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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STUDY FINDS AMERICAN BRANDS LOSING
CUSTOMERS AND DOLLARS IN DROVES
DUE TO BAD TRANSLATIONS
People Who Speak English as a Second Language Spurn Products
With Poorly Translated Ads…Losses Could Be in the Billions

New York, NY (July 17, 2003).—In a recent survey of people who speak English as a second language, 57% of respondents say they have seen advertising that is incorrectly translated from English. And astonishingly, nearly half (49%) of the respondents who are people who speak English as a second language say that if an ad is poorly translated, they tune out the message. All this continues to spell big trouble for global firms who are translating ads and sending the wrong message.

The national survey of 513 people conducted by TransPerfect Translations, the leading translation company in the U.S., indicates that 65% of the respondents believe that poorly translated ads show a lack of caring about the consumer.
Examples of poorly translated words or brands from the English in ads include:

* “Point” translated into Spanish as “puta” which means whore
* “Census” translated into Spanish as “sesos” which means “brain”
* “Futball” for soccer—this is known as Spanglish (first half is Spanish, second half is English)—it should be fútbol
* Avis in Danish means “newspaper”

Certain products were consistently implicated in the poorly translated ads such as food products at 35%, 20% for drug products and a scary 13%for baby products. The respondents said that newspaper ads were the worst offenders at 35%, with 31% saying television ads were poorly translated. But probably the worst concern for corporations is that 32% of respondents said that a mistranslation of an ad would adversely affect their loyalty to a product.

Liz Elting, President and CEO of TransPerfect Translations says, “In order to succeed, translated ad copy must be crafted as if it were originally written in the target language, and the only way to achieve that goal is to employ native speakers from the target country—with an extensive professional background in translating (or transadapting as we often call it) ad copy and marketing materials.”

Respondents of the survey also indicated that 30% found a translation so bad that it was humorous, while 36% misunderstood what the product was or was used for because the translation was so poor. And it is not just the message or a line in an ad—some brand names just don’t translate into another language. For example, Chi Chi’s (Restaurant) in Spanish means a woman’s chest. Elting continues, “A thorough knowledge of the target culture, including the use of idiomatic expressions, allows the professional native speaker to communicate the meaning and the message as opposed to a literal rendering of the words.” Elting sums up by saying, “Simply put, this is the only way for companies to effectively get their message across to their target audience to achieve the kind of results they want and need from their marketing dollars.”

While some of the miscues are humorous, with the meteoric growth of the size and spending clout of minority groups in this country and the globalization of corporate brands, if not corrected the situation will not be a laughing matter for key American brands.

About TransPerfect Translations
TransPerfect Translations is one of the world’s leading translation companies. With 19 offices on 3 continents, it provides a full range of language services in over 100 languages to multinational companies worldwide. TransPerfect Translations has a network of 4,000 linguists and subject-area specialists worldwide. The wide range of services it provides includes translation, interpreting, multilingual typesetting/graphic services, web site globalization, software localization, multimedia presentations, subtitling and voice-overs as well as multicultural marketing. It is the country’s leading legal translation company. Headquarters are in New York City.

Liz Elting is available for interviews.

Did you know that…

* 30% of respondents say that they have seen a translation in their native language that was so bad it was humorous. Funny translations include:
o In an ad in Mexico, the country Mexico was written “Mejico” which is the pronunciation but not the correct spelling and would never be written that way
o In Korean, an orange juice product was described as “not too sour”
o In Spanish, a store where everything costs one dollar was advertised as “Un Dollar” instead of “un dolar”

* 36% said that because of a bad translation they misunderstood what the product was that was advertised.
* 22% of the respondents to the survey said they purchased a product only to find out it was not what they thought it would be because of a mistranslation in an ad.

* 13% said baby products in ads were mistranslated. Product categories most mistranslated:
o Food (35%)
o Drugs (20%)
o Baby Products (13%)
o Soda/Beverages (12%)

* 63% of respondents were between the ages of 21 and 30; 20% were between the ages of 31 and 40.

* Offensive translations included:
o Pepsi’s slogan “Come alive with Pepsi” mistranslated in Chinese as “Pepsi will bring your ancestors back from the dead”
o Point translated into Spanish as “puta” means whore

* American products that are offensive in a native language:
o “Calzones” in Spanish means underwear
o “Cola” in Spanish means a person’s behind or bottom
o Using a Chihuahua in Taco Bell ads stereotypes Mexican culture

* Where mistranslated advertising occurs:
o Newspapers (35%)
o Television (31%)
o Magazines (27%)
o Billboards (15%)
o Radio (12%)

* 57% of people who speak English as a second language have seen advertising that is incorrectly translated from English.
* 49% of respondents say that if an ad is poorly translated, they tune out the message.
* 65% believe that poor translations in ads and products show a lack of caring for the consumer.
* 32% of respondents say that a mistranslated ad has adversely affected their loyalty to a product.