by Ella Frances Sanders
Did you know that the Japanese have a word to express the way sunlight filters through the leaves of trees? Or, that there’s a Swedish word that means a traveller’s particular sense of anticipation before a trip?
From the author of The Illustrated Book of Sayings and Eating the Sun, comes Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World, bringing the nuanced beauty of language to life with over 50 beautiful ink illustrations by Ella Frances Sanders. an artistic collection of more than 50 drawings featuring unique, funny, and poignant foreign words that have no direct translation into English.
The words and definitions range from the lovely, such as goya, the Urdu word to describe the transporting suspension of belief that can occur in good storytelling, to the funny, like the Malay word pisanzapra, which translates as ‘the time needed to eat a banana’ .
More than fifty words that don’t have direct English translations with charming illustrations of their tender, poignant, and humorous definitions. Often these words provide insight into the cultures they come from, such as the Brazilian Portuguese word for running your fingers through a lover’s hair, the Italian word for being moved to tears by a story, or the Swedish word for a third cup of coffee.
In this clever and beautifully rendered exploration of the subtleties of communication, you’ll find new ways to express yourself while getting lost in the artistry of imperfect translation.
You can order the book here and also make sure you check out Ella Frances Sander’s personal website to see more of her work.
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