mid == clueless == interchangeable, and interchangeable means the only thing keeping them in the Outer Party is loyalty (partly demonstrated through diligent observance of the rituals). The principal was either in the habit of referring to people however he wishes, or perhaps he was even being accommodating and referring to his counterparts as they wished to be addressed; the translator was in the habit that one must always use the politically correct forms — to the point that the faithfulness to conditioning resulted in a betrayal of the translation.
"A translation is like a romantic partner: almost all are either beautiful, or they are faithful; rarely are they both"
mid == clueless == interchangeable, and interchangeable means the only thing keeping them in the Outer Party is loyalty (partly demonstrated through diligent observance of the rituals). The principal was either in the habit of referring to people however he wishes, or perhaps he was even being accommodating and referring to his counterparts as they wished to be addressed; the translator was in the habit that one must always use the politically correct forms — to the point that the faithfulness to conditioning resulted in a betrayal of the translation.
"A translation is like a romantic partner: almost all are either beautiful, or they are faithful; rarely are they both"
lagniappe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grA5XmBRC6g
EDIT: Felix C. Forrest on the temptation to engage in flamewars: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/48612/48612-h/48612-h.htm#:~...