Writing Prompt

Part of what interests me about foreign languages is that there are some foreign words that exist that have no English equivalent. However hard we try to define these words, we will never be able to explain their meaning with a single word. This prompt is in part a response to our writing exercise on translation. Here are some word examples, the language of origin is in parentheses:

mokita (Kilivila): truth we all know but agree not to talk about; the elephant in the room.

mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan): a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other will offer something that they both desire but are unwilling to suggest or offer themselves.

komorebi (Japanese): the interplay between light and leaves when sunlight shines through trees.

culaccino (Italian): the stain left on a table from a cold glass of water.

pochemuchka (Russian): a person who asks too many questions.

yuputka (Ulwa): the phantom sensation of something crawling on your skin.

If you are stuck writing a poem, consider one of these words as a jumping off point! How might your poem convey the feelings behind one of the words? Are there any possibilities for narrative? Have you experienced any of these words but never found a way to describe them?

If you use this prompt, let me know if it worked for you and got you writing! I would love to read the final product!

 

4 Replies to “Writing Prompt”

  1. Oh, Maya. You get me. I’d love to add to your list with a poem I’m trying to write about ‘hiraeth’ – a Welsh word that means (approximately) a homesickness for a home that never was – in a poem about being adopted, utilizing some of my boyfriend’s experiences for context. It is considered to be one of the only exact equivalents of the Portuguese ‘saudade’ which I used in my poem ‘Desideratum’, but is a bit more general of a longing (depending on what source you listen to).

    I absolutely love these words because they are so crazy in their uniqueness, contexts, and sound. Thanks for sharing some more for me. <3

  2. “mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan): a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other will offer something that they both desire but are unwilling to suggest or offer themselves.” whoaaaaa Maya! Thanks for sharing this! This is so inspirational. I’m excited there’s a word for this….English is not doing it right. We need cooler words.

  3. I wish that English had more words like these.

    There are so many wonderful feelings and experiences that we cannot describe with the english language. Whenever I hear words like these from other languages, I can’t help but feel like I’m putting on a glove that I have no right partaking in. I guess I’m worried about the cultural divide and being able to take on personas in poetry (again. This has been a recurring issue for me this semester ever since Yellowface at the start of this year).

    My question is this because I can’t think of any off of the top of my head: Does English have any words like this? I know petrichor is one way to satisfy that response, being a more abstract definition, but I want something even more abstract that relates to an experience.

  4. I really like the Italian word. The stain left on a table from a cold glass of water describes my life so well. This post was very informative to me and it made me wonder of words in my native language, Spanish, that don’t have a translation equivalent in English. I couldn’t find one, but I’m sure there are some. I think what’s interesting about the fact that I can’t find one is that since I am a bilingual speaker and writer than it is very easy for me to find words that are equivalent to each other in English and Spanish. And that made me wonder how difficult this prompt would be for multilingual people. Does it get harder for them like me? Or does it get easier? Great writing prompt! Thanks for sharing it!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.