The same goes for the ten key Chinese words that author Yu Hua analyzes in this book summary. There might be plenty of English translations of a Portuguese word like saudade – “nostalgia,” say, or “longing” – yet none of them really capture the historical importance of the melancholic yearning this word signifies in Portuguese culture. The belief that some words are untranslatable may not be technically correct, but there’s something to it. The way people talk about the world tells you a lot about their values, ideas and customs. If you want to understand an unfamiliar culture, it’s a good idea to learn its language.
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