Sophie's rant about the dangers of "cool" Kanji...

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Posted by BarefootSophie on July 16, 2001 at 15:03:52:

Having seen the zillionth post in here asking for how to write
something in Kanji, I feel a personal responsibility to warn you
against using Kanji without an interpreter who really reads Kanji --
and one whom you know and can trust! I have yet to meet a tattoo
artist who knows Kanji except for the pictures people bring him
(often off the Internet -- and OF COURSE everything that's on the
Internet is true! Right?)

Even without malicious intent, ignorance can get you in trouble if
you don't keep one thing in mind: AMERICA IS NOT THE CENTER OF THE
UNIVERSE; THEREFORE, NOT EVERY LANGUAGE WILL HAVE WORDS FOR AMERICAN
IDEAS OR THINGS.
*sigh* I love my country, don't get me wrong, but there seems to be a
nationwide arrogance when it comes to dealing with other countries.
Every language course I've taken involved learning "Does anyone here
speak English?" within the first two lessons, as if the world owed it
to us to learn *our* language and customs. To heck with their own...

Okay, that's a rant for another time. Back to the dangers of
transliteration (that's when you make up a word for something that
doesn't cleanly translate). Back when Chevrolet introduced
the "Nova," it seemed to do really well in the US, but for all their
marketing efforts, they couldn't sell that thing in Mexico if it came
with a free US citizenship! It's because "Nova" in English describes
a stellar phenomenon-- something presumably futuristic and really
exciting. "No va" in Spanish, however, means "doesn't go."

And more than a decade ago, when Eastern markets were really starting
to open up to the West (Anyone remember "Domo Origato, Mister Roboto"
or "Turning Japanese"?), the Coca-Cola company decided to reach out
to China's roots by creating advertisement billboards in Kanji. With
apparently no forethought, they used Kanji to phonetically spell it
out: Ko-Ka Ko-La.
In Chinese, "Ko Ka Ko La," literally interpreted, means...

"Bite the wax tadpole."

Now you can't say nobody told you.

Follow Ups

Re: Sophie's rant about the dangers of "cool" Kanji... Christine 01:30:40 7/18/2001 (0)
Re: Sophie's rant about the dangers of "cool" Kanji... txilar 20:04:16 7/17/2001 (0)
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! khoa 04:09:10 7/17/2001 (1)
- Re: HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! BarefootSophie 16:53:43 7/17/2001 (0)
re-from someone who can read the 'cool' designs Lucida 23:47:50 7/16/2001 (0)
Re: Sophie's rant about the dangers of "cool" Kanji... Tykey 17:46:47 7/16/2001 (1)
- Re: Sophie's rant about the dangers of "cool" Kanji... jen 03:38:45 7/17/2001 (0)

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: Having seen the zillionth post in here asking for how to write : something in Kanji, I feel a personal responsibility to warn you : against using Kanji without an interpreter who really reads Kanji -- : and one whom you know and can trust! I have yet to meet a tattoo : artist who knows Kanji except for the pictures people bring him : (often off the Internet -- and OF COURSE everything that's on the : Internet is true! Right?) : : Even without malicious intent, ignorance can get you in trouble if : you don't keep one thing in mind: AMERICA IS NOT THE CENTER OF THE : UNIVERSE; THEREFORE, NOT EVERY LANGUAGE WILL HAVE WORDS FOR AMERICAN : IDEAS OR THINGS. : sigh I love my country, don't get me wrong, but there seems to be a : nationwide arrogance when it comes to dealing with other countries. : Every language course I've taken involved learning "Does anyone here : speak English?" within the first two lessons, as if the world owed it : to us to learn our language and customs. To heck with their own... : : Okay, that's a rant for another time. Back to the dangers of : transliteration (that's when you make up a word for something that : doesn't cleanly translate). Back when Chevrolet introduced : the "Nova," it seemed to do really well in the US, but for all their : marketing efforts, they couldn't sell that thing in Mexico if it came : with a free US citizenship! It's because "Nova" in English describes : a stellar phenomenon-- something presumably futuristic and really : exciting. "No va" in Spanish, however, means "doesn't go." : : And more than a decade ago, when Eastern markets were really starting : to open up to the West (Anyone remember "Domo Origato, Mister Roboto" : or "Turning Japanese"?), the Coca-Cola company decided to reach out : to China's roots by creating advertisement billboards in Kanji. With : apparently no forethought, they used Kanji to phonetically spell it : out: Ko-Ka Ko-La. : In Chinese, "Ko Ka Ko La," literally interpreted, means... : : : : "Bite the wax tadpole." : : Now you can't say nobody told you.
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