Translingual practice is a rising theoretical viewpoint which underscores the ability and disposition for meaning-making across linguistic boundaries. Following on inquiries of globalized workplaces that have centered on lingua franca English, this paper examines translingual practice as represented in interview and blog narratives recounted by multilingual, multiethnic young adults hired by Japanese schools and companies for their English proficiency. In these metapragmatic narratives of interactions with supervisors and coworkers, participants depict themselves overcoming communicative challenges through investment in L2 Japanese, and in particular through pragmatic accommodation to local norms. In this way, they evade preserving widespread ideologies that delegitimize Japanese L2 speakers.