Relativism and antirelativism: is full understanding between cultures possible?

The translation of a language into another presupposes that the
translator understands the foreign expressions s/he is hearing or reading,
assigning the correct meanings given the context at hand. Therefore, if
mutual understanding could never be accomplished, we would get
hopelessly lost in translation. Granted, we do seem to be able to translate
each other fairly well, given that the verbal, economical, political exchanges
occurring every day on an intercontinental level appear to reach their
relevant aims. This is an important fact, which – as we will see below – may
have important philosophical consequences. However, what could assure us
of the fact that this is not just a fluke? How can we be certain that truly
effective intercourse between cultures is not a mere illusion? Are we not
unconsciously caught in a sort of cosmic deception – something like the
nightmare the skeptic tells us we are trapped in? Let us pause for a moment
to see how this might come about.