Culture Smart: What’s the Trouble with Translations?
[image error]
The word to say when you miscommunicate in another language
Communicating Across Cultures
An oft repeated story faults Chevrolet in marketing the Chevy Nova in Latin America because “no va” means “does not go” in Spanish. The only problem with this classic international business blunder is that it’s just not true.
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been plenty of companies who made big mistakes when taking their marketing messages across cultures. Some prime examples:
The now-defunct Braniff Airlines targeted ads to the Hispanic market in 1987, only to discover that their campaign took off in an entirely different direction. In the campaign, Braniff used the slogan “Vuela en cuero” (fly in leather) to promote its luxurious new leather seats, but over the radio the phrase was too easily confused with “Vuela en cueros,” which is...
No comments have been added yet.
