Tag Archives: advertising

French – the brand

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Ingrid Piller

Installment #6 in the mini-series on multilingual signage Multilingualism sells! Some forms of multilingualism that is. In the world of marketing, languages operate like brands: they are a signifier for something else but they are devoid of substance. To phrase … Continue reading →

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Banal nationalism for breakfast

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Ingrid Piller

Installment #5 in the mini-series on multilingual signage Signage not only appears in public space. Through our consumption of all kinds of products, we bring a multiplicity of signs into our homes. In this slide show, I’ve assembled images of … Continue reading →

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On the fine line between humour and racism

Posted on January 18, 2010 by Emily Farrell

The supermarkets of Germany are the site of a more sinister example of multilingual diversity marketing. The pictured chip packet leaps off the shelf with its mix of German, English and a caricature with a knife offering you “Hakans Lümütüd … Continue reading →

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Frontpage of the IT section of the Jam-e Jam newspaper, Iran Transliterated brand names

Posted on January 15, 2010 by Ingrid Piller

I’ve just come across a 2006 University of South Africa MA thesis investigating Saudi fast-food ads. The author, Basem Abbas Al Agha, finds that […] 97% of the respondents believed that the translations are incomprehensible in Arabic. The other 3% stated … Continue reading →

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Multilingual diversity marketing

Posted on January 10, 2010 by Ingrid Piller

As the UAE is still abuzz with the opening of the Burj Khalifa, I thought a post to mark the occasion might be in order. Seeing that I’m blogging on social aspects of multilingualism and language learning, the Tower of … Continue reading →

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