Bad Hair Day

When you live in a place where the people speak a language other than your own mother tongue, life can sometimes be frustrating.

I speak Finnish reasonably fluently, but there are still words and expressions that I simply can't find a proper translation for, and those are the times I wish that different words existed and I didn't have to settle for an "almost" translation.

Languages are an integral part of a country's culture and I have always felt that when you choose to live in a country other than your own, it is up to you to make the effort to speak their language, not the other way round.

But having said that, no two languages can ever be substituted for each other completely, and there are always words and phrases that don't properly exist in the new language. I have found myself spending five minutes explaining something which in English I could say with a single word.

For anyone who is familiar with both Finnish and English, you will no doubt have experienced the same thing. In English, when I hear a story of achievement, I may well respond by saying "I'm impressed!" Translate that into Finnish and it's just not the same thing. Of course it's even more basic than that, as the Finns don't even have the word for "please". Coming from a family where politeness has always been drummed into us, asking for something without saying please afterwards has always been difficult for us, and sometimes we just had the English "please" anyway. Even though no one expects it here.

Anyway. Words have always been fascinating to me, as enriching as they are challenging. And sometimes, even though a phrase doesnt exist in a language, it can still easily be understood.

In English, everyone knows what I mean by a "bad hair day". And if this is a new concept to any non English speakers reading this, just look at Minttu's photo and you'll soon understand what it means!  Have a great weekend, wherever you are.