One of the best thing about being bilingual is being able to pick and choose le juste mot – to say exactly what you want to say. Some of the greatest words in language relate to how people think and see the world, so it follows that some things just can’t be said “right” in other languages. Sometimes the word is there, but under-used, and sometimes it isn’t there at all. Technically, this goes by the fancy name of “code-switching” and often is criticized as *laziness*. Personally, I think it is just being savvy about how your languages work, and being dedicated to meaning over form.
As I was making dinner tonight, I referenced (to my English-speaking husband) that something was “polyvalent”. I thought it was the perfect word for the situation, he thought it was foreign… turns out that it does exist in English, but obviously isn’t used as much, which is why he didn’t recognize it. In fact, it’s rare enough that WordPress doesn’t recognize it either, and keeps trying to change it to “prevalent”.
So I decided to make a little list of my favourite words from other languages, words that I can’t imagine living without.
“se changer les idées”: This is an expression that refers to doing something different to change how you feel about something. Like going for a walk to stop worrying about the football scores.. or some other important French-type event. I use this all the time, in English, because it often expresses what I need to do…
“lekker”: This fabulous Dutch word is often translated as “yummy”, which is true, but can be added to all manner of things: “lekker auto”, “lekker boots”, “lekker weather”, and so on. Really, just an all-purpose positive modifier.
“(uno) poquito”: Is there any nicer way to say “a little (bit)” – it sounds exactly like it means!
“gezellig”: The actual translation is “cozy” but it is also used for nice experiences or particularly pleasant times with people you like.
“Gesundheit”: Just “Bless you” in German, but it sounds so much better. In fact, it almost sounds like a sympathy-sneeze (and yes, it is better than the Dutch equivalent gezonheid).
“l”esprit d’escalier”: You know when someone insults you, and you can’t think of a thing to say… until you are walking away… this is the French “spirit of the staircase” – when you find the perfect retort, just too late. How do you say that in English?
“mi amor”: It may not be known as the language of love, but Spanish does this right. In so many other languages we call the people we love strange things: cabbage, baby, doe, duck, angel, bear, hen, sweetie, honey… and even (in Dutch) little fart… but the simple and sweet “mi amor” gets me every time.
“bellisimo”: It’s wonderful, and it sounds wonderful. What more is there to say?
“aye”: I love the Gaelic “aye” – why would you want to say boring old “yes” when you could say “aye”?
And finally, a word that I use in English, that isn’t actually a word, but should be:
“ept”: If one can be inept, then why can’t one be ept? I’m using it, and hoping it catches on…
These words are of course limited to languages I am familiar with – feel free to share your favourite words from your language, or words your kids use across languages!
PS. Thanks to the mostly-English speaking husband for inspiring this post.
on raising bilingual children 
This was a great read – so clever, so accessible, so ept and true indeed. I like ‘encadrer’ in French when talking about learners and pedagogy. You don’t literally ‘frame’ them but you support, supervise and guide them as in ‘encadrer les élèves’.
You’re right – I need to add “encadrer” to my list – we really don’t have a good equivalent in English. I also find that many languages don’t use the word “scaffold” in an educational sense, and I struggle to talk about EAL or language learners without that word!