“Tears of Saudade; An Exploration of Melancholy and Nostalgia Viewed Through Foreign Eyes
“Tears of Saudade;
An Exploration of Melancholy and Nostalgia Viewed Through Foreign Eyes
An Essay
Since the inception of the spoken word, language has been used as an expression of emotion. Countless words and phrases have been dedicated to such ethereal concepts as “Joy”, “Sadness”, “Anger” and “Love”, and the emotional spectrum of language is a vast, complex quagmire of connotations and meaning.
Further confusing matters is the presence of “Untranslatable” words; words without direct English equivalents that describe otherwise universal concepts. These words are both fascinating and infuriating to the linguist, as they present both a method of expression entirely foreign while simultaneously shrouding meaning in an impenetrable manner.
An example of an “untranslatable” word is the Portuguese term Saudade. Invariably explained as “melancholy”, “nostalgia”, “longing” or “wistfulness”, saudade incorporates elements of all of these words to form something entirely unique to Portugal. In his book “In Portugal”, A.F.G Bell describes saudade as a “vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist”, and another similarly poetic way of describing the concept is “the love that remains”.
While many languages have similar phrases and words to saudade (the English verb “To Pine” has a similar meaning, for instance), none come quite as close to the sheer intensity that this word possesses. It is present in ballads and plays, songs and literature, and the concept haunts the lyrical poetry of Portugal and Brazil. An entire subgenre of music, fado , dating back to the first half of the 19th century, has been dedicated to the concept. The most beautiful and startlingly poignant use of the term, however, can be found in the anonymous piece “Lágrimas de Saudade, taken from the Cancioneiro de Paris (ff. 23v-24):
“Tears of Saudade come, do not linger, for by tarrying you kill me”
Used in this context it is possible to understand saudade in
An Exploration of Melancholy and Nostalgia Viewed Through Foreign Eyes
An Essay
Since the inception of the spoken word, language has been used as an expression of emotion. Countless words and phrases have been dedicated to such ethereal concepts as “Joy”, “Sadness”, “Anger” and “Love”, and the emotional spectrum of language is a vast, complex quagmire of connotations and meaning.
Further confusing matters is the presence of “Untranslatable” words; words without direct English equivalents that describe otherwise universal concepts. These words are both fascinating and infuriating to the linguist, as they present both a method of expression entirely foreign while simultaneously shrouding meaning in an impenetrable manner.
An example of an “untranslatable” word is the Portuguese term Saudade. Invariably explained as “melancholy”, “nostalgia”, “longing” or “wistfulness”, saudade incorporates elements of all of these words to form something entirely unique to Portugal. In his book “In Portugal”, A.F.G Bell describes saudade as a “vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist”, and another similarly poetic way of describing the concept is “the love that remains”.
While many languages have similar phrases and words to saudade (the English verb “To Pine” has a similar meaning, for instance), none come quite as close to the sheer intensity that this word possesses. It is present in ballads and plays, songs and literature, and the concept haunts the lyrical poetry of Portugal and Brazil. An entire subgenre of music, fado , dating back to the first half of the 19th century, has been dedicated to the concept. The most beautiful and startlingly poignant use of the term, however, can be found in the anonymous piece “Lágrimas de Saudade, taken from the Cancioneiro de Paris (ff. 23v-24):
“Tears of Saudade come, do not linger, for by tarrying you kill me”
Used in this context it is possible to understand saudade in
Bibliography: Bell, A. (1912). In Portugal. Kensinger Publishing Company, 2010. Anonymous (Approx. 1500 AD) – Cancioneiro de Paris Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (1990) – The Good Son, produced by Mute Records Jack Penãte (18/6/2007) – Torn on the Platform, produced by XL Recordings