Andrea Junker 1d ago

When the Japanese live translation goes silent because the translators are too stunned to repeat your Pearl Harbor “joke” to the Japanese PM, you’ve officially reached a new level of diplomatic failure.

Those seconds of silence were the most honest reaction of the day.

Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE1d ago

@Strandjunker Wow.

On my trip to Japan I asked one of our interpreters what they do if they're asked to translate something that's wrong, stupid, or whatever.

"We translate it" they said.

Show threadThat’s a moray
@TimWardCam @Strandjunker If you've been watching NHK (the national broadcaster) in the first Trump presidency they sanitized everything he said so that it sounded somewhat reasonable. This time around the translations are still sanitized a little but there's added expert commentary explaining potential less flattering meanings. And don't forget, the Japanese language is even better than British English for using 'that's interesting' to mean 'If you ever cross my path again you'll regret it'
Mar 20 at 3:30amWeb