Advertisement

What are ‘untranslatable’ words?

Language necessarily evolves to accommodate new ideas, new concepts and new cultural paradigms. B...

Share this article

15.22 26 Mar 2025


What are ‘untranslatable’ words?


Listen to this episode


Share this article

15.22 26 Mar 2025


Language necessarily evolves to accommodate new ideas, new concepts and new cultural paradigms.

But, what happens when a word exists in one language, but not another?

There are lots of so-called ‘untranslatable’ words in English, and some Irish ones have been added to the latest version of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Fiona McPherson is Senior Editor at the Oxford English Dictionary and joins Seán to discuss.


Read more about

Moncrieff Highlights

Related Episodes

Are ya Dancin? Reliving Irelan...

00:14:58

Are ya Dancin? Reliving Ireland’s Showband Era

The Pat Kenny Show

00:14:58


Trump’s War on Science: Vaccin...

00:07:17

Trump’s War on Science: Vaccines and Renewables

The Pat Kenny Show

00:07:17


40th Anniversary of the Cherno...

00:14:47

40th Anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster

The Pat Kenny Show

00:14:47


New battery that can power an...

00:10:07

New battery that can power an EV for about 1,500km on a single charge

The Pat Kenny Show

00:10:07