Musings

I love this song because it is so peaceful in the midst of a mad world. It is my experience to have found rest in God. Do not get me wrong, I love life and am delighted with the living, but it seems to me that man very often destroys the tranquility by creating a gaudy bubble of emptiness which bursts so very frequently. The emptiness and transience of life make me desire to build on a lasting foundation. God offers real peace and rest. I start each day by thanking Him for that real, deep serenity which will last forever. Matthew 11 v 28-30

It is always intriguing to observe which concepts and words are difficult to translate from English into a foreign language. As I currently find myself in the Republic of Macedonia, the wrinkled forehead, grimaces and rumblings of linguistic indigestion from deep within prove that it is not always easy to express everything in Macedonian. Sometimes where we have an adjective in English, Macedonian will use a preposition with the gerund/noun e.g. there is no adjective for' chewy', so it is expressed 'for chewing'. 'Creamy' is inadequately translated 'with cream'. Sometimes where we use Latin/Greek derivatives, they just spell out the object with words: e.g for 'funambulist', they say 'dancer on a rope'. However, more often than not, they too will borrow the word e.g 'cacophony' is 'kakofonija', 'ventriloquist' is 'ventrilokist' et al. One is never sure, though, if the Latin derivative is commonly known. Ob...