Can ideas and feelings be effectively translated?

I received an email recently from one of our regular readers in Brazil. He asked the following question. I will answer in this podcast.

Hi Steve
I am currently learning Cantonese, and one thing that fascinates me is that the
characters have such a deep meaning and that a lot of China's history and
culture is contained in them.Sometimes I find it difficult to find terms in
English or Portuguese(My native language) which are equivalent to the
Chinese one. I feel like some Chinese ideas and concepts cannot be fully
translated into other languages, due to the fact that they are inextricably
linked to Chinese culture and philosophy. I would like to know your
viewpoint on this whole issue. Do you think that there are a few concepts
and ideas that can only be expressed in a particular language? I was
wondering if you could do a post on this topic.........................

Comments

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