Abstract This column engages readers in reflexivity about the uses and meanings of literacy from a global perspective. Relying on the author's own experiences and current multilingual research, Mora discusses the issue of translating literacy into policy and advocacy. The first idea about translation tackles the importance of translating current ideas and trends about literacy as epistemological, not instrumental, matters. The second idea looks at the ongoing debates related to translating the word literacy and the current trends around it into other languages. The author argues that rather than looking at mere translations of words from English to other languages, the translations are looking more deeply at the epistemological issues that today's discussions of literacy entail.