The article from above describes a few idioms that weren’t properly conveyed in the target language.
Interpretation & translation are very much fields where precision is a necessity… Idioms are not necessarily something that can be translated or easily understood in another language. It can be very complex. The article states:
“Some marketing professionals would have done well to adapt their slogans and marketing strategies when crossing cultural divides,” said Myriam Siftar, owner and founder of MTM LinguaSoft, Professional Translation Services in Philadelphia. That company serves clients in Philadelphia, southeastern and central Pennsylvania and beyond.
“Unfortunately, good copy writing in one language doesn’t always translate naturally into an equivalent register in another,” Siftar said.
Kentucky Fried Chicken’s “finger-lickin good” refrain was, in Chinese, something closer to “we’ll eat your fingers off,” Siftar said.”
In a previous snippet… “And in an attempt to convey healthy, positive vibes to customers, athletic shoe giant Nike placed the Chinese characters for “prosperity” and “luck” on the heels of a particular shoe line. But those characters, viewed side-by-side, conveyed a decidedly non-Nike message: “get fat.”
That’s not quite what the writer intended to convey… It’s a faux pas that does happen sometimes when learning languages. It is part of the learning experience & humor can come from it. It’s good to learn from our mistakes.
My Vegetable Garden 