No Translation for "Fail" in Hodaoa-Anibo

Hodaoa-Anibo, a language created as a work of art, dedicated to the slaves brought to America beginning in 1619, is a controversial and peculiar language. One notable Anibo characteristic is that it does not contain the English translation for the word fail. Though the language continues to grow annually in vocabulary, the omission of the word is not an accident.

The etymology of the word from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary can be followed from: Middle English failen, from Anglo-French faillir, from Vulgar Latin fallire, alteration of Latin fallere to deceive, disappoint. In Anibo, a person cannot fail a test, they cannot fail as a parent or live a life of a failure. In Anibo, the negative connotation is shaved off considerably when something does not happen that is meant, assumed or hoped to have happened. Here a person can do (Henix), or can not do (ne Henix), but they can not fail.

Language, helps to shape the minds and attitudes and reflect the culture of the people. Two examples. In the 1997 film, Amistad, when the translator, Covey (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) attempts to translate the word try to Cinque (played by Djimon Honsou), he finds that he has a very difficult time of it because in their language and culture, you either do or you don't do. You don't try. Although this example is from a movie, it is based on a true event and real issues concerning cultural attitudes driven by language.

Second example: in the Yup'ik Eskimo language there are fifteen different words for snow. This fact, of course, demonstrates that snow is an extremely important part of their lives and culture. If the words for snow were absent from Yup'ik Eskimo altogether, it would reflect a polar opposite of their current cultural identity.

Because of the inorganic growth of the Anibo language, and due to the heavy influence of English, for the word fail to continue to be absent from Anibo, conscious effort will be required. New words are translated daily through translation of English text, therefore, translation of English speaking attitudes will inadvertently leak into the language as well. Anibo was not created based off of culture but based off of art and history and cannot contain any unique characteristics with out intentional consideration.

Will there be a void without fail? Definitely not. Just as there are more words that may not be found in Anibo, likewise, there are words in Anibo that will not be found in English, Spanish, French, Cherokee or Swahili. Similarly, because the grammatical structure is based on Black English Vernacular (African American Vernacular English) there are verb tenses present that cannot be found in Standard American English.

Whether or not the omission of fail will have an impact on Anibo speakers cannot yet be determined now, or any time soon. It will be difficult to measure a shift in attitude or thought until there is a much larger selection of original published Anibo literature or studied dialog. So far there is none. Until then, the mindfulness of its absence can only be noted.