Need help navigating the survey translation tightrope?
China is one place where Coke and Pepsi may have been equal.
The story goes that unfortunately, the Coke Company did not discover until after thousands of Chinese signs had been printed that the translation of ‘Coca-Cola’ to ‘Ke-kou-ke-la means ‘bite the wax tadpole’.
And, lots of confusion was stirred up for PepsiCola too, as reportedly “Pepsi Comes Alive” was originally translated into Chinese as “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave”
Translation culture gaps are embarrassing