Language
Why language carries an emotion no translation can ever convey
There are sentences you can translate completely accurately — and they still lose their emotion.
You realise this especially when you live abroad for a long time. You learn other languages, use them every day, work in them, think in them… But some things you still feel, and can only express, in your mother tongue.
Humour is one of the best examples. Some jokes simply do not work once they are translated. The same goes for emotions, memories, and the way we speak to the people we love.
One ordinary word can instantly take you twenty years back, into childhood, to the family table, to a town that probably no longer even looks the way it did then.
That is the reason the audience in the diaspora reacts so emotionally to events in our language. People find the content interesting, but their feelings and reactions are stirred precisely by recognising that someone understands them without any further explanation.
I see it at plays and concerts every single time. People laugh differently, react spontaneously — as if for a few hours they set down the weight of constantly adapting.
I think language is not just a means of communication — it carries identity, mentality, and emotion.
And maybe that is exactly why no translation can ever fully replace the feeling of hearing something "in your own".
— Evica
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Evica Marković3 September 2026There are places we walk past for years, always thinking: I will go in some other time. Zurich has many of them…
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The first day of school between two languages
Evica Marković27 August 2026At the end of August, a familiar moment happens in Zurich. The city's summer rhythm has not quite faded, the days are still long, the terraces full — and then, one Monday, new school bags appear at the tram stops, slightly too big for small backs, parents trying to look more relaxed than they feel, and children setting out for the first time on a path that will become completely ordinary to them in the years ahead…
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Why I come back to Theater Spektakel every summer
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FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
HELSE is a Swiss cultural association that fosters exchange between Switzerland and Serbia. Through theatre, film, music, stand-up and children's workshops we build cultural bridges — alive, inspiring and open to everyone.
Our programme is diverse: theatre performances, film screenings, stand-up comedy, concerts, readings, seminars and children's workshops.
Events run year-round — the current schedule lives in the Events section.
Tickets are sold online via each event's page and, for some programmes, at the door before the show. HELSE members receive discounts on selected events.
Membership is open to anyone who wants to support the association. The annual fee is CHF 70, with reduced rates for students and pensioners.
Sign up via the Membership page — for any additional questions, write to info@helse.ch.