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

How I Live Well: Maintaining H...

00:08:31

How I Live Well: Maintaining Healthy Habits

Lunchtime Live

00:08:31


Port Tunnel fee could rise to...

00:17:17

Port Tunnel fee could rise to €17 as traffic growth is “unsustainable” 

Lunchtime Live

00:17:17


Baking some Mother's Day treat...

00:10:53

Baking some Mother's Day treats

The Claire Byrne Show

00:10:53


Donald Trump says the Iran war...

00:08:10

Donald Trump says the Iran war will be over ‘pretty quickly’

The Claire Byrne Show

00:08:10