In earlier posts, I´ve shared with you my personal feeling that Positive Psychology and the German language seem to be a bit of a mismatch, as my mother tongue is impoverished with respect to words describing positive experiences and states of being. Later on, I shared a study that is able to demonstrate that some languages are indeed happier than others – in that they are able to “hold” more positivity.
Today, I stumbled upon another piece of evidence pertaining to that matter. Below, you´ll see screenshots of the two most important translation websites in Germany. On the left, you can see the English words, a wide array positive states (of mind). On the right, the German translations are displayed. As you can see, all those English words are translated into the same German expression: Glück.
If Wittgenstein was right, and “The limits of my language means the limits of my world”, then having only a single word for what really should be a wide spectrum of words (corresponding to a wide spectrum of feelings) can be likened to being color-blind. It´s an impaired state of perception, or at least an impaired ability to convey one´s perceptions. And what good are emotions if they cannot be accurately named and shared?
Mappalicious 
Lieber Herr Dr. Rose,
ich wünsche Ihnen einfach etwas mehr Glück oder weniger englischsprachige Fachlekture – Mit Genuß und Lust gelesen, lässt heitere Poesie den Leser begeistert zurück, umhüllt behaglich das, was kurz zuvor noch in entzückende Hochstimmung versetzte, um schon bald ein frohsinniges Wohlgefallen oder eine vergnügte Daseinsfreude auszulösen. Bleiben Sie fröhlich. 😉
Beste Grüße
Sven .\\aschmann
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Lieber Herr .\\aschmann, mit Ihrem Post haben Sie den Nagel auf den Kopf getroffen, denn: viele der von Ihnen positiven Wörter würde außerhalb der Poesie, in einem ganz alltäglichen Gespräch, bei den meisten Menschen einen kleinen Schmunzler bis großen Lachanfall auslösen. Sie sind nicht Teil des normalen “Sprachspiels” – im Amerikanischen ist das anders. Mir ist klar, dass es diese Wörter gibt – doch was nützt es, wenn sie praktisch nicht nutzbar sind? Gruß, Nico Rose
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Reblogged this on The TuneUp Promotions Blog and commented:
I see the positive side of this in sematics as well. All these words are based in Goodness. The word “Good” is based on several psalms and verses. 1 Timothy 4:4 “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;”
– See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/God,-Goodness-Of
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