Member-only story
How language can point us to the original meaning of words
I speak five languages and can read a total of ten. That’s not to brag, but to declare that I find myself in that group of people that can compare more than one (European) language to another. It allows me to recognize how a deeper image may exist when pronouncing a word.
In English, the word sin has a very specific meaning, loaded with guilt and improper behaviors. In Spanish, the word sin simply means without. We are taught not to look for meaning in linking both words, as if capturing one specific reality will be a futile exercise. And yet, when a third language is used, Dutch in this case, then that linkage is rather clear.
- English sin in Dutch: Zonde
- Spanish sin in Dutch: Zonder
What was not obvious about the exact same word in English and Spanish becomes rather obvious when both words are virtually the same in Dutch.
The original sin can be said to go without, to be selfish.
The word itself ended up without much of its deeper meaning in Spanish, where it means indeed just without. The same word ended up with an enormous emotional charge in English where it indicates something socially and morally rejectable.
—
