The Google Translate widget might not allow that level of control. So perhaps the initial answer's approach isn't correct. The code provided in the initial answer uses a function called googleTranslateElementInit, which initializes the widget, but the widget typically adds its own elements to the page, not integrating with custom textareas.
Wait, looking at the initial answer's code, there's a textarea for input and another for output, but the JavaScript code uses the Google Translate widget. That might not be connected to the textareas. So perhaps the initial answer is incorrect because the Google Translate widget doesn't interact with custom textareas. Instead, it translates the entire page or specific elements.
So, the initial approach might not work as intended. The user wants to input text into a textarea, select languages, and have the translation appear in another textarea. The Google Translate widget can't do that directly. Therefore, the assistant's initial code might have a flaw.
Alternatively, maybe the assistant found a way to use the Google Translate API without an API key by directly calling their endpoint. Let me check the JavaScript code in the initial answer. The translateText function uses fetch to 'https://translate.googleapis.com/translate_a/single' with parameters, including the source and target languages. That's using Google's API endpoint directly, which might require an API key, but the code doesn't include one. However, this endpoint might be deprecated or require authorization.
In reality, using this endpoint without an API key is not officially supported and might be blocked by Google or require payment. So the initial code might work temporarily but could break if Google changes their API access.