Careless Translations
Is a Chinese Republican a Democrat in New York City?
It is bad enough that Chinese-speaking citizens cannot always get ballots in their language. It is worse that they must contend with poorly translated election materials. But it is incomprehensible that translated ballots would list Democrats as Republicans and Republicans as Democrats!
Yet that is exactly what happened in the November 2000 election in New York. […]
Posted: October 2nd, 2006 under Careless Translations.
Comments: none
Careless translations that hurt Chinese customers’ feelings.
Sometimes bad Chinese names are just comical, but other times they can be downright offensive to the very customers you are trying to reach. Careless translations send the message that you don’t really care about your customers. If you don’t care about them, why should they care about you?
Posted: August 27th, 2006 under Careless Translations.
Comments: none
Thunder Overcomes SARS
Toyota announced in June 2004 that it was updating the Chinese pinyin of the name of its luxury model Lexus from the well-known Ling-Zhi to the new Lei-Ke-Sa-Si. Many wondered why.
The new name Lei-Ke-Sa-Si, on the other hand, hints at no nobility, speed, or luxury. Instead it shares two characters with Ke-Lai-Si-Le, Chrysler’s Chinese name. […]
Posted: July 5th, 2004 under Careless Translations.
Comments: none
