The etymology of unspeakable takes us to the Latin word inenarrabĭlis . The concept, according to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ), refers to the ineffable : that which cannot be explained through words .
The unspeakable, therefore, cannot be narrated (counted, referred to, described). For example: “When I opened the door to the room, I found an unspeakable scene,” “I understand that the victim is suffering unspeakable pain and that is why I believe that the State should provide him with its support,” “The natural phenomenon caused an unspeakable tragedy .” throughout the region.”
Suppose that a journalist is commissioned to report a horrendous crime , in which a child was tortured and murdered in the most cruel way by his own father. Upon knowing the characteristics of what happened, the chronicler finds himself in trouble due to the difficulty of putting into words everything that generates such a ruthless and macabre murder. How do you qualify the person responsible, how do you describe what happened without falling into morbidity...? Due to these types of issues, it can be stated that the crime in question is unspeakable , beyond the reporter's obligation to report it in the most professional manner possible.
On the other hand, a young woman who, after struggling for four years, manages to graduate from university, can affirm that she feels unspeakable happiness . The girl is aware of the sacrifices she made to achieve her goal : that is why, when she reaches the goal, she experiences enormous satisfaction that she finds difficult to express.
We are faced with an uncommon term in everyday speech, and that is why it is very useful to take a look at its synonyms to know certain nuances of its meanings that help us understand more fully how to use it in each situation. Among the most common are the following: inexpressible, indescribable, admirable and impressive .
At the opposite extreme we have a series of antonyms that can also collaborate with the definition of unspeakable thanks to the semantic contrast: common, current , vulgar, frequent, usual, habitual, logical, natural, expected, regular, reasonable, normal, ordinary and describable . As we can see, there is no doubt that we cannot put the unspeakable into words, or it causes us such horrible feelings and sensations that it makes this task very difficult.
If we return to the example of the journalist who must face a horrific crime to prepare a report, it is reasonable that the abuse and subsequent murder of a child is an image that no healthy person wants to have in their head. As the person responsible for disclosing the data of this event , it is very difficult to make the decision to put it into words and it may even cost you on an emotional level. If, however, it were an armed robbery in a technology store, your job would be considerably easier.
Throughout our upbringing, society imposes many structures on us that settle in our minds as the basis of everything we build. We are taught that violence should be a last resort and that we should never use it against someone weaker, especially if it is a child. We block this possibility to such an extent that a situation like this becomes unspeakable to us, because we never consider it.
In the words of the Spanish writer Francisco Umbral , we should be able to express all things through words. Umbral was born in Madrid in 1932 and dedicated himself to writing through various genres, including poetry, essays, novels and biography, without leaving aside journalism . Among his best-known works we can mention the books Lola's Theory and other stories , If we had known that love was that , Ramón and the avant-gardes and Crimes and ballads .