Translation marketing blunders oh my! Part 1
I have a favorite class with students where we talk about cross cultural communication and share stories about language and/or cultural mishaps. Something will inevitably happen when you are learning another language. Working as a waitress once I remember telling a Spanish speaking table that I was pregnant instead of embarrassed. It`s a common error to make and in the end just reason to laugh. Don`t let the possibility of saying something wrong stop you from trying!
The stakes are higher in business, however, and translation and cultural awareness must be considered. In international marketing, one of the most well-known translation blunders comes from car maker Chevy and their car the “Nova.” In Spanish it literally translates to “It doesn`t go.” It was obviously not the message Chevy wanted to portray for its car that is suppose to go, and go fast for that matter! (See below for more clarification on this case.)
Mistakes with cultural awareness without a doubt have happened and continue to happen, especially as the world becomes more global everyday. Examples of that for another post! Today`s post is a compilation of translation mistakes (in writing, not speaking) that led to unfavorable results in international markets.
1. The Chevy Nova isn`t the only English to Spanish (or vice versa) mistake that has occurred with cars. In fact there have been many. Here are three examples of model names that were unfit for the Spanish and Portuguese markets.
- The Mazda Laputa literally translates in Spanish to the Mazda “whore” (la puta).
- The Nissan Moco literally translates to the Nissan “bugger” (el moco).
- The Mitsubishi Pajero is the Mitsubishi “wanker.” The car was renamed as “Montero.”
2. Honda introduced their car the “Fitta” in Nordic countries in 2001, only to later to learn that it referred to a woman’s genitals in Swedish and Norwegian. In the end, they renamed it the “Honda Jazz.”
3. Gerber is America’s best-known baby food maker, but “gerber” can be translated as “to vomit” of all things in French. Evidently the name was not marketed in France.
4. In Germany, Clairol launched a curling iron called the “Mist Stick” and mist in German is slang for manure: the “manure stick.” Uh oh…
5. Sharwoods, a UK food manufacturer, spent £6 million on a campaign to launch its new ‘Bundh’ sauces only later to receive calls from numerous Punjabi speakers indicating that “bundh” sounded just like the Punjabi word for “arse”. Oops!
6. The Japanese company Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic) was promoting a new PC for internet users. They had created the new web browser and received license to use the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker as the interactive internet guide. The day before launch, they realized the mistake and saved themselves a lot of embarrassment. The ads for the new product featured the following slogan: “Touch Woody – The Internet Pecker.” “Woody” and “pecker” are both references to male genitals in English.
7. In the 1970`s, Wang Computers was an American computer company with the motto: “Wang Cares.” Sounding a lot like “wankers,” British branches refused to use the motto.
8. “Traficante” is an Italian mineral water, but in Spanish translates to “drug dealer” or “trafficker.” In 2006, it was purchased by Coca-Cola.
9. When Pope John Paul II visited Miami in 1987, a local T-shirt maker produced commemorative T-shirts for the Hispanic market “Vi la papa” without realizing that a simple article change in Spanish changed the meaning. The shirts literally read: “I saw the Potato” (“la Papa”), instead of “I saw the Pope” (“el Papa”).
10. The toothpaste and toothbrush company “Colgate” literally means “hang yourself” in the voseo form of Argentinian Spanish.
More on Chevy`s Nova: Despite being perhaps the most common example given in international marketing, the story of the Nova is actually a myth. The car was sold with this name in Venezuela and Mexico, having quite successful sales in Venezuela in fact.
For a similar post but related to cultural blunders, go here!
Sources:
Language Lens 