A picture is worth a thousand words - or not. The following are photos taken by various keen observers.
Intercultural Communication
Sometimes people don’t realize just how much context can become lost when translating from one language to another. Other than ensuring accuracy with spelling, grammar, and punctuations, what companies shouldn't overlook is language localization where cultural expressions including trendy sayings, slang, or idioms can become misunderstood or appear baffling to the non-native speakers.
For international companies that want to project a high standard of professionalism and brand image, product translation and cultural adaptation must be taken into account to effectively communicate to audiences in distinct markets.
Language localization is a process by which a company implements for adapting a product or service from one specific locale or market to meet the requirements of another specific locale or market.
Even Colors Can Make a Big Difference
When localizing, it's crucial to take different cultural values into account. Some countries will resonate well with one thing while other countries won’t. For example, there might be inherent meanings associated with colors in different countries. The color red is perceived as positive and fortuitous in some countries in Asia while it's associated with danger, passion, or aggression in the US.
One example that would make a Westerner do a double-take is the color differences of looking at the charting of the stock market where red is used to signify price increase while the color green shows a decrease in value.
By the way, most native English speakers would understand the meaning of "doing a double-take" as an act of looking twice due to surprise or disbelief or to make sure that one really saw correctly while non-native speakers may mistake it as taking two of something, especially when doing a direct translation.
Other examples of what else can get lost in translation:
An advertising campaign from Pepsi's slogan "Pepsi brings you back to life." What ended up in China became "Pepsi brings dead ancestors back from the grave."
Kentucky Fried Chicken is well-known in the English-speaking world for its slogan, "Finger-lickin' Good!" it was lost in translation to become, "Eat Your Fingers!"
In the past, car manufacturers had also missed the 'global marketing memo' as exemplified by the age-old Chevy Nova (Nova means "no go" or doesn't go in Spanish).
Translation is an art and an understanding of the cultural context. Even the best translators may not understand a language’s nuances so adding the process of getting native speakers to review and modify for context localization and accuracy is an important step worth implementing by any establishment that caters to multilingual audiences.
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