua non ce lo permette?
Le parole giuste esistono, solo che forse non sono nella nostra lingua. Come mamihlapinatapei, ad esempio...
Le parole giuste esistono, solo che forse non sono nella nostra lingua. Come mamihlapinatapei, ad esempio...
Aug 03, 2011
Unicorn
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Calling all logophiles, philomaths, and philonists, this is a delightful account of lexicographical splendor. One of the best bargain book finds ever!
Jul 17, 2011
Karen
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The author is not a real linguist, it seems, but this book is very enjoyable - I took notes on all the words in it!
Jun 16, 2009
Lotte
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How not to read this book: check it out from the library and read it straight through. This book begs to be owned allowing for the occasional browse. It was fascinating to see what concepts are important enough to different cultures to be named; in Italy "ponte" is the sick day people manage to wedge between the weekend and a Tuesday or Thursday holiday, creating a four-day weekend; "rasa," a Sanskrit term describes the mood or sentiment evoked by a piece of art. Lovely.
Oct 13, 2011
Josephine
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It's not a dictionary in any real sense of the word--the terms aren't even alphabetical!--and I agree with the other commenters who said that the anthropology's more than a bit shaky. It's a fun collection of unusual words, though, all of which should be be better known, from "sitike" to "orenda", "mokita" to "biritululo". What do they mean? if you don't know...you'll just have to get a copy of the book.
Mar 21, 2008
Anna
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Oh, big fun! As a wordie, I find endless delight in memorizing the entries from this book and flinging them out when the proper occasion arises. Even if you are not the flinging type, these words are too good to be missed, as are Mr. Rheingold's delightful interpretations of their meanings.
Mar 12, 2008
Thomas
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Great little reference book to have around. Open to any page to read up on something pretty interesting from another culture and later force your new nugget into a conversation to let everyone know you're a smart cookie.
Feb 15, 2008
Sarah
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The Italians have a word for when you take a "sick" day on the Monday between a weekend and a Tuesday holiday... this and many more gems are to be found in this volume. An amusing dip-in-and-chuckle sort of reference work.
Sep 04, 2008
Court
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Some really interesting concepts, but a bit slow and circular/repetitive. It did spark a new interest in linguistic theory though...
Jul 05, 2011
Keith
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ta (Chinese): To understand things and thus take them lightly. [verb]
What an excellent word.
What an excellent word.
Dec 16, 2009
Dev
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A thesaurus for words that you didn't know you needed until you read this book.
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