The translator works like an inverter in electronics – switching an unusable voltage into a usable one.
A language switch. The translation of something foreign, into something familiar.
Into something which we understand and is familiar. Almost in real time.
So the question is, when we are among friends, family and colleagues, how often do we listen, and how often do we translate?
How often are we truly listening, with attention and deep understanding, and how often is it a narrative switch, to something we are familiar with? An act of translation into a pattern that we already know?
A translation is common – an infinitely fast adjustment of what we hear into our own terminology – via judgement, frameworks and opinions. What is right, what fits, what is ridiculous and is instantly discarded with a nod and a smile.
A translation is usually more comfortable, because there is no conflict with our own beliefs.
Yet to truly listen means to open the door wide up for something disruptive, something new.
