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don groves
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 2:08 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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In article <cs4c6j0f2f@drn.newsguy.com>, R H Draney at
dadoctah@spamcop.net hath writ:
| Quote: | John Ings filted:
A friend of mine used to refer to his favorite sandwich bar
as "Fatal Bert's"
It took me some time to realize he was deliberately
mangling "Fat Albert's"
And then there was the famous Scottish actor who appeared on Jeopardy and
insisted on reading one of the category titles as "The Rapists"....r
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At one point in her career, my wife was a Systems Anal-yst.
--
dg (domain=ccwebster) |
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Django Cat
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:01 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 23:13:26 +0000, "Laura F. Spira"
<laura@DRAGONspira.fsbusiness.co.uk> wrote:
| Quote: | Django Cat wrote:
On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 21:30:07 -0000, Robt E <yahoo@robt_englund.com
wrote:
OK, it took 20 years, but today I had a revelation. The fact that it
took 20 yrs is deeply embarring, though . . .
Two decades ago I had a job at the local country club. There is a brand
of golf equipment called "Titleist". Naturally (or not), I pronounced
the name "TIT-lice-st". My manager corrected my pronunciation, saying it
was "TIGHT-list". For twenty years I have thought this was some strange
American aversion to saying the word "tit". It was only today that I
realised that (duh!) it was "Title-ist". Oops! How embarrasing.
There was a tale (could be an urban myth) some years back of a
nicotine substitute introduced to help people give up smoking. The
name, Nocoff, was supposed to be pronounced 'No cough', but the
product was withdrawn when consumers insisted on calling it 'knock
off' (AmE 'desist').
Wouldn't you say "knock it off" if you meant desist? "Knock off" round
here means stolen.
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That's true, in a direct interjection, but it sounds old fashioned now
- the sort of thing my Dad used to say to me if I was nailing the
cat's tail to the table.
But (and again this sounds very 1960s) you can, for example 'knock off
smoking' with the sense of 'give up'. People also used to talk about
'knocking off work at 5.00'. 'Knocked off' for stolen as in a
'knocked off motor' also exists, but sounds rather passé.
DC, who knew that story might have been a mistake. |
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Django Cat
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:07 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 18:33:39 -0600, "Jess Askin"
<dontbother@nospam.net> wrote:
| Quote: |
"Donna Richoux" <trio@euronet.nl> wrote in message
news:1gqayz2.41guvrr98ogdN%trio@euronet.nl...
John Ings <nodamned@spam.org> wrote:
On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 23:04:37 +0000, Django Cat <nospam@please.com
wrote:
I believe the Chrysler Nova story has already been debunked by Spanish
speakers in these hallowed pages.
How about the Esso to Exxon story?
What story was that? Do tell. All I remember is "They looked for a new
name. they thought a double-X was notable and distinctive. They changed
names."
The one I heard was that they had a computer search for a name that didn't
mean anything offensive in any language. The double X was chosen because no
language uses that combination of letters.
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You hear these things about car companies doing these extensive
searches, then you find yourself parked next to a Daihatsu Charade.
DC |
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Django Cat
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:11 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 18:25:16 -0600, "Jess Askin"
<dontbother@nospam.net> wrote:
| Quote: |
"Django Cat" <nospam@please.com> wrote in message
news:ktabu0hvtltutrljhstf477mjifk1ncagn@4ax.com...
On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 21:30:07 -0000, Robt E <yahoo@robt_englund.com
wrote:
OK, it took 20 years, but today I had a revelation. The fact that it
took 20 yrs is deeply embarring, though . . .
Two decades ago I had a job at the local country club. There is a brand
of golf equipment called "Titleist". Naturally (or not), I pronounced
the name "TIT-lice-st". My manager corrected my pronunciation, saying it
was "TIGHT-list". For twenty years I have thought this was some strange
American aversion to saying the word "tit". It was only today that I
realised that (duh!) it was "Title-ist". Oops! How embarrasing.
There was a tale (could be an urban myth) some years back of a
nicotine substitute introduced to help people give up smoking. The
name, Nocoff, was supposed to be pronounced 'No cough', but the
product was withdrawn when consumers insisted on calling it 'knock
off' (AmE 'desist').
I believe the Chrysler Nova story has already been debunked by Spanish
speakers in these hallowed pages.
But what about the Rolls Royce Silver Mist?
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Go on... |
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John Ings
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:42 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 02:13:17 GMT, "Adrian Bailey" <dadge@hotmail.com>
wrote:
| Quote: | How about the Esso to Exxon story?
What story was that? Do tell. All I remember is "They looked for a new
name. they thought a double-X was notable and distinctive. They changed
names."
Lacks a little dramatic flair.
I vaguely recall the renaming had to do with the different Standard Oil
companies, of which Esso ("S - O") was one.
I read a long time ago that they narrowed the new name down to a choice
between Exxon and [insert alternative here] but discovered that the latter
was rude in Japanese. Something like that. Wonder if that's the same as
John's story?
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Yes, except the version I heard was that Esso itself meant something
rude or embarrassing in Japanese. Possibly an urban legend, or a
garbled version of the story Adrian remembers. |
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John Ings
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:45 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On 12 Jan 2005 21:55:30 -0800, R H Draney <dadoctah@spamcop.net>
wrote:
| Quote: | Filted?
Indeed.
How, precisely, does one inde?...r
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How do you filt? |
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Donna Richoux
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:52 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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Django Cat <nospam@please.com> wrote:
| Quote: | On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 18:25:16 -0600, "Jess Askin"
dontbother@nospam.net> wrote:
I believe the Chrysler Nova story has already been debunked by Spanish
speakers in these hallowed pages.
|
I believed I passed along the hard work of the alt.folklore.urban group.
| Quote: | But what about the Rolls Royce Silver Mist?
|
There are long humorous lists of these brand-name/translation stories,
most impossible to verify. (Who can prove what some corporation
*thought* about naming a product, for example?) Some have been
exaggerated through retelling.
The Rolls Royce one is mentioned here:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?fi
le=2004051600330800.htm&date=2004/05/16/&prd=mag&
A FEW little-known facts about Rolls-Royce -- past
and present.
...The Silver Mist had to be renamed for Germany in
1965 when executives learned "mist" was slang for
manure.
To me, if that happened before the car was put on the market in Germany,
it is unremarkable common sense. *If* it was renamed some time later,
then there's a point to it as an anecdote (Business Fails To Use Common
Sense). However, the desire to make the situation into a good story can
override the facts.
A site that tries to keep track of these translation stories, true and
false, is:
Marketing Translation Mistakes
http://www.i18nguy.com/translations.html
--
Best -- Donna Richoux |
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Donna Richoux
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:53 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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John Ings <nodamned@spam.org> wrote:
| Quote: | On 12 Jan 2005 21:55:30 -0800, R H Draney <dadoctah@spamcop.net
wrote:
Filted?
Indeed.
How, precisely, does one inde?...r
How do you filt?
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Very well, thank you. How do you filt? |
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Django Cat
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 8:12 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 13:52:12 +0100, trio@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux)
wrote:
| Quote: | Django Cat <nospam@please.com> wrote:
On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 18:25:16 -0600, "Jess Askin"
dontbother@nospam.net> wrote:
I believe the Chrysler Nova story has already been debunked by Spanish
speakers in these hallowed pages.
I believed I passed along the hard work of the alt.folklore.urban group.
But what about the Rolls Royce Silver Mist?
There are long humorous lists of these brand-name/translation stories,
most impossible to verify. (Who can prove what some corporation
*thought* about naming a product, for example?) Some have been
exaggerated through retelling.
The Rolls Royce one is mentioned here:
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?fi
le=2004051600330800.htm&date=2004/05/16/&prd=mag&
A FEW little-known facts about Rolls-Royce -- past
and present.
...The Silver Mist had to be renamed for Germany in
1965 when executives learned "mist" was slang for
manure.
To me, if that happened before the car was put on the market in Germany,
it is unremarkable common sense. *If* it was renamed some time later,
then there's a point to it as an anecdote (Business Fails To Use Common
Sense). However, the desire to make the situation into a good story can
override the facts.
A site that tries to keep track of these translation stories, true and
false, is:
Marketing Translation Mistakes
http://www.i18nguy.com/translations.html
|
Excellent site Donna. I love Coca-Cola's slogan in China as "bite the
wax tadpole", and great to see old friend "Pepsi brings your
ancestors back from the dead."
DC |
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Linz
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 8:29 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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"Sara Lorimer" <que.sara.saraDELETE@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1gqac1o.mhnlcsz8qx34N%que.sara.saraDELETE@gmail.com...
| Quote: | Adrian Bailey wrote:
"Robt E" <yahoo@robt_englund.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1c4fa73a5edaaf2b98969e@giganews.nildram.co.uk...
Two decades ago I had a job at the local country club. There is a
brand of golf equipment called "Titleist". Naturally (or not), I
pronounced the name "TIT-lice-st". My manager corrected my
pronunciation, saying it was "TIGHT-list". For twenty years I
have thought this was some strange American aversion to saying
the word "tit". It was only today that I realised that (duh!) it
was "Title-ist". Oops! How embarrasing.
Every normal person thinks it's "tit - liced" like you did.
Once again, I learn just how abnormal I am.
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Ah, I'm in good company. |
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John Ings
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:05 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 13:53:49 +0100, trio@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux)
wrote:
| Quote: | Filted?
Indeed.
How, precisely, does one inde?...r
How do you filt?
Very well, thank you. How do you filt?
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I don't know how to filt. I was once asked if I like duckling,
but I've never duckled either.
How do you get down off an elephant? |
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Tony Cooper
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:14 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 06:05:27 -0800, John Ings <nodamned@spam.org>
wrote:
| Quote: | On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 13:53:49 +0100, trio@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux)
wrote:
Filted?
Indeed.
How, precisely, does one inde?...r
How do you filt?
Very well, thank you. How do you filt?
I don't know how to filt. I was once asked if I like duckling,
but I've never duckled either.
How do you get down off an elephant?
First you find an elephant with feathers. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:33 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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Django Cat wrote:
| Quote: | On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 18:33:39 -0600, "Jess Askin"
dontbother@nospam.net> wrote:
The one I heard was that they had a computer search for a name that
didn't
mean anything offensive in any language. The double X was chosen
because no
language uses that combination of letters.
You hear these things about car companies doing these extensive
searches, then you find yourself parked next to a Daihatsu Charade.
|
The stories I have read tend to be about the consulting firms that
charge exorbitant fees to come up with 'Daihatsu Charade' and their
explaining just what a terribly clever name that really is: how it
resonates so perfectly with the tarket market and how it would have
been simply impossible for a couple of guys sitting in a bar after work
to come up with anything nearly so clever. I have occasionally seen
one consulting firm dis another's work (hinting darkly that the second
firm probably just has an MS Word file with a list of these things, and
they pick a couple at random and pitch them to the client); but
generally there seems to be a gentleman's agreement not to state the
obvious about the competition, lest they state the obvious about you.
Richard R. Hershberger |
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Witziges Rätsel
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:53 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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| Quote: | I believe the Chrysler Nova story has already been debunked by Spanish
speakers in these hallowed pages.
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If I recall correctly, it was a Chevrolet Nova, not a Chrysler. |
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John Ings
Guest
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 9:58 pm
Post subject: Re: It took 20 yrs but... |
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On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 14:14:26 GMT, Tony Cooper
<tony_cooper213@earthlink.net> wrote:
| Quote: | How do you get down off an elephant?
First you find an elephant with feathers.
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Nah! You don't get down off an elephant.
You get down off a duck! |
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