Some mistranslations include correct spelling and grammar, but convey subtle implications only native speakers will notice. Instructions on a Korean flight read, “Upon arrival at Kimpo and Kimahie Airport, please wear your clothes,” perhaps to warn former Braniff passengers who had been told otherwise – “fly naked” – via a rather infamous Spanish radio mistranslation.

Read more airline-related translation bloopers in the article “‘Airline pulp’ and bad translations that can crash a plane,” by Globalization Group vice president Adam Wooten.

As mentioned in the article “Size matters in global product marketing,” IKEA in the United States encountered problems when “beds were measured in centimeters, not king, queen and twin.” The company also encountered other challenges when other products were simply too large or small.

What are standard measurements for your products in the United States? Do those measurements apply outside the U.S.?

Read more airline-related translation bloopers in the article “‘Airline pulp’ and bad translations that can crash a plane,” by Globalization Group vice president Adam Wooten.

Years ago, in Chile, I was walking around a city on a warm day with a close American friend and colleague. As we walked up a hill, in business attire, my colleague began to perspire. A former basketball and football player, he was much larger than most Chileans and was in good shape, but inherently perspires more than most.

Upon reaching the top of the hill, a Chilean gentleman noticed us and stated the obvious, “You are sweating a lot.”

My friend shrugged, and an embarrassed but friendly smile broke on his wet face.

The gentleman then asked, “It is because you are fat, isn’t it?” The comments rolled off his lips as naturally as if he were explaining that the sky is blue or the earth is round.

My colleague quickly changed the topic away from this awkward subject and thankfully realized there was no malice or rudeness in the gentleman’s comment. Having lived in Chile for a while, he understood many topics like weight may be taboo in American culture but are completely acceptable for discussion in Chilean culture. If the comment had come from someone back in his U.S. hometown, the intent and reaction would have been completely different.

(Read more about taboo topics in the article “Taboo topics like weight are treated differently in other cultures,” by Globalization Group vice president Adam Wooten.)

If a subtle rewording does not work to convey intent, a translator may need to make more explicitly changes in cases like this. A translator may explain the intent in comments [in brackets] or a translator may need to change the wording completely to something that would convey similar intent and evoke the same reaction.

Years ago, in Chile, I was walking around a city on a warm day with a close American friend and colleague. As we walked up a hill, in business attire, my colleague began to perspire. A former basketball and football player, he was much larger than most Chileans and was in good shape, but inherently perspires more than most.

Upon reaching the top of the hill, a Chilean gentleman noticed us and stated the obvious, “You are sweating a lot.”

My friend shrugged, and an embarrassed but friendly smile broke on his wet face.

The gentleman then asked, “It is because you are fat, isn’t it?” The comments rolled off his lips as naturally as if he were explaining that the sky is blue or the earth is round.

My colleague quickly changed the topic away from this awkward subject and thankfully realized there was no malice or rudeness in the gentleman’s comment. Having lived in Chile for a while, he understood many topics like weight may be taboo in American culture but are completely acceptable for discussion in Chilean culture. If the comment had come from someone back in his U.S. hometown, the intent and reaction would have been completely different….

Read the rest at “Taboo topics like weight are treated differently in other cultures” by Globalization Group vice president Adam Wooten in his International Business column on DeseretNews.com

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Procter & Gamble, like many other international corporations, learned U.S. portrayals of women in advertising are not always socially acceptable in other countries. In her book, “Soap Opera: The Inside Story of Procter & Gamble,” author Alecia Swasy relates the result of one misguided soap commercial.

“A Camay campaign pitched the soap as making women more attractive to men, a common theme in P&G advertising. The ad showed a Japanese man walking into the bathroom while his wife sat in the tub. Japanese women were offended because it is ‘bad manners for a husband to impose on his wife’s privacy while she is bathing,’ explained Mia Ishiguro, who worked on Camay in Japan. ‘Our consumers resented the breach of good manners and the overt chauvinism of the situation.’”

Sometimes it is body language, not written language, that gets lost in translation. Read about additional international advertisements that are perceived as sexist in the article “Some international ads are perceived as sexist due to different cultural norms,” by Globalization Group vice president Adam Wooten.

• Windows 7
• Mac OS X
• Chrome OS

Shortly after the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Microsoft tweeted the following message from its Bing Twitter account: “How you can #SupportJapan? For every retweet, @Bing will give $1 to Japan quake victims, up to $100K.”

The response from the Twitter public was not at all what Microsoft intended. An angry mob pounced and accused the software giant of attempting to profit from a tragedy. Microsoft mitigated damages the same day with an apology tweet, “We apologize the tweet was negatively perceived. Intent was to provide an easy way for people to help Japan. We have donated $100K.”

Since that episode, Microsoft has committed $2 million to relief efforts in Japan.

In days gone by, a happy customer might tell only a few people about a good experience, while an unhappy customer might tell 10 people or more. Social media amplifies customer voices to the point where one or two unhappy people can quickly erupt into an angry, global, Twitter-raging mob of hundreds or thousands….

Read the rest at “Angry Twitter mobs wield ‘twitchforks’ in worldwide attacks” by Globalization Group vice president Adam Wooten in his International Business column on DeseretNews.com

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When one online machine translation tool apparently mistranslated a common Chinese word as “Wikipedia,” Chinese menus began popping up everywhere with English translations for menu items like “stir-fried Wikipedia” and “barbecued Congo eel with Wikipedia and fermented bean curd.”

Source: Language Log (Click to see the full image on the Language Log at upenn.edu)

Read more machine translation blunders in the article “Google Translate has great uses, disastrous misuses,” by Globalization Group vice president Adam Wooten.

…international marketers must consider that gender relations — particularly portrayals of women – can be viewed very differently in other cultures. Understanding local attitudes will help global advertisers to avoid giving offense and attain greater success in target markets.

This type of adaptation goes beyond translation into the realm of transcreation, .