From Amourette to Żal: Bizarre and Beautiful Words from Europe:

by Alex Rawlings

Fjaka: the sublime state of aspiring to do absolutely nothing.
Warmduscher: a ‘warm showerer’, meaning a bit of a wimp.
Tener mano izquierda: literally ‘to have a left hand’; to be skilfully persuasive.

For all the richness of the English language there are some nuances that other languages capture much better, whether it’s a phrase that beautifully articulates a feeling, a wonderfully understated insult that just hits the spot, or a curious idiom. From the melancholic to the funny to the downright peculiar, From Amourette to Zal takes us on a fascinating journey around Europe in twelve languages, celebrating our cultural similarities and differences along the way.

Genres: Nonfiction, Language

193 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 3, 2018

Reviews

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty nice book to read.
One thing I do not get though is why they ended the book with the passage on the IPA at the very end and not at the very start? It would have made way more sense to write all of the foreign words in the IPA, instead of that anglicized transcription

[Rob de W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find language-specific words really interesting as it can give a better insight into certain cultures.

Not only that, but now I can smugly drop untranslatable words into conversation to give myself an inflated sense of self importance.

[Caro Robson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and fascinating guide!

[Olivia Nevins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The definition of "matraquage fiscal" makes me crease