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

Paul Howard

00:12:41

Paul Howard

The Pat Kenny Show

00:12:41


Sciene with Luke O'Neill:...

00:06:43

Sciene with Luke O'Neill: Russian Plague

The Pat Kenny Show

00:06:43


Gordan d'Arcy at Leinster...

00:13:47

Gordan d'Arcy at Leinster's new home

The Pat Kenny Show

00:13:47


Trump agrees oil deal with Rus...

00:07:34

Trump agrees oil deal with Russia

The Pat Kenny Show

00:07:34