Weird Language Question

[Payin-the-Toll]

Wondering how do you say "black nose" or "dirty nose" in different languages. Looking for a unique name for a kitty. Is there a site or blog or something somewhere that does this? Thanks in advance.

[cantlogin]

Google does it.

Google Translate

[bbbamI]

Here's one...select the 'translate' option. I'm not sure how accurate it is...

Free Translation and Professional Translation Services from SDL

[calmloki]

or babelfish;

in the Dutch; zwarte neus vuile neus
sez them.

have a care - was talking about a famous Canadian dish involving french fries, cheese curd, and gravy - cholesterol special. Guess it's called Poutine. I was spelling it *tain, which gets you something entirely different if you want it hot, on the table, right now! Still want to try the poutine.

[RonBoyd]

Didn't GM have some difficulty once upon a time with a Chevrolet model in Spanish speaking countries?

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Didn't GM have some difficulty once upon a time with a Chevrolet model in Spanish speaking countries?

Nova.

Means "doesn't work" in Spanish. Turned out to be fairly accurate, by the way.

[Westernskies]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Didn't GM have some difficulty once upon a time with a Chevrolet model in Spanish speaking countries?

....sadly, the "coche de mierda" was not one of their best sellers.

[Leonidas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Westernskies ....sadly, the "coche de mierda" was not one of their best sellers.

Good one!

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Didn't GM have some difficulty once upon a time with a Chevrolet model in Spanish speaking countries?

Sadly, the story Nova in Spanish speaking countries is a often repeated urban legend. snopes.com: Nova Don't Go

Quote:

The truth is that the Chevrolet Nova's name didn't significantly affect its sales: it sold well in both its primary Spanish-language markets, Mexico and Venezuela. (Its Venezuelan sales figures actually surpassed GM's expectations.)

Los coches mierdas would probably not go over at all, like a former Hispanic girlfriend who used to call her ranch workboots "mis botas mierdas." Not something you want to show off when you're trying to impress.

[ls99]

Did not the word Exxon (as pronounced) mean something unusual in some Latin American countries so they kept the old name Esso for oil company?

[Meadbh]

Exxon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The company initially planned to change its name to "Exon," in keeping with the four-letter format of Enco and Esso. However, during the planning process, it was noted that James Exon was the governor of Nebraska. Renaming the company after a sitting governor seemed ill-advised, and the second "x" was added to the new name and logo."

Also from Wikipedia:

"Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced /ˈɛsoʊ/ ("S-O"), it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1973, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by the Exxon brand, while Esso remained widely used elsewhere. In most of the world, the Esso brand and the Mobil brand are the primary brand names of ExxonMobil, with the Exxon brand name still in use only in the United States alongside Mobil."

I regularly fill up at Esso!

[mn54]

I believe this is also why the name datsun was changed to nissan.

[Leonidas]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mn54 I believe this is also why the name datsun was changed to nissan.

Apparently not.

Quote:

Datsun was an automobile marque. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1933 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. took control of DAT Motorcar Co., the last syllable of Datson was changed to "sun", because "son" also means "loss" (損) in Japanese, and also to honour the sun depicted in the national flag, hence the name "Datsun". Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986.

Later, in a section called "Rebranding":

Quote:

In Japan, there appears to have been what probably constituted a long held 'official' company bias against use of the name “Datsun”. At the time, Kawamata was a veteran of Nissan, in the last year of his presidency, a powerful figure whose experience in the firm exceeded two decades. His rise to its leadership position occurred in 1957 in part because of his handling of the critical Nissan workers' strike that began May 25, 1953, and ran for 100 days. During his tenure as Nissan President, Kawamata stated that he "regretted that his company did not imprint its corporate name on cars, the way Toyota does. ‘Looking back, we wish we had started using Nissan on all of our cars,’ he says. ‘But Datsun was a pet name for the cars when we started exporting.’ ” Ultimately, the decision was made to stop using the brand name Datsun worldwide, in order to strengthen the company name Nissan. “The decision to change the name Datsun to Nissan in the U.S. was announced in the fall of 1981. The rationale was that the name change would help the pursuit of a global strategy. A single name worldwide would increase the possibility that advertising campaigns, brochures, and promotional materials could be used across countries and simplify product design and manufacturing. Further, potential buyers would be exposed to the name and product when traveling to other countries. Industry observers, however, speculated that the most important motivation was that a name change would help Nissan market stocks and bonds in the U.S. They also presumed substantial ego involvement, since the absence of the Nissan name in the U.S. surely rankled Nissan executives who had seen Toyota and Honda become household words.”

I do wonder how many WWII vets own(ed) Mitsubishi cars or trucks.

Quote:

During the Second World War, Mitsubishi manufactured aircraft under the direction of Jiro Horikoshi. The Mitsubishi Zero was a primary Japanese naval fighter in World War II. It was used by Imperial Japanese Navy pilots throughout the war, including in kamikaze attacks during the later stages. Allied pilots were astounded by its maneuverability, and it was very successful in combat until the Allies devised tactics to utilize their advantage in firepower and diving speed.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa Nova. Means "doesn't work" in Spanish. Turned out to be fairly accurate, by the way.

no va would mean "it doesn't go" or "no go" in Spanish.

Hilarious! I never thought of it - perfect name for a car (not!).

Audrey

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Quote:

I do wonder how many WWII vets own(ed) Mitsubishi cars or trucks.

Not in my family.

[Rambler]

Kurohana = black nose in Japanese

R

[CuppaJoe]

I’ve heard that cats respond best to names ending in an E sound like Kitty, Cutie, Fluffy, etc.

If ever a thread cried out for photos, this is it. Here’s a friend’s cat, with marked nose, how about Markie, Marquee (sounds like French royalty):

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd Didn't GM have some difficulty once upon a time with a Chevrolet model in Spanish speaking countries?

haha-No(va)- it doesn't go.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rambler Kurohana = black nose in Japanese R

Does that perhaps have another meaning also? After all, would one want to name a cat brown nose?

Ha

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CuppaJoe I’ve heard that cats respond...

They do? ...

BTW, we've had both cats/dogs. The cat's would think (upon our calling them) "now, what do they want?".

The dogs? Oh boy - treat, play, walk (fill in the blank) time!

[CuppaJoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CuppaJoe I’ve heard that cats respond...

Quote:

Originally Posted by rescueme They do? ... BTW, we've had both cats/dogs. The cat's would think (upon our calling them) "now, what do they want?". The dogs? Oh boy - treat, play, walk (fill in the blank) time!

You are sooooo right but I did suggest that cat names should indicate that they are royalty.