A project by Mohammad Shehadeh
What we lose when language is translated, simplified, and designed away.
“Were we to know the fierceness and force of translation, we would surely veil our vision and stitch our mouths, so that we could never lend any sight nor word to the mutation of meaning from one language to another. This is the Beast, exalted in shape and excellence.”
Mohammad Shehadeh
About
I'm Mohammad Shehadeh, a fifteen-year-old researcher, speaker, and builder from Manchester. I study Latin and Greek, and I've spent the last two years investigating a question that most people never think to ask: what happens to meaning when it moves between languages?
Translational Justice is the name I've given to that inquiry. It's the idea that translation is never neutral, that every time language is converted, compressed, or corrected by an interface, something is lost, and that loss falls hardest on the languages with the least power.
My work spans linguistics research, software, filmmaking, and public speaking. I gave a TEDx talk on translation at fifteen. I'm building tools for classical language students. And I'm making a documentary about how technology is quietly reshaping the way Singapore speaks.
This site is the home for all of it.
The Work
A short documentary about how technology is quietly erasing the way Singapore asks questions. Based on original research analysing 56,000 SMS messages.
↗An AI-powered annotation tool for Latin, Ancient Greek, and Koine Greek literature. Built for OCR GCSE and A-level students.
↗How SMS affordances reshaped interrogative grammar in Singaporean English. Corpus analysis of 56,000 text messages.
The Journey
The Talk
TEDx: On Translation, Loss, and the Words We Leave Behind
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