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If something can’t be defined can it exist?

Before we get too philosophical, let’s consider this: Is a Jaffa Cake actually a biscuit, or a cake? The manufacturer, McVities, had always categorised them as cakes but the tax authorities wanted them to be categorised as biscuits which a higher tax applies. Legally, a Jaffa Cake is a cake. To start with, they are called Jaffa Cakes, not Jaffa Biscuits. But to a lot of people, Jaffa Cakes behave more biscuit than cake in many ways. They are packaged like any biscuits, and they are usually found in the biscuit aisle in supermarkets. On the other hand, intrinsically, they are made with ingredients of a traditional cake such as eggs, flour and sugar. And like cakes, when Jaffa goes stale, they become hard, not soft like biscuits. The comparisons go on, and on.

“Transcreation” is exactly like this – one of the many things that exist for which we do not have any successful definition. Is it translation, or a work of creation? What does good transcreation look like?

Let’s explore and discuss. I would love to know what you think!