When I was (living) in Germany, during an important one
to one conversation, the word “die Lebensfreude”
was mentioned to me.
As I wasn´t sure about its meaning, my friend looked it up in an English-German dictionary and told me: “joie de
vivre” (yes, in an English German dictionary). Of course, having the
French expression helped, but still, I was not sure about the exact meaning. With
a quick search online through the cell phone, we discovered another synonym,
this time in English: “Zest for life”. I wrote it down on a piece of paper that I kept
with me for a long time. As I love languages, dictionaries, etymology, etc; I
decided to write down these three meanings, in case someone is interested.
Zest for life. Zest: Singular, Uncountable. Zest (for sth):
enjoyment and enthusiasm: he had a great zest for life.
die Lebensfreude Das Leben (life)
and freude (joy) means high spirits,
soulfulness.
Joie de vivre is a French phrase often used in English (I told
you!) to express a cheerful enjoyment of life; an exultation of spirit.
Alegría de vivir could be a Spanish translation for the above, although
they do not mean exactly the same.
Four languages, four different expressions for a
beautiful concept. I wonder what Saussure would have said about this...
Corina Moscovich
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