Mamihlapinatapai
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Mamihlapinatapai (sometimes spelled mamihlapinatapei) is a word from the Yaghan language of Tierra del Fuego, listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the "most succinct word", and is considered[who?] one of the hardest words to translate. It refers to "a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other will offer something that they both desire but are unwilling to suggest or offer themselves."[1]. It is also cited in books and articles on game theory [2] [3] associated with the Volunteer's dilemma.
It is also referenced in Defining the World in a discussion of the difficulties facing Samuel Johnson in trying to arrive at succinct, yet accurate, definitions of words.[4]
The word consists of the reflexive/passive prefix ma- (mam- before a vowel), the root ihlapi (pronounced [iɬapi]), which means to be at a loss as what to do next, the stative suffix -n, an achievement suffix -ata, and the dual suffix -apai, which in composition with the reflexive mam- has a reciprocal sense.
[edit] In popular culture
The word was featured prominently in Kevin MacDonald's 2011 film, Life in a Day.
[edit] References
- ^ Peter Matthews, Norris McWhirter. "The Guinness Book of Records 1994". p. 392. http://books.google.com/books?id=qQhj-D1WpkcC&dq=The+Guinness+Book+of+world+Records+1993&q=succinct#search_anchor. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
- ^ Kollock, Peter (1998.). "Social Dilemmas: the anatomy of cooperation". Annu. Rev. Sociol.: pp. 183-214.
- ^ Rock, Paper, Scissors: Game Theory in Everyday Life, Len Fisher, p. 76.
- ^ Hitchings, H. (2005). Defining the World. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. p. 92. ISBN 0-374-11302-5.
