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Clarification or Condescension?
Tarkhov says the service has nothing against words in English but wants companies to abide by the law.

"I am not against this. I am all for using foreign words. English is the language of international communication," he said.

Many words and phrases have now become common catch phrases, especially among Muscovites, he added. "But the law states, 'do the translation.' So let them use words like 'fashion' [in English] but have a translation in the ad someplace where it doesn't ruin the design."

Olga Belobrovtseva, strategic marketing director at IQ Marketing, which is the only domestic advertising agency to have won two Cannes Golden Lions, the Oscars of international advertising, believes that the law is condescending. "Our people are much smarter then they are being given credit for," she said.

"If a person does not understand something, he needs to have the right to find this out on his own. This is the kind of advertising we should be doing — the kind that educates and inspires," she said.

Advertisers maintain that often when a translation is included, it is either done in such a tiny font that it is meaningless or a bigger one that destroys the creative concept and aesthetics. Puns are often lost in translation as well.

Belobrovtseva cited as an example an advertising campaign by Adidas. Their ubiquitous slogan "Impossible is nothing" was translated into Russian as "Impossible is possible," she said.

The beauty and the concept are gone, she said, adding that Russia was the only country that used subtitles in another Adidas commercial where children picked star soccer players to be on their teams.

"The whole world watched this commercial undubbed and with no subtitles. Why should we be any different?" she said.

Recent cases
In early November the Moscow branch of Federal Anti-Monopoly Service released a statement announcing that it initiated three separate cases against companies that used English words in promoting their products.

Yaposhka-City, owner of Japanese fast-food chain Yaposha, got in trouble for putting up a billboard that said "Happy New Menu" with the words "happy" and "new" spelled out in English on a building facade.

Trade Retail’s sportswear store, Bogner, and Potential, owner of Bar BQ Cafe, drew the service's ire for the use of the phrases "new collection" and "Halloween" — both comprehensible for anyone with a basic understanding of English.

Results of the investigations by the service and possible fines against the three companies are expected in the coming days.

Companies face fines of 100,000 rubles to 500,000 rubles ($3,200 to $16,000) for breaking the law, which increase in case of a repeat offense.

Yaposhka-City did not respond to a request for comment.

Advertisers believe that while in most cases products and services can be promoted without the use of foreign — usually English — words, they can be an effective tool for attracting specific target audiences to certain types of products.

Belobrovtseva said using foreign words can help an advertisement stand out, make a slogan memorable, create an aura of prestige around a product and even trick consumers into believing that they're buying an imported item when they really aren’t.

But it’s a double-edged sword, she said, since they may sometimes alienate or confuse potential consumers and can result in legal trouble for the advertiser.

Other countries are more tolerant toward the use of foreign words in advertising, said Lvov, of the Nalogovik law firm. Belarus and Kazakhstan allow the use of Russian language in advertisements, he said.
(Published by The Moscow Times - November 22, 2010)

Recebi na segunda-feira (13.12.2010) um e-mail de um leitor comentando que o Sr. Tarso vai reunir o seu futuro secretariado para falar sobre transversalidade e me perguntando: WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN?

Procurei no Aulete e obtive as seguintes informações:

Transversalidade: sf.

1. Qualidade de transversal
2. ur. Qualidade do parentesco não linear, colateralidade. [F.: transversal + (i)dade.]

Transversal:

1 Cuja orientação é oblíqua em relação a um referente (rua transversal).
2. Que atravessa algo oblíqua ou perpendicularmente.
3. Diz-se da rua que atravessa uma rua principal ou nela desemboca.
4. Jur. Diz-se do parentesco não linear; COLATERAL.
5. Bot. Que atravessa perpendicularmente o eixo de simetria ou de crescimento de um órgão.
6. Geom. O mesmo que linha transversal.
7. Mat. Reta que corta uma curva em dois pontos.
8. Anat. Nome de vários músculos que cortam transversalmente uma parte do corpo: o transversal do pescoço.
[Pl.: -sais. F.: transverso + -al.]

Caso algum petista esteja lendo este texto, poderia informar a nós, simples mortais, as intenções do futuro governador? Rezo para que não tenha nada a ver com montadoras de automóveis.

Dixi

Roberto Henry Ebelt é professor, escritor, produz uma coluna semanal para o Jornal do Comércio de Porto Alegre deste 2001 e é diretor do curso HENRY'S BUSINESS ENGLISH desde 1971.

Seu mais recente livro, O QUE VOCÊ DEVE SABER ANTES DE ESTUDAR INGLÊS, pode ser encontrado nas livrarias Disal, Cultura e SBS ou à rua Hoffmann, 728 em Porto Alegre.

E-mail: roberto@henrys.com.br
Fone (51) 3222-3144
www.henrys.com.br