Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Foreign product names that don't translate very well


The Daily Mail has published a list of consumer products whose names may make perfect sense in their countries (and languages) of origin, but are . . . ah . . . shall we say, less than optimum when read in English. Here are a few examples.

Iranian washing-powder:





Cola from Ghana:





Rice crisps from China:





There are plenty more at the link. Good for a laugh!

Peter
at

4 comments:

  1. Old NFOMay 20, 2010 at 8:05 AM

    Yep, sometimes the 'English' gets a bit fractured... :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 20, 2010 at 12:00 PM

    And of course, don't forget how General Motors marketed the Chevy Nova in Mexico. Couldn't sell a darned one when someone figured out "nova" means, "won't go".

    Bob Perrow

    ReplyDelete
  3. Peter (NOGH)May 20, 2010 at 4:08 PM

    Not only the 'No-Va', but about 30 years ago, there was an attempt to sell 'Cue' toothpaste in France, which is the pronounciation (but not the spelling) of the French word for @ss.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMay 22, 2010 at 10:13 PM

    One I ran into, years ago, while working in Germany - a "washing soda" (powdered detergent) for laundry branded "Dusch Duff".

    ReplyDelete

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