Douglas here with a follow up to the translation mix that Kirk started a few pos…

Douglas here with a follow up to the translation mix that Kirk started a few posts below. I have always been surprised by the number of people who cannot distinguish between translating and interpreting. Google Translate and DeepL are both “translators” and can end up by producing quite strange English translations of Japanese. I have a favourite Japanese idiom that I feed into any “translation” software to test its ability to actually interpret correctly. Both Google and DeepL fail my test. But DeepL, at least, gives a more accurate “translation” The idiom is: 捕らぬ狸の皮算用をするのは危ないです

Google translate gives: It’s dangerous to use a raccoon dog that can’t be caught and DeepL gives: It is dangerous to take advantage of a raccoon’s skin that has not been caught.

The correct interpretation of the Japanese idiom is: Don’t count your chickens until they are hatched!