The words I had to leave behind | Mohammad Shehadeh | TEDxTrafford

Quick Overview

Mohammed Shehadeh argues that language, specifically Arabic, is much more than just communication; it carries deep emotional resonance, identity, and the collective memory of millions of people, contrasting this with English being treated as the default, leading to the loss of rich emotional words like 'Ghurba' (homesickness) and 'Baraka' (blessing) when translated.

Key Points: The speaker, Mohammed Shehadeh, asserts that words like the Arabic 'Ghurba' (homesickness) and 'Baraka' (blessing) carry deep emotional resonance and identity that are lost in translation to English. Research from the University of Manchester in 2015 scanned the brains of Chinese-English bilinguals and found that emotional words elicited a reaction 250 milliseconds faster in their native language than in English. Shehadeh emphasizes that language is not just a tool for communication but carries memory, identity, and philosophy, representing ways of being human. He states that when people say translation is enough, they are ignoring the emotional depth and context embedded in the original language. The speaker highlights that for many, including himself, their mother tongue (Arabic) is their true home, and English is the default language that risks erasing these deeply rooted concepts. He concludes by stating he will refuse to translate words like 'Baraka' and 'Ghurba' because they are too close to the core of one's identity and emotions to be adequately captured in English. The presentation was part of the TEDxTrafford event, 'Rooted & Rising: Stories of Identity & Community Resilience,' held at Emirates Lancashire County Cricket Club in November 2025.

Context: Mohammed Shehadeh delivered this TEDxTrafford talk titled 'The Words I Had to Leave Behind' as part of an event focused on identity and community resilience. The core theme revolves around the profound emotional and cultural weight carried by specific words in one's native language, particularly Arabic, which he argues are inadequately conveyed when translated into English, risking the loss of inherent identity and memory.