Can you guess the meaning of these untranslatable words? Take the quiz
Test your knowledge of words in languages including German, Persian and Hindi
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Your support makes all the difference.With the worldwide explosion of the internet and smartphones constantly at our fingertips, we are more connected than ever – but technology can’t break through the nuances of language, culture and so-called untranslatable words.
Some 7 billion people on the planet in 196 countries speak at least one of 7,000 languages – and so it’s not surprising that certain experiences are described more specifically in some places than others.
So, test your knowledge of words which are unique to certain languages below.
How did you do? Let us know in the comments below.
A recent study found that human languages could have evolved to suit natural habitats in which they were originally spoken.
Languages which developed in dense forests in tropical regions are more likely to include low-frequency sounds and vowels, while languages in more open habitats have high-pitched sounds and consonants, according to researchers.
“We believe that some part of the characteristics of the sound patterns in languages is shaped by the ecological or climatic features of the area where it was originally spoken,” said Ian Maddieson, an adjunct professor of linguistics at the University of New Mexico, who led the study.
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