From Amourette to Żal: Bizarre and Beautiful Words from Europe: (For When English Just Won’t Do)

From Amourette to Żal: Bizarre and Beautiful Words from Europe: (For When English Just Won’t Do) by Alex Rawlings

Fjaka: the sublime state of aspiring to do absolutely nothing.

Warmduscher: a ‘warm showerer’, meaning a bit of a wimp.

Tener mano izquierda: literally ‘to have a left hand’; to be skilfully persuasive.

For all the richness of the English language there are some nuances that other languages capture much better, whether it’s a phrase that beautifully articulates a feeling, a wonderfully understated insult that just hits the spot, or a curious idiom. From the melancholic to the funny to the downright peculiar, From Amourette to Żal takes us on a fascinating journey around Europe in twelve languages, celebrating our cultural similarities and differences along the way.

From Amourette to Żal: Bizarre and Beautiful Words from Europe: (For When English Just Won’t Do) - About t he Author

Alex is a citizen of the world. He was born and grew up in London, UK. As a child, he would spend long summers in Greece, visiting family and wondering why he couldn't understand anyone. He quickly realised that if he could learn to speak other people's languages, rather than waiting for them to speak English, life would be much more interesting.

After misspending his adolescence learning languages like Dutch, Catalan and Hebrew, in 2012 he was named Britain's most multilingual student after being tested for fluency in 11 different languages. His studies of German and Russian at Oxford University led him to live in provincial Russia and Berlin. After graduating, he packed his bags and took a one-way flight to Budapest, where he studied Hungarian for a year before living in Spain and then returning to London in June 2016.

Now having studied more than 15 languages, Alex spends his time writing about language learning and the importance of multilingualism. Although London is where he calls home, you're more likely to find him passing through Johannesburg, Barcelona, Athens or Berlin.