Language, Emotion, and Meaning — How Feelings Are Translated Between English and Ukrainian

Language is not only about words — it’s about meaning. And meaning, in turn, is often shaped by emotion. When translating from English to Ukrainian or teaching these languages, we face a fascinating and delicate challenge: how to preserve the soul of a sentence, not just its grammar.

The Lexicon of Feeling — Words That Hurt or Heal

Every language has its own emotional palette. Consider the English phrase:

• “I miss you.”
  In Ukrainian, we might say “Я сумую за тобою,” or more poetically “Мені тебе бракує,” oder “Я тужу за тобою.” Each carries a slightly different hue — sorrow, longing, or quiet emptiness.
• “Resentment” doesn’t map directly to “злість” oder “образа.” The English word may contain a slow-burning, quiet bitterness that Ukrainian expresses differently — sometimes through a whole phrase, not just a word.

This is where both translator and teacher become interpreters of feelings, not only language.

Grammar with Emotion — Not Just Structure

Grammar isn’t just rules — it’s rhythm and tone. English uses tense to shape emotional depth:

• “I have been thinking of you.” — This present perfect continuous form has a feeling of duration and emotional weight.
• “If only I had known…” — A conditional that carries regret, best mirrored in Ukrainian through structures like “Якби ж я знав…”

Ukrainian, in contrast, conveys emotion through particles like “же,” “хіба,” “ну” and through the musicality of sentence endings. The same sentence, when reworded slightly, may carry tenderness or sharpness — depending on the grammar used.

Stylistic Devices That Carry the Soul

Sometimes, a metaphor says more than a thousand literal words. One example I often share with students comes from Ukrainian poetic language:

🟩 “Моя душа — як розбите дзеркало.”

A literal English translation might be:

• “My soul is like a broken mirror.” — accurate but flat.

A better version — more emotionally aligned — would be:

• “My soul is shattered like a mirror — still whole in the frame, but broken in reflection.”

Why? Because this version doesn’t just describe a state. It evokes a visual, emotional, and symbolic experience. The idea of a mirror that is still in place but fractured reflects inner pain that remains unseen from the outside — just like the original.

This is what great teaching — and great translation — aims for: resonance, not replication.

What It Means for Teachers and Translators

Teaching language isn’t about throwing grammar rules at students. It’s about helping them express what matters.

A student may ask: “How do I say that I’m angry but trying not to show it?” That’s not in any textbook — but it’s in real life.

As a teacher, I help them find the words that fit their thoughts. As a translator, I find the thoughts behind the words.

How We Teach Emotions at Start Language School by Tymur Levitin

Unter Start Language School von Tymur Levitin, also known internationally as Levitin-Sprachschule, we believe that language is more than memorization. It’s about connection.

We teach English and Ukrainian (and many more languages) through conversation, reflection, and storytelling — not just drills.

🟢 You’re not just learning a language — you’re learning how to think and feel in that language.

🔗 Meet Tymur Levitin — your teacher, translator, and guide

Want to Learn Ukrainian or English This Way?

Choose real language. Choose meaning.

🔗 Learn Ukrainian with us
🔗 Englischkurse an der Levitin Language School

Related Reading from Our Blog

→ Language and Emotion in Translation — Precision vs. Feeling
→ Translating Literary Identity — Salinger and Remarque

🖋️ Author’s Column — Tymur Levitin on Language, Identity, and Meaning

© Tymur Levitin — founder, senior teacher, and certified translator
Start Language School by Tymur Levitin / Levitin Language School