Translation is an ugly thing ...
Often something that is stated in a (fairly) concrete and diplomatic way in one language will be ambiguous and (potentially) insulting in another language. This is why tourists can often find people in another part of the world to be rude, because they have "learned" the language but lack the experience and skill to say things correctly.
One of my co-workers (who is from China) broke out into histerical laughter while I was talking to my project manager (who was being a dink), he later told me that this was the first time he realised that people could say something that seemed appropriate but carried a second (negative) meaning; he thought (before I made my comment) that people only did that Chineese was the only language which supported such multiple meanings.
I don't know whether he made the comment in English (which would be his second language) or through a translator (who would not know the politics of the industry) but a simple mistranslation could lead to mass misinterpretation of what he said.
