Translation Problems in Afghanistan

“The messages lost through faulty translation in Afghanistan are sabotaging the mission there as badly as any physical enemy ever could,” warns Neil Shea. He writes that the effect of bad translators on the Afghan mission is difficult to estimate, “but I believe that it’s vast.” “Think of phrases like ‘man up,’ ‘freedom isn’t free,’ or even ‘shoulder responsibility’ and ‘build your nation.’…Try filtering it through a translator who didn’t attend college, was never your buddy, and didn’t grow up surrounded by phrases Americans take for granted, and the chances for error or insult multiply rapidly.”