The Internet Archive has a project going in an attempt to save as many old sound recordings as possible. These are songs recorded on 78 rpm records made between 1898 and the 1950s, when 33 and 45 rpm records replaced them. These old records were pressed in shellac, which becomes very brittle after a few decades. The Great 78 Project invites people to digitize the music on these records, so they can be kept in a playable format for posterity. No, we don't know how long digital formats will last, but it's a step in the right direction for preservation. You can help by digitizing old records, sending in your existing digital copies, or donating your 78 rpm records. You can also volunteer to research and catalog the songs in the collection. But the best part is that you can listen to the 25,000 or so recordings that have already been digitized. They range from symphony recordings to political speeches, from Broadway tunes to hymns, from early jazz to novelty songs. Some suggestions:
"House Of The Rising Sun" (1942)
"Over The Rainbow" (1939)
"Original Jelly-Roll Blues" (1929)
"16 Old Ladies Locked In The Lavatory" (1949)
-via Kottke
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BTW: "Salado" means salty literally.
However there is no word for "not thirsty" in German. Try that.
Regarding this topic, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilunga which says "When asked for confirmation by one reporter, representatives of the Congo government recognized the word only as a personal name." and see the commentary at Language Log at http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001104.html .
But there is one, very common Dutch word that is notoriously hard to translate or even explain: 'gezellig'.
'Gezellig' is a feeling, an atmosphere. It is usually translated as 'cozy', but it's more than cozy. A situation or room can be 'gezellig', but also people and objects. It's warm, peaceful, you forget time, there is togetherness, no complications or problems.
Some could even say Neatorama has a 'gezellige' quality to it.
I often use the word "shadenfreuden" - finding humor in others misfortunes.
It would be nice to see a larger list of words difficult to translate into English.
Lagom can be applied to many things. It could almost denote sufficient, enough, moderate, ample, appropriate but it is much more than that.
A portion of food could be 'lagom stor' (big enough), not too much, not too little. One's state could be lagom without being too rich or too poor. A conversation or meeting could reach a state of lagom to represent concensus.
It is difficult for me to explain, I personally think it is rooted in socialist culture where excess has no place.
The other is in ancient greek. I believe this is more common in attic and homeric greek than koine. In english, verbs have either an active(I am doing x) or a passive(x is being done to me) voice. Ancient greek adds a middle voice. If we take, for example, the verb "to loosen". In greek, with the active voice, it means you are untying something. With the passive voice, you are being let free. But, in the middle voice, it means you are being ransomed.
The middle voice simply has no direct parallel in english.