SDL International has found that Spanish is the language most likely to result in international marketing translation blunders. Mistakes ranging from inviting passengers to ‘fly naked’ to translating the infamous ‘got milk?’ slogan to ‘are you lactating?’ show how easy it is to turn a successful product in one country into a figure of fun due to poor localization.

Recent research estimated 4.75 per cent economic growth for South America in 2006*, making this the third year Latin American economies have expanded by more than 4 per cent.

According to SDL, the top five worst translation mistakes made by companies looking to expand into the Spanish-speaking world are:

1. Even if you get the word right, using the wrong gender in many European countries can totally change the meaning – as discovered by the Miami T-shirt maker who targeted the Spanish market with its shirts commemorating the Pope’s visit: ‘I saw the Pope’ (el Papa) became ‘I saw the potato’ (la papa)
   
2. The American milk supplier whose famous slogan ‘Got milk?’ translated to ‘Are you lactating?’ when it tried to expand the campaign to Mexico
   
3. An American airline had plenty of empty seats on its flights to South America when the promotion of its new leather seats (‘fly in leather’) translated into Spanish as ‘fly naked’
   
4. A British stationery company tried to launch its non-leaking fountain pen in Spain with the angle that ‘it won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you’. It made the common mistake of assuming that ‘embarazar’ means embarrassed. It actually means ‘pregnant’
   
5. One US beer company assumed that its slogan ‘turn it loose’ would translate successfully into the Spanish language, where unfortunately it reads ‘get diarrhoea’

“With more and more companies going global, translation and localization is a vital part of any business,” said Dr. Chris Boorman, CMO at SDL International. “These examples show how organizations will struggle to gain a foothold in South America if they don’t successfully master Spanish: the same will apply as international players scramble for footprint in all emerging markets. The challenge for most multi-national organizations is how to develop locally tailored content efficiently. Technology driven global information management will help them launch into new territories as quickly as possible and gain that all important first mover advantage ahead of the competition, without inadvertently alienating key markets.”

Boorman added: “Quality is paramount in driving international business opportunities. Basic blunders such as these can be avoided by focusing on the quality of the translation supply chain. Organizations should use certified translators to ensure their messages do not literally get lost in translation.”