[demallien]

'There's no word in French for the verb "to need".'

Sure, but there is an expression for the idea - the article didn't just say that there isn't a word for small talk, it said that Germans don't even do small talk. The example given was that th German translation of a Paddington Bear book actually just cuts out the small talk, which does indeed seem to support the idea that you disagree with...

[Typhon]

This is the reason I gave other examples. This doesn't apply only to words. It applies to expressions as well. Literal translation being possible is the exception, not the norm.

[notJim]

It used the fact that Germans don't have a word for small talk as evidence that Germans don't do small talk.