Re: [Humor] Translations

[Bev Parks <bparks -at- HUACHUCA-EMH1 -dot- ARMY -dot- MIL>]

   marsha durham <m -dot- durham -at- uws -dot- EDU -dot- AU> wrote--

     Many of the clangers in advertising that Bev Parks wrote
     about are in the  article, Interlingual Taboos in Advertising:
     How Not to Name Your  Product. This is by Reinhold Aman, who
     runs (or did run) Maledicta, a  Research Centre for Verbal
     AGression. He also published the Maledicta  journal, which
     offered taboo words, sexual slang etc from around the  world.
     His article is from an Ablex book, Linguistics and the
     Professions, ed. Robert Di Pietro, printed in 1982.

     Sometimes it's hard for English speakers to understand the
     problem in translations. Aman provides an example the other
     way, a Japanese soft  drink marketed in California as CALPIS
     (just pronounce it and you'll hear  the problem in English). It
     was later remarketed as CAL-PIKO.
=======
First of all: thanks, Marsha, for sending me a copy of your
reply (above) because had it just gone to the List I wouldn't
have seen it. I won't be receiving List mail again until Friday
evening.

In the CALPIS example I saw a double problem: "cow piss" as well
as "Cal" (California) "piss." (I feel uncomfortable typing that
p-word...I hope nobody sees it as vulgar. Apologies in advance
if you do.)

Question: Why did Esso change to Exxon? I remember when they
made the name change here in the US. I never knew why (or if I
did, I've forgotten.) If anyone knows, please reply to me
directly as well as to the list. Thanks.

=*= Beverly Parks =*= bparks -at- huachuca-emh1 -dot- army -dot- mil =*=
 =*= "These opinions are mine, not my employer's." =*=
  =*=                     =*=                     =*=