When singer Ariana Grande went to get a new tattoo celebrating her hit song 7 Rings, she probably didn’t expect to come out with one that actually means, “tiny barbecue grill” in Japanese. What’s worse, the character she had added to correct the mistake only made things go further astray. The tattoo now reads, “Japanese barbecue finger.”
Embarrassing, but not the worst thing that can happen, right? Maybe so. But consider this: Translation errors have been at the root of products and companies failing in other countries. There are even cases that have proven catastrophic to people.
Like when KFC’s translation for “finger-lickin’ good” became “eat your fingers off” in China. Or when the American Dairy Association’s “Got Milk” campaign turned out to mean, “Are you lactating?” in Spanish-speaking countries. Or when a man went to the ER and reported that he was “intoxicado,” meaning poisoned, and the hospital personnel translated it as drunk. Instead of being getting proper treatment, he received protocol for a drug overdose and ended up paralyzed.
Clearly, if you’re doing business in other countries and other languages, it pays to use a professional translation service that does more than just a word-for-word switch. You need an exact translation that captures all the nuances of the culture. So skip all the embarrassment by using a high-quality translation service.
Use a high-quality translation service to ensure you’re saying what you mean and meaning what you say.
