Language and Cross-cultural Well-being

Editor’s Note: This article was initially published in Spanish on the Spanish language site for Positive Psychology News as Bienestar Transcultural y Lenguaje: El Proyecto de Lexicografía Positiva. It was translated into English by the author, who edits and translates articles from English into Spanish for the Spanish language Positive Psychology News. Thank you, Marta.

Ikigai is Japanese term meaning ‘the reason to be’ or ‘the reason to live’ and thus affirms the belief that life is worth living. Apparently, ikigai is a common term for what English speakers might call subjective well-being. It combines purpose and meaning with connotations of joy about being alive. In one study, Shirai and colleagues found that finding one’s own ikigai was related to subjective well-being and satisfaction with life. In another study, Sone and colleagues found that ikigai was related to increased longevity.

Although ikigai refers to a concept deeply rooted in Japanese culture, the belief that life is worth living is universally understood. Ikigai is one example of words that create new realities, enrich our human experience, and expand our knowledge about what well-being means in other cultures. Chris Peterson, one of the most revered figures in the field of positive psychology, wrote:

“The notion of ikigai is a good reminder to positive psychologists in the United States that our science should not simply be an export business. There are lessons to be learned in all cultures about what makes life worth living, and no language has a monopoly on the vocabulary for describing the good life.”

One of the criticisms related to empirical work within positive psychology is the tendency to universalize results. Since much of the work in this field took place in Western countries, there is concern that the resulting concepts of well-being reflect a bias towards Western ways of thinking. However, researchers have not been unmindful of these critiques, resulting in greater levels of cross-cultural sensitivity reflected in studies that explore the variation in how cultures relate to well-being.

In order to increase this growing intercultural sensitivity, the study of emotional vocabulary of different cultures is breaking new ground.

The Positive Lexicography Project

Is it possible that understanding the concepts of joy and well-being from other cultures can help us to give a new shape to our own? According to Lomas, the study of emotional vocabulary of a culture may provide a window into how its people see the world: the things they value, their traditions, the way they build happiness or things they recognize as important.

Lomas has launched The Positive Lexicography Project, an on-line glossary that includes words that do not have a literal translation into other languages. The fact that these words do not have translations reflects the idea that such words identify phenomena that have only been recognized by specific cultures. That is why such words offer windows to other cultures, and therefore potential new ways of being in the world.

The objective of this project is to develop a more intercultural vision of well-being and enrich our understanding of it. Another more ambitious objective is to help to expand the emotional vocabulary of speakers of all languages and thus enrich their experiences of well-being. To this end, it is expected that psychologists use this glossary as a starting point for further research.

Categories of Untranslatable Words

Lomas has grouped into three broad categories the 216 untranslatable words found so far. These categories are:

Typography design

• Feelings. This section includes two categories: positive feelings and complex ambivalent feelings.

  In the group of positive feelings we find a spectrum of words that belong to positive affect. Among them, we find me yia (?? ????; Greek), which is a blessing of good health for others; and suaimhneas croi (Gaelic), depicting a state of happiness encountered specifically after a task has been finished.

  Complex ambivalent feelings are expressed in words that refer to feelings that are a dialectical mixture of positive and negative states of mind, but that have associated feelings that somehow are integral to life, as if one could not live fuly without being able to experience them. This group includes the word belum (Indonesian) which means ‘not yet,’ but with an optimistic tint that an event might yet happen. Also, in Korean we find hahn (?), a culturally important term expressing sorrow and regret, yet also a quiet sense of waiting patiently in the hope that the adversity causing the sadness will eventually be righted.

• Relationships. This section also includes two categories: intimacy and pro-sociality.
   

  Intimacy includes words that cover close relationships of varying strengths, from friendship to the most intense feelings of love. In Greek the word philotimo (????????), translated as ‘friend-honor,’ can be understood as respecting and honoring one’s friends. In Japanese we find nakama (??), a word for friends who one effectively considers family and has developed deep platonic love for. Also, in Urdu, naz (? ??) ) is the assurance and pride one can feel in knowing that the other’s love is unconditional and unshakable.

  

  Group of Friends

  In the pro-sociality category, well-being is seen as a social phenomenon, arising out of harmonious connections with others and the world around. In Nguni Bantu we find the word ubuntu, that refers to the culturally valued notion of being kind to others on account of one’s common humanity. Also, related to kindness are a swathe of words articulating the value of empathy and compassion, such as karuna (?????) in Sanskrit, and koev halev in Hebrew.

• Character. In this final section, the notion that the well-being not only involves positive feelings and relationships that nurture us, but the development of what we might call “character” is reflected. This section is divided into two categories: resources and spirituality.
   

  The resources category refers to the attributes related to perseverance and grit. The Finnish term sisu falls into this category, and is defined as an extraordinary determination in the face of adversity. There are also terms that capture the ability or willingness of the person to persevere through tasks that are difficult or even just boring, including að nenna (Icelandic) or sitzfleisch (German). Also, the Arabic term sumud (????) translated as steadfastness, describes a determined struggle to persist.

  

  No Fun, No Life

  The spirituality category expresses the idea of a soul, some inner essence, that reflects the truest, deepest core of a person. This category include the Russian word duša (????), which refers to one’s inner heart and soul; or the Arabic word fitra ( ? ??? ), an innate purity and closeness to God. Also, in Hindi we find ?tman (??????), that refers to the breath or spirit. In Hinduism, the atman is regarded as identical with brahman (????????), the all-powerful and pervasive power that continually creates the universe.

Future Perspectives

This work of lexicography can expand our understanding of the construction of cross-cultural well-being and enrich our experience of it. Incorporating ideas from other cultures can help fill gaps in our vocabulary so that we can name those subjective experiences that are difficult to articulate.

For my part, I choose the Japanese word wabi-sabi, which means to see the beauty within the imperfections of life.
 

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References

Anthes, E. (2016). The Glossary Of Happiness. The New Yorker.

Becker, D., & Marecek, J. (2008). Dreaming the American dream: Individualism and positive psychology. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2(5), 1767-1780. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-9004.2008.00139.x. Abstract.

Lomas, T. (2016). Towards a positive cross-cultural lexicography: Enriching our emotional landscape through 216 ‘untranslatable’ words pertaining to wellbeing. The Journal of Positive Psychology. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2015.1127993. Abstract.

Lomas, T. (2015). Positive cross-cultural psychology: Exploring similarity and difference in constructions and experiences of wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 5(4), 60-77. doi:10.5502/ijw.v5i4.3

Peterson, C. (2008). Ikigai and Mortality. Psychology Today.

Shirai, K., Iso, H., Fukuda, H., Toyoda, Y., Takatorige, T., & Tatara, K. (2006). Factors associated with “Ikigai” among members of a public temporary employment agency for seniors (Silver Human Resources Centre) in Japan; gender differences. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 4(12). http://doi.org/10.1186/1477-7525-4-12

Sone, T., Nakaya, N., Ohmori, K., Shimazu, T., Higashiguchi, M., Kakizaki, M., et al. (2008). Sense of life worth living (ikigai) and mortality in Japan: Ohsaki Study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 70(6), 709-715. doi: 10.1097/PSY.0b013e31817e7e64 Abstract.

Photo Credits:
Ikigai card from an article on Uplift

Rest of images via Compfight with Creative Commons licenses
How big is your world? courtesy of Daniel Orth
Typography Design courtesy of Cultural Infusion
Group of friends courtesy of hepingting
No Fun, No life courtesy of Phey