Lost in Translation: What Language "LOL" Moments Taught Me About the Way Languages Evolve

Lost in Translation: What a Language "LOL" Moment Taught Me About the Way Languages Evolve

I’m writing this post from Japan, where we’ve spent the past two weeks doing a bit of travelling (and lots and lots of eating, let’s be honest!!!) around Tokyo, with the main event being my sister's wedding just a few days ago.

And somewhere between stuffing my face with sushi and chatting with old friends, I had a bit of a language epiphany – one that made me think deeply about how languages evolve and what that means for us as language professionals.

A Cantonese "LOL moment" in Tokyo – A Real-Life Example of Language Evolution

For context: I’m a native Cantonese speaker who grew up in Hong Kong (I was born in Shanghai before moving to HK as a child). That said, I haven’t lived there since 2003, and these days I don’t speak much Cantonese in daily life. I haven’t even visited Hong Kong since 2017! English is now my dominant language – a topic I’ll save for another post: what does “native language” even mean for people like me?

Anyway – back to the wedding.

I ran into lots of my sister’s old friends from school. It was such a joy catching up, reminiscing, and seeing everyone again.

At one point, someone kindly commented on how well-behaved my kids were (not a humble brag – that’s literally what they said, and I’m pretty sure they were just being polite).

Being the stereotypically modest Chinese person that I am, of course I had to decline the compliment. Without thinking, I replied:

「過獎啦！」

Loosely translated, it means: “You’re overpraising me.”

The phrase just came out naturally – it felt like the appropriate, polite thing to say.

But then everyone burst out laughing.

“OMG,” one of them said between giggles, “we haven’t heard 過獎 in so many years! That’s such an old-school expression!”

(Yes – “old school” was said in English, in true Hong Kong fashion.)

And that’s when it hit me: languages evolve. Constantly.

When a Language Freezes in Time

That little moment reminded me of something my cousin once told me about my mum.

My mum was born and raised in Shanghai but has lived outside her native city since she was 20 – first in Hong Kong, then in the UK. She’s in her 60s now.

My cousin, who’s also Shanghainese and now lives in Germany, once told me that my mum’s Shanghainese sounds so old-fashioned to modern ears – even funny sometimes!

Apparently, she still uses expressions that younger generations have long stopped using! Add to that influences from Cantonese and English and Mandarin and... Well. It's no wonder that she now sounds "foreign" to local Shanghainese.

(So maybe I’m just turning into my mum after all. 😅)

Who are the 月球人 "Moon People"?! Another LOL language moment

As if that wasn’t enough linguistic amusement for one trip, I also learned a hilarious new expression from my half-brothers, who live in Hong Kong and are in their mid-twenties (yes, they are much cooler than me!).

We were chatting the day after the wedding about Hong Kong life – the economy, housing, expat packages, that sort of thing.

They mentioned that some expats in Hong Kong earn ridiculously high salaries.

“These people are called 月球人,” one of them said.

Literally translated: “moon people.”

Huh?

I thought maybe 月球人 was a reference to their “foreignness” – like they were as “alien” as someone living on the moon.

Turns out I was waaaay off the mark!

They explained that “月” refers to “monthly salary,” and “球” – which literally means “ball” – is slang for one million Hong Kong dollars.

So, a 月球人 is someone who earns over one million HKD a month.

Mind. Blown. 🤯

Again, that reminded me of a language LOL moment I had with my mum over 20 years ago, when we were still living in Hong Kong.

My mum was reading the newspaper (yes, people still read newspapers back in 2003) and said to me, laughing:

"Haha! Schools in Hong Kong are apparently testing pupils on their knowledge of 潮州話 (the Teochew dialect)! How ridiculous!"

I was like, HUH?!

A quick look at the news article in question revealed the source of the misunderstanding: the article was referring to 潮語, a "hip" slang at the time which meant "fashionable expressions" (is 潮語 still a "hip" word in Hong Kong in 2025?!). So apparently, Hong Kong schools had introduced some 潮語 in Chinese exams.

I remember how hard I laughed about how hard my mum laughed as a result of a language misunderstanding!

(Another example of me turning into my mum?! 😅)

Why Translators Must Keep Up With Language Change

As a translator, I find moments like these endlessly fascinating.

Language never stands still.

It evolves with culture, technology, and time – morphing quietly while we’re busy living our lives.

What once sounded natural can suddenly sound “old school.”

New slang pops up overnight, often faster than any dictionary can catch up.

And that’s exactly why we, as linguists and translators, can never stop learning.

Even when it comes to our own mother tongue.

Have you experienced any funny LOL language moments? Share in the comments below!