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It’s not what you say. It’s the way that you say it
Voyager (March/April 1997)
When "boiled combinations" on a Russian menu turns out to be nothing more unseemly than mixed vegetables, or a tailor in
the Middle East exhorts you to "order now your summer suit because is big rush we execute all customers in strict
rotation", who can resist a knowing chuckle? But what if it was your product on the line, your business being marketed
under a ridiculous slogan?
The history of British exporting is littered with equally gauche linguistic and cultural blunders. When Vauxhall launched
their Nova range in Latin America, they failed to spot that no va in Spanish means 'doesn't go'. Another company were
shocked to discover that in several countries they were extolling the virtues of their "watery sheep" (hydraulic rams).
And what could be more absurd than a washing powder that makes clothes dirtier, not cleaner - the message conveyed to
Arab customers by one soap manufacturer who forgot, when presenting the traditional 'before and after' sequence, that
Arabic reads from right to left?
Poor promotional material is only one of many ways exporters can unwittingly shoot themselves in the foot. The fact that
English is the acknowledged lingua franca of the business world gives British companies a competitive edge in the global
market, yet it can also work against them, encouraging complacency and perpetuating the myth that English alone will
cater for their needs.
One firm which has benefited from a language strategy is Stockport-based leisurewear company Elms Marketing Ltd.
Newcomers to exporting only two years ago, they saw their exporting turnover rise from £300,000 in 1995 to £1.1
million last year.
"It's a fallacy that everyone abroad speaks English," says managing director Mike Elms. "For example, our agent in the
Black Forest speaks only German. If our export manager hadn't been a linguist, this is one market we wouldn't have
attempted to break into. We also take great care when trading abroad to adapt our designs and our packaging to suit
local tastes."
Elms Marketing were among last year's winners of the DTI's National Languages for Export campaign, an initiative launched
three years ago to raise awareness among British exporters. According to a recent survey of small businesses, we still
lag behind our European partners in the language and cultural stakes, with 49% of the British companies monitored
encountering language barriers and 20% experiencing problems for cultural reasons.
"Business people without language skills often don't realise how disadvantaged they are," says language training
provider Jonathan Smith of the European Centre in Manchester. "Perhaps it's like trying to explain the concept of
red to someone who's colour blind."...
© Alison Thomas
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