Famous Examples of Getting Lost in Translation

If you have plans to globalize your brand, don’t make the mistake of using software translation rather than human translators. Also, be sure to do your homework to find out whether your branding will be a cultural let-down in a foreign market.

Here is a collection of some memorable translation blunders:

• Braniff International was on a roll when they decided to sell their comfortable luxurious seats to Spanish customers. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the translation of their English slogan “Fly in Leather” right. The direct translation of the slogan in Spanish is “En Cuero”, which means “fly naked.”
• Mercedes Benz’s market name in China was translated to “Bensi”, which meant “rush to die.” Which is not an ideal name for a car company. Fortunately, the company realized the mistake and changed its name to “Benchi”, which means “run quickly as if flying.”
• Coors, the American beer company, tried to translate their slang phrase “turn it loose” in Spanish. However, the brand was an epic fail in the Spanish market as its translated slogan meant “suffer from diarrhea.” They attracted plenty of attention, for all the wrong reasons.
• The Parker Pen Company had a great slogan for their pen in the English market: “it won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you.” However, their Mexican translation of the word embarrass was a failure as they used the word “embaraz.” In Mexican, the slogan read “it won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.”
• With so many Chinese speakers in the world, you’d think a global company like Pepsi would find a Chinese speaker to translate its content. However, the company’s Chinese translation for “Pepsi brings you back to life” was “Pepsi brings your ancestors back to life.” In translation, it isn’t what you say that matters, but how you say it. Don’t make it on our next list of the biggest translation blunders of recent times.

In conclusion

Since any language has incredibly complex nature, word-for-word translation often becomes difficult. This is the reason language translation services revise and consider each word and sentence prior to the delivery of their product to the client. When there’s no exact match for a word used in any language, expansion becomes necessary for the full interpretation of the intended meaning of the word.