Next example of untranslatability is the case of the Italian word in the sentence 'C'è stato un tamponamento'. The sentence seems fully translatable, because English and Italian are sufficiently close to follow a loosely approximate pattern of sentence organization with regard to word order. The conceptual level is also translatable, because an event occorring in time past is being reported in time present. The difficulty concerns the translation of Italian word tamponamento, which emerges in English as a noun phrase:
Italian version: C'è stato un tamponamento.
English version: There has been / there was a slight accident (involving a vehicle).
The word tamponamento is a sign that has culture-bound or context meaning, which cannot be translated even by an explanatory phrase. Tamponamento is considered as a whole, so the term cannot be fully understood without some knowledge of Italian driving habits and the frequency with which 'slight accident' occur and the weighting and relevance of such incidents when they do occur.
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