“Unsatisfactory” is the word that best describes the
contemporary debate over globalization. There seems to be a consensus that
globalization – whether economic, political, cultural, or environmental – is
defined by increasing levels of interdependence over vast distances. And
language barriers of different countries widen this gap even further. Many
companies made attempts to bridge this gap of language through translations
which turned out to be funny. Let’s have a look:
·
English Translations made by Japanese firm that
were added to labels to increase prestige for their products being sold in
China.
Product
English
Translation
Equivalent
to Japanese Spam - Liver Putty
Toilet
Paper - My
Fanny Brand
Ready
to Eat Pancakes - Strawberry
Crap Dessert
Antifreeze
Spray - Hot Piss
Brand
Pediatrician’s
Slogan - Specialist in
Deceased Children
·
Frank Perdue’s chicken slogan, “It takes a
strong man to make a tender chicken” was translated into Spanish as “It takes
an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate.”
·
When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads
were supposed to have read, “It won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you.”
The company thought that the word “embarazar” (to impregnate) meant to
embarrass, so the ad read: “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you
pregnant!”
·
When American Airlines wanted to advertise its
new leather first class seats in the Mexican market, it translated its “Fly in
Leather” campaign literally, which meant “Fly Naked” (vuela en cuero) in
Spanish!
·
These are the nominees for the Chevy Nova Award.
This is given out in honor of GM’s fiasco in trying to market this car in
Central and S. America. “No va” means, of
course, in Spanish, “it doesn’t go.”
·
The Dairy Association’s huge success with the
campaign “Got Milk?” prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was
soon brought to their attention that the Spanish translation read “Are you
lactating?”
·
Coors put its slogan, “Turn it loose,” into
Spanish, where it was read as “Suffer from Diarrhea.”
·
Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used
the following in an American campaign: “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.”
·
Clairol introduced the “Mist Stick”, a curling
iron, into Germany,
only to find out that “mist” is slang for “manure.” Not too many people had use
for the “Manure Stick.”
·
When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa,
they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the
label. Later they learnt that in Africa,
companies routinely put pictures on the labels of what’s inside, since many
people can’t read.
·
Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called
“Cue”, the name of a notorious porno magazine.
·
An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market,
which promoted the Pope’s visit. Instead of “I saw the Pope” (el Papa) , the
shirts read “ I saw the Potato.” (la papa) .
·
Pepsi’s “Come Alive with the Pepsi Generation”
translated into “Pepsi Brings your Ancestors Back From the Grave”, in Chinese.
·
The Coca Cola name in China was first read as
“Kekoukela”, meaning “Bite the Wax Tadpole” or “Female Horse Stuffed with Wax”,
depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a
phonetic equivalent “Kokou Kole”, translating into “Happiness in the Mouth.”
With rising competition and to survive the competition,
it has become extremely important for companies to cross borders but lack
of knowledge and information about other country’s culture, rituals, habits,
people, rules and regulation entering a alien land can be dangerous. Such
fractured translation is one of the consequences of lack of research and preparation.
Hence proper research and help from local people is needed,
though it’s a time consuming process but precaution is always better than the
cure.
Happy globalization
Source : http://www.bytecolumn.com
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