At BigTranslation, as a translation agency, we keep a close eye on developments across the linguistic landscape around us.
In an increasingly interconnected world, mastering more than one language is no longer a bonus but an essential skill. Globalisation, digital networks, remote working and cultural diversity are pushing us to communicate beyond our linguistic borders. Yet this reality not only highlights the usefulness of learning languages; it also underscores the value of professional human translation in the face of the proliferation of automated tools. Rosalía’s recent album, LUX, offers an excellent starting point for exploring these issues.
Linguistic importance and prestige
After a radical stylistic and musical shift, Rosalía has revealed that on her new album, LUX, she sings in 14 different languages: Spanish, English, Latin, Catalan, Japanese, Italian, German, Ukrainian, Arabic, Sicilian, French, Mandarin, Hebrew and Portuguese. This choice offers several key insights into language learning and professional human translation:
- Open-mindedness: By daring to sing in such a variety of languages, the artist shows that a language is far more than vocabulary; it’s a gateway into another culture, another way of feeling, another soundscape. As she herself says: ‘It’s a lot of trying to understand how other languages work… it’s a lot of intuition…’
- Global communication: In an album designed for an international audience, using multiple languages widens both its reach and its emotional resonance. Each language brings nuances that could easily be lost in simplistic translations or adaptations.
- Cultural sensitivity: When you learn another language, you not only learn to say things, but also to listen to how it sounds, and understand the connotations and history behind it. In this sense, language learning nurtures empathy, curiosity and openness towards others.
Therefore, the ‘importance of languages’ is not only functional (work, travel, the internet) but also existential. Learning another language is learning another way of being, expressing yourself and feeling.
Why professional human translation really matters
In an era where apps and algorithms promise instant translations, Rosalía’s album also reminds us why human translators are still indispensable.
- Idiomatic and cultural accuracy: Rosalía explains that after using tools like Google Translate, she checked her lines with professional translators: ‘If I rhyme this with this, does this make sense? … let me ask someone who actually is a translator.’ In music — and in communication in general — words are never neutral. Rhyme, rhythm and connotation all matter. A professional translator understands not only the language but the culture that shapes it.
- Nuances that machines can’t capture: Automated translations may provide a literal meaning, but cannot convey emphasis, emotion, tone, irony or wordplay. In multilingual songs such as those on LUX, these nuances can determine whether a line feels natural or awkward.
- Creative and coherent adaptation: In a complex artistic project, translation is not merely transferring words from one language to another, but adapting them so they retain their effect and coherence. A professional translator can collaborate with artists to ensure the lyrics sound musical, meaningful and emotionally connected in every language.
- Avoiding errors and misinterpretations: An error in a translation can misinterpret an idea, cause confusion or even cause offence. In the global context (music, business, diplomacy), the risk is high. Working with a professional translator provides accuracy and reassurance.
Human translation is far from a luxury; it’s an essential complement in a world where communicating across languages has become the norm rather than the exception.
The album LUX as a case study
Returning to Rosalía’s album, we can see how both ideas, the importance of languages and the value of human translation, come to life in a real project:
- The artist spent two years learning to sing in other languages, practising pronunciation and working with coaches and translators.
- The use of several languages is not merely ‘decorative’, it forms part of an artistic narrative built around mysticism, spirituality and universality.
- In interviews, Rosalía emphasises that the creative process was ‘all human… very much human’ and that she avoided relying on artificial intelligence for this part of the work.
- Each change of language adds a different texture: singing in Arabic, German, Latin or Sicilian carries with it very different cultural references, which is why such a detailed approach is needed to make all the pieces fit together.
Therefore, LUX not only demonstrates that learning and using languages properly matters, but that crafting them consciously and translating them so that they make sense in context matters even more. Because it is not enough to simply ‘use’ another language: that use must resonate with the audience, blend naturally with the music and remain coherent.
What solid conclusions can we draw from this excursus?
Rosalía’s example reminds us that genuinely integrating language into a project can transform something local into something universal.
The album LUX is not only an ambitious artistic endeavour, but also a lesson in why languages and high-quality translation are two sides of the same coin in our globalised world.
If you are going to communicate in other languages — whether in marketing, music, writing or websites — working with professional translators is well worth considering. The time or cost saved by relying solely on automated tools can come at the expense of quality or even risk your reputation.
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The importance of languages in the 21st century is unquestionable. Equally important — or perhaps even more so — is professional human translation, which delivers quality, cultural awareness, nuance and coherence where automated tools simply cannot.
