ISSUE XVII ISSUE XVII
LOST IN TRANSLATION: THE UNIVERSALITY OF FEELINGS by Samantha Fink Our thoughts are a product of our individual realities, acting as a reflection of our upbringings, our languages, our positionalities, and our cultures. They may be similar to those of our friends and families, but they are ultimately unique because we are each offered a distinct range of perspectives specific to our experiences. While thoughts are formed by the guidelines of a learned language, feelings must be awkwardly forced into this format in order to be expressed. Feelings do not match up perfectly with words. They are made to be felt, not spoken. They are a natural and uncontrollable force, whereas thoughts are entirely constructed and manmade. This critical misalignment forces us to leave gaps in discussions of what we feel most intensely, succumbing to phrases like, “There are no words to describe this feeling.” Words are the only tool we have to make descriptions, but they are unable to do feelings complete justice. As a result, we often feel that ‘no one understands’; that even when our
friends say they understand, they cannot possibly grasp the true breadth of the unique feeling we are grappling with at the moment. But why do we attribute this gap in understanding to a lack of connection in our relationships, as opposed to the limits of our language? It constantly seems like everyone feels that no one truly understands them. This knowledge alone demonstrates the universality of our emotions. The feeling that we are alone, and that no one understands us, is itself what connects us all most—we are all restrained and frustrated by the limits language exerts on our ability to articulate our innermost sentiments. Language is an oppressive government to our feelings, restricting free expression and limiting our ability to rebel against it. We thus have trouble seeing what should be so obvious: that all feelings are felt by most people, even if they are described differently. Thoughts are slaves to words, and exist only in the space that words allow. We spend our
lives trying to make our feelings fit into this word-dominated space, but they rarely fit perfectly and thus we are rarely in a state of perfect harmony with our feelings or those of the people around us. Feelings occupy a different space, one for which the language has not yet been fully created. This other language is formed more subtly through eye contact, memories, dreams, pictures, and gifts, however, much of its dictionary remains unwritten. It is in the attempt to translate our feelings into spoken language that the meaning is often lost. For the time being, I think all we can do is remind ourselves that feelings are universal. Though our emotional vocabulary is stifled and skim, other people subconsciously hold greater understandings of our own feelings than we often realize. In this line of thought, it becomes clear that inferring others’ feelings is a mightier cause than we give it credit for, and claiming “I didn’t know you would feel that way” is a weaker excuse. 59
