The meanings of words do not reside in the words themselves, nor do they reside as preexisting structures in the mind. Word meaning is dynamically created in our minds while we create utterances. This inevitably causes problems when communicating, especially when communicating something that was originally created in a completely different language — such is the plight of the interpreter and the translator. Using cognitive linguistics studies, this session will explore how language works in the mind, how traditional accounts of expansion have ironically been form-centric, and how to manage a situation where the source communicates conceptually. Tools on how to determine what can be brought from our conceptual world into the target language will be shared. This session will be presented in American Sign Language and aligns with the following indicators in the Special Education Self-Assessment: 2, 6, 8, 9, 12.