| When we conduct foreign trade, the
importance of understanding the language of a country cannot be underestimated.
The successful marketer must achieve export communication which requires a
thorough understanding of the language as well as the ability to speak it. Those
who deal with advertising should be concerned less with obvious differences
between languages and more with the exact meanings expressed. A dictionary translation is not the same as an idiomatic interpretation, and seldom will the dictionary translation meet the needs. A national producer of soft drinks had the company's brand name impressed in Chinese characters which were phonetically (按照发音的) accurate. It was discovered later, however, that the translation's literal meaning was "female horse fattened with wax," hardly the image the company sought to describe. So carelessly translated advertising statements not only lose their intended meaning but can suggest something very different including something offensive or ridiculous. Sometimes, what was translated was not an image the companies had in mind for their products. Many people believe that to fully appreciate the true meaning of a language it is necessary to live with the language for years. Whether or not this is the case, foreign marketers should never take it for granted that they are affectively communicating in another language. |