Speaking in tongues

'Post No Bills.' Translators could be forgiven for rendering this unusual phrase into its German, French or Japanese equivalent of 'Mail No Invoices'. This phrase is the American way of urging the public to desist from flyposting or billposting, equivalent to Britain's 'Bill Stickers Will Be Prosecuted.' Accurate translation incorporates cultural factors as well as linguistic conventions, and the many pitfalls involved in substituting one set of words for another are worth recalling now that