Languages can be translated, but it does not guarantee understanding... 1-Malaysia-Many-Languages.. anyone?
Common language helps UNDERSTANDING....
UNDERSTANDING leads to ACCEPTANCE...
Then our dream of "SATU BANGSA, SATU NEGARA, SATU BAHASA" will become a reality.
Begin with BAHASA KEBANGSAAN, one COMMON LANGUAGE... (certainly not 1-Malaysia-Pelbagai Bahasa)
When it comes to advertising, we've come a long way, baby. All of these marketing slogans and brand names were perfectly fine... in English. However, once they were translated into other languages they took on hilarious new meanings!
KFC
When American fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken opened their first restaurant in Beijing in 1987, they accidentally translated KFC's famous slogan, “Finger-lickin' good” to “We'll Eat Your Fingers Off!” in Chinese.
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Clairol
In 2006, hair care company Clairol introduced a curling iron called the Mist Stick, which did very well in U.S. markets. When the company marketed the product in Germany, however, they failed to realize that “mist” means “manure” in German. Oddly enough, the “Manure Stick” didn't sell so well in Germany.
Puffs
Puffs brand tissues are quite popular in the U.S. A., however, their quest for global marketing ran into a few snags due to their name. In Germany, "Puff" is a colloquial term for a whorehouse. In England, a similar word,“Pouf,” is an offensive term for homosexual.
(Link | Via | Photo)
Coca-Cola
The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Ke-kou-ke- la," meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or the equally hilarious, "female horse stuffed with wax," depending on the dialect. Coke then researched to find a phonetic equivalent "ko-kou-ko- le," translating into "happiness in the mouth."