Lost in translation

Raleigh, NC

BBC compiled a list of 10 most difficult words to translate. "Saudade" a Portuguese word is ranked 7th on the list.

1. Ilunga [Tshiluba word for a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time; to tolerate it a second time; but never a third time. Note: Tshiluba is a Bantu language spoken in south-eastern Congo, and Zaire]
2. Shlimazl [Yiddish for a chronically unlucky person]
3. Radioukacz [Polish for a person who worked as a telegraphist for the resistance movements on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain]
4. Naa [Japanese word only used in the Kansai area of Japan, to emphasise statements or agree with someo
5. Altahmam [Arabic for a kind of deep sadness]
6. Gezellig [Dutch for cosy]
7. Saudade [Portuguese for a certain type of longing]
8. Selathirupavar [Tamil for a certain type of truancy]
9. Pochemuchka [Russian for a person who asks a lot of questions]
10. Klloshar [Albanian for loser]

Learning Brazilian Portuguese I have struggled to understand the meaning of "Saudade". Saudade is ingrained in the Brazilian psyche and this word gets a lot of play in the Brazilian novelas (soaps). These novelas are a national pass time in Brazil. Last year a novela "Caminhas das Indias" (Path to India) was a huge hit in Brazil. This novela was filmed in India and Brazil with the story line being a Brazilian woman falling for an Indian guy who travels between India and Brazil. Last time I visited Brazil, I found Brazilians to be very inquisitive about India. My guess is that part of the inquisitiveness was fuelled by this novela playing on prime time.



The sub titles in the video are in Spanish. That's because Novelas made by Globo TV in Brazil, play in the Spanish speaking countries in Latin America as well.

Coming back to the word "Saudade", Wikipedia describes it as a "vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist ... a turning towards the past or towards the future". The word has it's roots in the Portuguese maritime tradition. Women and children were left behind when the men ventured out on long sea voyages. Women left behind felt a longing for their loved ones with no control of when they can meet again, if ever. Immigrants to Brazil from all over the world felt a longing for the homelands they left behind.

I can say that I feel "Saudade" for India as I have a longing, a collection of fond experiences and feelings about India but don't know if and when I will go back to India. The fatalism element of "Saudade" is what has been difficult for me to comprehend. I hope my time at HEC is so fantastic and filled with great experiences that I have a "Saudade" for it once I finish my MBA.

Ate Mais... Tchau!