Just fifteen years ago, translators weren't worried that tools like Google Translate could replace them. "It was so bad there was nothing to fear," recalls Jean-François Cuennet, a professional with over three decades of experience. "Now I do believe that machines can affect my profession," he confesses. The novelty isn't so much the technology itself as the quality of the translations: less visible errors, more fluid texts, and a level of professional rigor that is now essential. As Antoni Oliver, an expert in machine and computer-assisted translation and a professor at the UOC (Open University of Catalonia), points out, "since the 1950s, the idea that machine translation will eventually replace translators has been repeated." Every major technological advance has been accompanied by the same prediction, but now, Oliver warns, there's a difference: "The improvement is such that the error is less perceptible." This makes the expert's human experience indispensable, searching for nuances in a law, in medical research, and, of course, in literary translation.

Catalan continues to lose ground in the Balearic Islands' restaurants, and more and more bars and restaurants either don't have menus in Catalan or have them riddled with spelling mistakes. A recent example is a bar in Mallorca where a literal translation was used for the menu, resulting in errors such as "Copa vino la casa" (house wine glass), a term commonly used to refer to the wine the establishment offers that isn't from major brands or well-known labels. This case was reported on social media by the Instagram profile [name of Instagram profile missing]. @mallorcaviralThe comments on the post came pouring in. "We'll see things," one user remarked, referring to the large number of spelling mistakes and poor translations found on restaurant menus in the Balearic Islands.