Nonew words to say it. 2025 will be the year of wisdom. The Chinese assure us of this. It will be a time of reflection and calm: the era of the Wooden Serpent begins. But if we are here – making a certain type of wish – it is not to align ourselves with the East. Maybe it’s because something is wrong. On the one hand, conflicts that promise to end (and instead nothing); on the other, prices have risen more than bread.
In the middle there is anxiety, the one that makes us sleepless and aggressive. We’re a bit tired, we need new thoughts. Benevolent and light, made of everyday things, reassuring like homemade gifts. At Christmas, in short, we deserve the wish of a happiness that performs less well than we do. Simpler, even recycled would be fine.
12 words for the holidays
A pleasure that at most requires only a little time, and in reality it gives it to us. Here we wish words, little reminders of the best that awaits us. And let’s stop looking for them with AI, because they are untranslatable into Italian (except with long sentences). They are words from other languages, which must be left to settle. Two translator friends, Ilide Carmignati and Elena Battista, collected them during the pandemic, and Anna Godeassi illustrated them in Jumping in puddlesa Rizzoli booklet whose title is the translation from Icelandic by Hoppipolla. A leap, or another little happiness.
«For a translator, untranslatability is daily bread and is the opportunity to discover how each language describes reality in its own way. The mythical Tower of Babel that would have caused diversity and confusion in the human race is only wealth” specifies Ilide, a Hispanist who lives in the countryside of Lucca. «For the German poet Stefan Georg, nothing is where the word is missingso if there are precise words for some gestures or emotions, it means that those pleasures have a citizenship right to be enjoyed everywhere” he adds. The result is a map of pleasures at no cost.
«Yes, after all it’s a small anti-capitalist book whereby, even if you don’t produce or consume, happiness is always within your reach» adds Elena, originally from Puglia, from London. «The words chosen are linked to relationships and the relationship with nature, I don’t know if the Covid years have had an influence. In any case, for our Italian culture where everything is always functional, this exotic lexicon reminds us that elsewhere it is not like this and that we are not the holders of every possible meaning of happiness. There is more and it belongs to those who know how to indulge in pleasure” he adds.
Our words to say it
At the end of the book there are blank pages to fill with words that anyone can create. «I will write Feluptas, or the pleasure of being with the cat. The name is a mix of feline and voluptas (pleasure). Living with my red cat Gioacchino is a pleasure for me” concludes Elena. And living among words – because words help to focus on things similar to happiness – is our wish to put as a gift under the Christmas tree. Ready to exchange a Kanyirninpa and a Cwtch: they are “just” hugs with different alphabets and meanings.
1. Anyirninpa
tongue: pintupi (the homonymous people of Australia speak it)
It is “the protective embrace that instills physical and mental health”. Two lovers exchange it. But also those who spend their lives defending physical contact as if it were the soul of love. Hold tight (and heal).
2. Ettmümpfeli
tongue: Swiss German
It is “the emotion that the chocolate, or another small thing, that you eat before falling asleep gives you”. After the herbal tea, of course. Because if you’re missing something, you can give in. Even the dietician says so. It’s called a “goodnight treat”. Eat it in small bites. they will look like three.
3. Yvsmake
tongue: Norwegian
You are in the kitchen and no one is looking, you approach the pot, which is still on the stove, and is about to be brought to the table. You try. With a spoon or a finger. Who cares. Taste the sauce, a piece of meat, a potato. What pleasure is it? Now you know the name.
4. Mae
tongue: Japanese
A people who cannot say “no” and keep everything inside ultimately creates a magnificent word which means “to be spoiled by those around us asking for cuddles”. Remove an r – from our verb “to love” – and add all the attention we don’t know how to ask for. It’s legal. Ask and it will be given to you.
5. Ilig
tongue: Tagalog (Filipino)
In Filipino it is the feeling of “effervescence that comes from talking to a person we like”. Butterflies in your stomach? No, those come later. This is the primordial phase that fills us with happiness. Get excited (and notice it).
6. Obremesa
tongue: Spanish
Literally it is “the pleasure of staying at the table to chat after the end of the meal”. It is practically part of the small daily things that make us rejoice in the moment and make us grateful to the universe because we feel loved and part of a whole. Then linger, at least at the table. Those who run don’t notice things.
7. Oya
tongue: Urdu (Pakistani)
Four letters to say the “pleasure of letting yourself be carried away by a beautiful story to the point of no longer distinguishing between fantasy and reality”. By telling stories, Sherazade was able to calm the anger of a Persian king. We don’t hope you have to deal with certain angry people but that you are enchanted by the stories, yes. Tell them (and have them tell you).
8. multi-station
tongue: Swedish
Literally it means “the place of strawberries”. That is, a special and somewhat secret corner in which to take refuge. It is known that the place where strawberries are grown is always hidden so as not to have them stolen. Cultivate many of them, inside or outside of you, and return to them often.
9. Ailyak
tongue: Bulgarian
It is the pleasure of “experiencing the pleasure of doing things calmly without thinking about anything else”, one that must be savored. A mindfulness exercise unrelated to mindfulness. To Enzo Biagi, Osho told about a mystic who was about to die and when asked about happiness he replied like this: squirrel. He was pointing at the animal running across the roof. His happiness had always been that of the here and now. Have it too.
10. Mamihlapinatapai
tongue: yaghan (South American Indians)
It is a language that was spoken in Tierra del Fuego until 2022 when the last speaker died: Cristina Calderon was 93 years old. The word indicates the “look of invitation between two shy people who like each other”. Finding the words to say things to each other is a small miracle. If not, there is one that comforts the awkward. Chase each other with your eyes, if necessary. And it will help.
11. Wenjimpat
tongue: mi’ kmaq (Canada)
We, in Italy, do it if it’s hot. Very hot. In bed we undress. But the “pleasure of sleeping naked” should be enjoyed especially if it is very cold outside. It is no coincidence that the word was coined by one of the native populations of North America. Start from the body and return to it at night, maybe the insomnia will leave you alone.
12. Cwtch
tongue: Welsh
It means “hug of a loved one who instills warmth and protection”. That of a mother to a son. Maybe even that of those who feel cold in their soul and seek the courage to give and receive it. Stay inside the small pleasure of a hug. In silence. And breathe.
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