Costliest Mistakes Made in Translation

And in other news from Ethiopia: “A new swimming pool is rapidly taking shape since the contractors have thrown in the bulk of their workers.”

Really? That’s either a terribly wrong translation or a very unfortunate, very wet bunch of employees!

Outside a Hong Kong tailor shop: “Ladies may have a fit upstairs.”

Now, isn’t that nice … our very own special place to throw a fit!

We’ve all been in splits with mistranslations like these, but sometimes these mistakes have cost businesses … let’s just say a bob or two.

The meaning of translated text can change dramatically because of a few critical translation mistakes and can cause big headaches and cost big money to fix. Let’s get into it then and look at some translation bloopers that went down in history as some of the worst mistakes that cost millions.

Earning Report to Sharp Corporation

In late 2012, Sharp corp. organisation was falling apart altogether and losing market shares consistently. When Sharp asked for the interpretation from Japanese into English of their financial report, the English translation sounded more ominous than the initial Japanese statement. According to the translation, the organisation had substantially anticipated its doom, and this terrified Investors. Sharp's stock crashed to yearly decline of 75%. You can read all about it in an article by Wall Street Journal labelled, “Sharp Statement Lost in Translation” 

HSBC’s Depressing Catchphrase

HSBC takes great pride in its straightforward dealings with its clients. Connecting to clients in their own language was definitely a great idea but things didn’t go quite as planned. In 2009 their slogan “Assume Nothing” was mistranslated to “Do Nothing” in many global markets. This could imply that financial managers were doing nothing for the clients, which might not quite inspire confidence in the brand. HSBC having spent 10 million dollars on the marketing campaign cleared up this translation fail and rebranded to “The World’s Local Bank”. “Adventures in Mistranslation”, an article by Business 2 Community covers this story well.

When The Cold War Got a Little Colder

Khrushchev’s speech of 1968 was intended to criticise capitalism and demonstrate that the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) would outlive the American capitalist system. In Russian, he used an idiom that essentially meant “We will outlast you and live to see your burial.” It was translated to a way more ominous “We will bury you.” This mistranslation heightened the already frigid Cold War.

4.6 million Cans of Formula Recalled Over Spanish Mistranslation

In late 2001, Mead Johnson Nutritionals recalled 4.6 million cans of baby formula due to poor English to Spanish translation of instruction labels that could have led to severe health problems and even death. Instructions for using the formula could be found on a two-sided label, with English on the front and Spanish on the back. The Spanish side provided the wrong preparation steps, which was no small error. According to experts “adding an incorrect amount of water alters the formula’s precise mixture of nutrients and could cause seizures, an irregular heartbeat and even death if children drink the altered formula for several days.” Consumers were given the choice to use the proper preparation instructions or return the cans to the place of purchase for a full refund. This mistake caused the company great financial loss.

“Every Car Has a High-Quality Body” Campaign

Ford when looking to expand in several international markets made a ludicrous blunder. When expanding to Belgium, the company in hopes of attracting customers came up with the catchy “Every Car Has a High-Quality Body” campaign. However, it turned out that when this slogan was translated from English to the native language it read “Every Car Has a High-Quality Corpse”. While some customers were intrigued by the idea of receiving a corpse with their new car, it’s safe to say that most consumers were not too pleased.

These are just a few examples of mistranslation seen over the years and I think we can all agree that it can be detrimental to both businesses and lives. So how do we avoid such mistakes?

Localise your content, don’t just translate it! Actually, go one step further and Glocalise it with experts from Simpson Soft UK. A glocal approach means presenting global knowledge within a local context that respects human rights, cultures, and feelings. It encapsulates the concept "think globally, act locally." Our trained native linguists ensure that the intent of the writer is conveyed in a choice of more than 350 languages. They know their language, their culture, their people and will ensure that your message is conveyed accurately and effectively. Get in touch with us and let’s get glocal.