The following code works for me in SQL 2008 R2:
DECLARE @xml xml = N'<translation_list>
<translation>
<lang_code>EN</lang_code>
<description>Consumer Fraud Suspected</description>
</translation>
<translation>
<lang_code>HI</lang_code>
<description>उपभोक्ता धोखाधड़ी संदिग्ध</description>
</translation>
<translation>
<lang_code>RU</lang_code>
<description>Обман потребителей Подозреваемый</description>
</translation>
<translation>
<lang_code>ZH</lang_code>
<description>欺骗消费者嫌疑</description>
</translation>
</translation_list>';
DECLARE @hDoc int;
EXEC sp_xml_preparedocument @hDoc OUTPUT, @XML;
SELECT
LANG_CODE,
DESCRIPTION
FROM
OPENXML(@hDoc, 'TRANSLATION_LIST/TRANSLATION')
WITH
(
LANG_CODE nvarchar(50) 'LANG_CODE',
DESCRIPTION nvarchar(max) 'DESCRIPTION'
)
;
EXEC sp_xml_removedocument @hDoc;
SELECT
Node.value('LANG_CODE[1]', 'char(2)') As LANG_CODE,
Node.value('DESCRIPTION[1]', 'nvarchar(max)') As DESCRIPTION
FROM
@xml.nodes('//TRANSLATION') As List (Node)
;
You might need to check how the XML is being passed to your SQL code, and what data-type you're using to store it.