'Is Joy the Same in Every Language?'- article by Jen Rose Smith

In an article for National Geographic, Tim Lomas talks to Jen Rose Smith about how learning unfamiliar words can enrich our understanding of life. Only viewing our emotional lives through the prism of English is restrictive, and to truly understand your mind it is pertinent to look beyond towards other cultures and their views and understanding of our complex emotional landscape. 

‘Untranslatable’ words are of course not wholly untranslatable, Smith points out. They can be loosely translated  in order to provide meaning to feelings we deemed previously untranslatable. Really, they simple lack a one-word English equivalent and can be more nuanced and very specific in  their meaning  or depiction. 

Smith also interviews neuroscientist Kristen Lindquist, who believes our understanding of language and knowledge of words can subtly shape the way we see the world. The words we know how to use can make our experiences more memorable as we are able to categorise them. 

Physiological Constructionism is the process of recognising an emotion you experience: first you have thoughts, see something, smell taste or what something- perhaps at once- and your brain uses the existing learnt categories to sort your incoming sensations into something you can actually make sense of, or try to at least. Feelings are hard to define, but words help them to become more coherent in our minds, ‘like glue’ Lindquist says. 

In order to broaden your cultural vocabulary you have to actually memorise the words and  put them into use in order to cement them in your mind, and in this article Lomas encourages us to mentally journey across the world and pick up new words that can further enhance our own emotional experiences. 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/is-joy-the-same-in-every-language