Promiscuous corroboration and climate change translation: A case study from the Marshall Islands

► Climate change communication depends on linguistic and cultural translation. ► The Marshallese language's closest equivalent to 'climate' means 'cosmos'. ► Marshall Islanders can therefore attribute almost any perturbation to climate change. ► This 'promiscuous corroboration' powerfully influences local climate change attitudes. ► Such 'mistranslations' can foster citizen-scientist dialogue.