From Amourette to Żal: Bizarre and Beautiful Words from Europe
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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 Żal takes us on a fascinating journey around Europe in twelve languages, celebrating our cultural similarities and differences along the way.
ALEX RAWLINGS was crowned Britain’s most multilingual student in 2012 and is fluent in 15 languages. He has lived in five different countries and acts as a language ambassador, representing the UK globally and organising the annual worldwide Polyglot Conference. He has previously written How to Speak Any Language Fluently (Little Brown). Alex is currently Language Learner in Residence at award-winning language start-up Memrise. He lives in North London.