Notes from Abroad
Lost in Translation: Why Direct Copy Never Works
I’ve spent enough time in countries where I don’t speak the language to know that Google Translate is a liar. It will give you words. It will not give you meaning. A direct translation might be technically correct, but it almost never lands the way you want it to. Meaning lives in context, in tone, in the gaps between words. What works in one language often sounds hollow or strange when carried straight across.