Since i have zero interest in foreign languages, i found the book to. Bite the wax tadpoles new cd, turn me on, dead manthe title is taken from the backwards phrase in the beatles revolution 9anthologizes the best of the bands early years, from 19851992. Biting the wax tadpole confessions of a language fanatic book. Eventually they found just the right combination of words and sounds the combination that created. The following excerpt details the importance of orienting yourself and y0ur company culturally so that you do not bite the wax tadpole in china.
Ricks classic book blunders in international business 1993. Bite the wax tadpole wax, substance secreted by glands on the abdomen of the bee and known commonly as beeswax. Bite the wax tadpole discussion forum a way with words. Bite the wax, bite the wax tadpole bite the wax, bite the wax tadpole bite it tadpole bite it tadpole he has hides. It sounded right, but it literally translated as bite the wax tadpole. When cocacola first entered the chinese market in 1928, it had no. Bite the wax tadpole article about bite the wax tadpole. Its the live episode of a dying tv show and it definitely wont be all right on the night.
In the 1920s, when cocacola was first translated phonetically into chinese, the resultant phrase meant bite the wax tadpole. But unfortunately it seems to be mainly a book geared towards people who speak one or more different languages. The model was renamed jazz for most markets, with the name fit being used in japan, china, and the americas. All birds birds of prey love birds pretty birds beautiful birds animals beautiful exotic birds colorful birds mundo animal. The closest bite the wax tadpole could ever get to sounding like cocacola would be. The bhc whale watch tour to stellwagen bank marine sanctuary showcases a wealth of whale species and other sea life. Cocacolas initial transliteration of its name into chinese produced a rendering whose meaning was bite the wax tadpole. Did the chevy nova really sell poorly in latin america because no va means dont go in spanish. Ride a high speed catamaran on this boston whale watching experience. However, when marketing collateral reached the swedish office of the company, it was pointed out that fitta is a slang term for vagina in swedish and norwegian.
In this decidedly unstuffy look at the staid world of languages, elizabeth little uses her favorite examples from languages dead, difficult, and just plain madeup. Kitty burns florey, author of sister bernadettes barking dog. L7 released their 1999 studio album, slaphappy, through this record label. Some who have heard this think its an urban legend in fact, it is very true. When cocacola was introduced in china in 1927, its name was translated as kekoukela, which means bite the wax tadpole. Understandably, these were not the transliterations cocacola employees were looking for. In biting the wax tadpole elizabeth little takes a decidedly unstuffy and accessible tour of grammar via the languages of the worldfrom lithuanian noun declensions and. The title of the label, wax tadpole was taken from l7s first song off their debut album, l7. He had planned to be the next dylan thomas but somehow rob has only succeeded in shifting from old south wales to new south wales and becoming a writer of soap operas. When chinese shopkeepers tried to find a written equivalent of cocacola, one set of characters they chose was pronounced kekou kela. In the letter to diognetius, we read how christians cannot be distinguished from the rest of.
Fiona fell the profit maximising web geek on november 25th, 2008 6. Wax tadpole records was a label created by the members of l7 in 1997. Interesting, peoples republic of china, phonosemantic matches, chinese language, phonosemantic match, simplified chinese characters, brand names, phonosemantic matching, advertising. Theres a lot you can do to avoid such problems too much to put in this article, theres probably a book you could write on each country or culture. Branding says a lot about luxury, and about exclusion, and about the choices that. Although btwt played east village artclub gigs with sophie b. A simple dialect variation on the phrase that provides the trope name resulted in bite the waxfattened mare. Five chapters deal with the constituents of language. The bite the wax tadpole trope as used in popular culture. Fully illustrated with hilarious sidebars, biting the wax tadpole also addresses classic cases of mistranslation.
Did cocacola translate its name into a chinese phrase meaning bite the wax tadpole. Read bite the wax tadpole by phil sanders available from rakuten kobo. The elder tadpole and i had a strange and somewhat disturbing encounter with a salvation army bellringer last week. The content throughout lady by the river book will help you live a life that is more alive this book will help you live better with more joy so you can bite the wax tadpole thanks again, alli, for that fun term. It sounded right, but it translated literally as bite the wax tadpole. Hawkins on drums, the group mostly toured smiths jersey city bedroom, recording songs on a fourtrack tape deck. Bite the wax tadpole luckily, though, the marketing department didnt choose that combination. A public radio program about language examined through history, culture, and family. The band created the label after being dropped by their previous record label, reprise records. Lyrics to bite the wax tadpole by l7 from the l7 album including song video, artist biography, translations and more. Little convincingly demonstrates that, as she puts it, language is nothing less than a great adventure.
It is catchy, sounds defiant, and maybe even a little nasty, but without any real preexisting meaning. Confessions of a language fanatic by elizabeth little, published in 2007, is a fun tour through a few basic aspects of human language. Formed by mark dery and darren smith in 1985, bite the wax tadpole sprang from the homebrew cassette revolution and manhattans downtown music scene. For example, when chinese shopkeepers tried to find a phonetic written equivalent of cocacola, one set of characters they chose were pronounced kekou kela. Download the mp3 biting the wax tadpole by elizabeth little its the wacky title of a new book by language enthusiast elizabeth little which has martha and grant talking about whether cocacola and chevy ran into cultural translation problems when selling products abroad. The book, bite the wax tadpole americas guide to hosting international visitors offers not only tips and information about crosscultural communication but also a process for understanding what visitors might want, what makes them comfortable and what might offend them. Biting the wax tadpole is witty, sassy, and laughoutloud funny. Dave barry declared bite the wax tadpole to be the best name i ever heard for a soft drink. Recorded by hiphopnew music engineer yoram vazan and postproduced by downtown nyc composerguitarist elliott sharp, the 17song cd. And this book tells that if we do make our mouth rejoicewe will do. But then again, he shouldnt be surprised lifes all a bit bite the wax tadpole, isnt it.
In biting the wax tadpole elizabeth little takes a decidedly unstuffy and. Coke finally marketed its product under an alternate phrase, which sounded less like cocacola but carried the more appetizing meaning can mouth, can happy. Id say like 9095% of the content in biting the wax tadpole deals with grammar of words that are not in english. The company chose the translation because it gave the closest phonetic resemblance to cocacola. Greetings from magrathea the brands that people wear are a serious business. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Bite the wax tadpole comes from an old linguistics urban legend about translating cocacola into chinese phonetically and then back into english semantically.
Language, like travel, is always stranger than we expect and often more beautiful than we imagine. Why the chinese no longer bite wax tadpoles 47 more. As recently as 10 years ago, at the dawn of corporate globalization, the cocacola company had to change its name in china when it was discovered that its phonetic equivalent, kekou kela, meant bite the wax tadpole. They also recommend an eclectic mix of books for the wordlover on your holiday list, from military slang to yiddish. Similarly, sales of the ford pinto suffered in brazil due to pinto. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading bite the wax tadpole. The honda jazz was initially named the honda fitta. Early christians believed the blood of christ that washes us clean but didnt talk this way in the wider world. When they changed their name to mean, may the mouth rejoice, they began to do really well. Biting the wax tadpole by elizabeth little, paperback. We were entering a local supermarket and the elder tadpole bounded ahead with the energetic enthusiasm that only a three year old can muster, to give the bellringer a dollar.
One often hilarious side effect of globalization is that product names and commercial slogans do. Bite the wax tadpole kindle edition by sanders, phil. Bite the wax tadpole or female horse fastened with wax. To overcome this problem, the name was recomposed in a chinese equivalent that now reads make man mouth happy.
Past images are presented here in extracts from a book by rosamund kidman cox, published by the natural history museum. Bite the wax tadpole ebook by phil sanders rakuten kobo. Bite the wax, bite the wax tadpole bite the wax, bite the wax tadpole bite it tadpole bite it tadpole. Waxbite article about waxbite by the free dictionary. In this decidedly unstuffy look at the staid world of langua. Biting the wax tadpole confessions of a language fanatic. Obviously tadpoles and coca cola have little in common.