Not What I Meant
Among history’s most famous (and infamous) mistranslations:
Sunday
At a 1956 reception in Poland, Soviet premier Nikita Krushchev allegedly told Western ambassadors “We will bury you.” Understandably, this widely-reported comment didn’t help Cold War tensions of the day. What he meant was that Communism would outlast other political systems, that is, see them buried. Years later Krushchev extrapolated “Of course we will not bury you with a shovel. Your own working class will bury you.”
Monday
Late in WWII, Allied leaders gathered and sent the Japanese government an ultimatum and terms for surrender to avoid “prompt and total destruction” of the island nation. Asked by reporters how he would respond, Premier Suzuki replied “Mokusatsu.” He meant “no comment” to the reporter’s question, but the word’s alternate meaning of “not worthy of comment” was reported in the West, suggesting that the Japanese government felt the ultimatum itself was unworthy of comment. Concluding that Japan would never surrender, the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima was made ten days later.
Tuesday
HSBC Bank promoted itself with the slogan “assume nothing” before realizing that it had been translated in many parts of the world as “do nothing.” The bank then spent $10 million to rebrand with the straightforward motto “The World’s Private Bank.”
Wednesday
Nineteenth century Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli used his telescope to meticulously map the “canali,” or natural channels of Mars. However, “canali” was mistranslated as “canals,” implying alien civil engineering projects. This led many to believe in Martians and supposedly inspired H.G. Wells to write “War of the Worlds.”
Thursday
Bizarre mistranslations made US President Jimmy Carter’s 1977 visit to Poland quite interesting. When addressing a crowd and saying he’d just left the US that morning, it was translated as “I’ve left the US, never to return.” When the president said that he’d like to better understand the desires of the Polish people, it was translated that he desired Polish people sexually, or alternatively translated that he would happily grasp at their private parts.
Friday
Coca-Cola wanted to impress native Maoris of New Zealand with an advertising campaign which said “Kia ora, mate.” “Kia ora” is a friendly greeting which means “hello” or “good health” in the Maori language, but “mate” means “death.” Hence Coke ads showed images of their drinks with a slogan which said “Hello, death.”
Saturday
When Ford wanted to promote their cars in Belgium, their motto of “Every car has a high-quality body” translated into Dutch as “Every car has a high-quality corpse.”