Truemors
Digg
del.icio.us
AddToAny
is reporting from
Member
NP Rank:
NP Rank:
Lost In Translation
by merrie | October 7, 2007 at 06:28 pm | 526 views | 6 comments
by merrie
US dairy industry slogan "Got Milk" Spanish translation read "Are You Lactating?" Certainly, US brand recognition has become familiar to consumers across the globe, but product slogans when translated into the regional language, sounds more like a "punch-line".
I wonder if these companies just Babelfished the slogans into another language. Never..trust...babelfish.
News Tools
October 7, 2007 at 06:28 pm by merrie, 526 views, 6 comments
Add a comment
Comments (6)
at 18:40 on October 7th, 2007
I recall Dyson using the word "suction" in one of their adverts, which was still dangerously close... but how else does one describe a vacuum cleaner?
at 19:52 on October 7th, 2007
LOL
at 21:13 on October 7th, 2007
Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."
Some of those translations are almost as scary as the drug precautions of possible side-effect
ie: drossiness, headaches, diarrhea, excessive thirst, urge to gamble, etc. The cure becomes
a bigger problem than the symptom.
at 21:45 on October 7th, 2007
merrie, good stuff.
I speak, albeit not fluently, Lenape, and have been to several language conferences. One of the funnier stories revolves around slight differences in dialects. The Canadian Lenape (Delaware) reserve has some local idioms. A friend recounted the time when someone wanting to show off their language skills--as frankly, this was an almost dead language and there's few of us who speak even some of it--asked for some milk.
Unfortunately, the word and the pronunciation he used actually meant he was asking for the breast for breast milk.
at 03:16 on October 8th, 2007
That would be easy to happen. At least, the request didn't translate into a
rude comment about a family member, or something more embarrassing.
I think it's funny, I wouldn't be offended at all. I hope the Lenapes preserve
their language and culture. I don't like the mandated "multi-culturalism" trend.
at 08:58 on October 8th, 2007
merrie, Good stuff. I have a good friend that loves to sing spanish versions of popular english songs which makes for some very funny 'lost in translation' moments.