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

Inside the Search for Jo Jo Du...

00:21:02

Inside the Search for Jo Jo Dullard and Deirdre Jacob

Newstalk Daily

00:21:02


The Ultimate Guide: London

00:14:03

The Ultimate Guide: London

The Hard Shoulder

00:14:03


What to expect from Trump’s fi...

00:12:08

What to expect from Trump’s first State of the Union address

The Hard Shoulder

00:12:08


The Bookshelf with Sean O’Rour...

00:16:04

The Bookshelf with Sean O’Rourke

The Hard Shoulder

00:16:04