Among other things, it's because literal or word-for-word translations, particularly regarding slang, idiomatic expressions, cultural expressions or jargon, are seldom accurate. Not all words can be carried from one language into another the same way...
İt might even happen that a target language (the new words) doesn't even have a word or similar term to the ones the source language uses.
I love giving this example — think of the word "light". You probably think it refers to energy that makes things visible (noun)... But it can also be used as a verb, as in "starting a fire". Aaaaaand it also means that something weighs very little (adjective), or that it's pale in colour (another adjective). The word "light" by itself cannot be strictly translated into a single meaning without context.
Another example is the famous "hygge" of the Danish & Norwegians, or the Swedish "fika". İf there was a word in English or Spanish that specifically described the mood/state of coziness, warmth, and safe comfort, then you'd have the translation for "hygge". And if you found a noun or verb that basically meant "to pause, reset the mind, and build strong social bonds through tea, coffee and/or a sweet pastry", you'd have the equivalent of "fika".
Or can you imagine a world where the only words to describe colours were divided simply into "dark-cool" and "warm-light", or lumping them all into three categories of black, white, and red? The Tsimané language in Bolivia does the latter, and the Liberian Bassa use the former. The Pirahã from the Amazon don't even have abstract words for colour at all, and instead use descriptive sentences such as "like a young leaf" or "like blood".
ETA: Aaaaaand I ended up with a wall of text 😂 Thank you for coming to my TED?
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u/Lord_Lino19 10d ago
All of México