And what gets lost between them?
If you read a translated book or subtitles you're not reading what the author wrote, it's the translator's effort. I know enough of a couple of languages to know that quite often what's being fed to you is radically different to the original work.
Similarly if you're some guy from Lesotho who only speaks your local dialect, how much of the world's knowledge is being denied to you by the lack of translation? What about your government as they're likely to be the one and only news source in that language? Surely objectivity and neutrality is almost non existent if someone's information sources are that limited. How much of his knowledge is being denied to anyone who doesn't speak what he does?
There must be mountains of information, art and learning that disappears between cultures because of this.
Is this an unpublicised cultural disaster or does the right info always find a way?
I think it is generally understood with academics. You're right though, massive amounts of information gets lost/misinterpreted.
Allot of information gets intentionally denied trough mistranslations, very common in medieval Europe where the Vatican and catholic church in general holds controll over its people's thoughts. Who knows how much that happens this day and age? Probably just as much.
I like the jewish tale of truth according to stories of creation.
Everything was created in truth and only truth really exists so for there to be a lie it has to be based on or contain some truth.
Based on this logic, ''the right info'' or truth will always find a way to surface.
While I love that quote of "Everything was created in truth and only truth really exists." Like the game of telephone, one something is slightly off, the true meaning will NEVER find its way back to the surface. Never.