LL-L "Language use" 2005.11.28 (8) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 28 November 2005 * Volume 08
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From: "heather rendall" <HeatherRendall at compuserve.com>
Subject: LL-L "Language maintenance" 2005.11.28 (03) [E]

Message text written by INTERNET:lowlands-l at LOWLANDS-L.NET
>learn
Japanese as a sign of respect to do business in Japan; if Japan insists on
using
English, where does that leave notions of respect and equality of
cultures?<

I remember my French Teacher pointing out that to sell a perfume in an
English speaking country it gets given a French name.

To sell a perfume in a French speaking country it gets given an English
name.

Thus the snobbery of language - anything other than your ownsounds
desirable!

There are regular TV programs on ITV in the UK that show adverts from
around the world where words ( very often English but not always) are
adopted/ chosen by companies to sell their goods because they 'sound' good
- but very often have unfortunate meanings in their original language. Such
as a japanese deodrant ( if I remember correctly) that was called Bum !

Heather

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language use

Good one, Heather!

Language can be used as a "gimmick tool," for sure.  But bad trade names
and slogans can happen even without code switching.  One example that
comes to mind is the American car name "Impact" (in the 1980s, I believe,
abandoned after a few months).  Boy, did I have a laugh when that puppy
hit the market!  Snobbery was at work here too, an attempt at appealing to
"up-market" aspirations.  The word "impact" was chosen in its extended
meaning (something "has/makes an impact" = "makes a powerful difference" =
"makes a splash" = "is impressive").  The original meaning ("to crash
into/onto") had been overlooked.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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