Ikea furniture names in Thailand suffer from missing in translation - some bed name means sex in Thai.

Friday, 08 June 2012
Ikea's Swedish name given to their furniture is causing problems when the furniture giant tries to reach new markets. The missing in translation means that some of the names given make customers in places such as Thailand to misconstrue the multiple names as slang for sex.

Last year, an Ikea store was opened in Thalinad, one of the largest in the world. But anyone who reads aloud from the catalogue of 9000 different Scandinavian word on the store's floor was at risk of getting strange looks, writes Swedish business daily, Dagens industri quoting the Wall Street Journal.

"Great pot" sounds as slang for having sex, bed brand Redalen sounds like the Thai word for rough neck.

Ikea has now commissioned a group of Thais to modify product names so that they can not be misinterpreted. It's about changing a letter or vocal sounds to avoid misunderstandings.
"We must be cautious. Some names may be a bit rude, "said Natthita Opaspipat who spoke to the Wall Street Journal, report Dagens Industri.

The launch of local brands globally can often cause problems. Microsoft 's search engine Bing sounds like "Disease" or "pancake" in some local Chinese dialects. According to the Wall Street Journal the IT giant, resolved solved the problem by changing its name to "biying" which alludes to the Chinese expression "Search and you shall find."
By Scancomark.se Team

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