Chapter 8 – Intercultural Communication for sale
Selling ethno-cultural stereotypes
In today’s globalized world commodifed ccltcral and lingcistc symbols and imagery rapidly
circclate arocnd the globe and tcrn cp in cnexpected places
Advertsing takes ccltcral and lingcistc symbols and images from one place and cse them in
another to create acthentcityy to reference an originaly and to transfer the positve associatons
of a ccltcral or lingcistc stereotype onto a prodcct
Even if so-called brand name bloopers (e.g. Toyota MR2 French “merde”) never really hcrt
sales in a partcclar market in any major wayy the idea that major brands are ccltcrally and
lingcistcally insensitve has widespread appeal and many people enjoy mistranslated advertsing
to scch a degree that even the inventon of fctonal mistranslatons is ocrishing “Come alive
with Pepsi” in Chinese “Pepsi brings yocr ancestors back from the dead”
Haarmann described the cse of foreign langcages in Japanese advertsing as an atempt to
associate the advertsed prodcct with an ethno-ccltcral stereotype aboct the speakers of a
partcclar langcage. No mater whether the target grocp can actcally cnderstand the meaning of
a foreign form or noty they will be able to identfy the form as belonging to a partcclar langcage.
They will then transfer the ethno-ccltcral stereotype aboct the grocp most freqcently
associated with that langcage onto the prodcct. Brand names which cse foreign langcages ofen
do not fcncton lingcistcally bct emblematcally; it is ofen irrelevant what their meaning in the
original langcage might be as long as the name indexes an ethno-ccltcral stereotype (e.g. French
names = high fashiony elegancey femininityy German = reliabilityy precision and scperior
technology) ^
With the reference to the cse of invented Spanish in USAy Hill and Zentella have argced that the
redccton of lingcistc and ccltcral complexity which is evident in lingcistc stereotypes is a form
of racism. They explain that “Mock Spanish” or “chiqcitfcaton” serves a dcal pcrpose: on the
one handy Mock Spanish scch as no problem, el cheapo or muchos smoochosy which have moved
from commercial discocrse into mainstream American discocrsey index the white csers of these
forms as cosmopolitany acthentc and having a sense of hcmocry in short endowed with a
desirable personality. On the other handy they are part of a larger racist discocrse that indirectly
indexes Spanish speakers as the cndesirable and problematc othery as illcstrated by the cse of
“bad hombres” instead of “bad men” by Donald Trcmp dcring one of the 2016 electon debates.
Mcltlingcalism in advertsing may seem like a way of valcing diversity as the positve
characteristc of another natonaly lingcistcy ccltcral or racial grocp are transferred onto a
prodcct. Howevery even a positve stereotype cltmately serves to reinforce natonaly lingcistcy
ccltcral and racial bocndaries.
Overally the cse of Mock Spanish served to give that partcclar restacrant an “acthentc”
Mexican image bcty at the same tmey to maintain racism in the workplace while obsccring
racism and blaming the victm.
English for sale
While langcages other than English commodify an ethno-ccltcral stereotype in commercial
discocrses of cocntries where those langcages are not dominant. English plays a diferent role in
global advertsing. The cse of English in the non-English-speaking world connotes a social
Selling ethno-cultural stereotypes
In today’s globalized world commodifed ccltcral and lingcistc symbols and imagery rapidly
circclate arocnd the globe and tcrn cp in cnexpected places
Advertsing takes ccltcral and lingcistc symbols and images from one place and cse them in
another to create acthentcityy to reference an originaly and to transfer the positve associatons
of a ccltcral or lingcistc stereotype onto a prodcct
Even if so-called brand name bloopers (e.g. Toyota MR2 French “merde”) never really hcrt
sales in a partcclar market in any major wayy the idea that major brands are ccltcrally and
lingcistcally insensitve has widespread appeal and many people enjoy mistranslated advertsing
to scch a degree that even the inventon of fctonal mistranslatons is ocrishing “Come alive
with Pepsi” in Chinese “Pepsi brings yocr ancestors back from the dead”
Haarmann described the cse of foreign langcages in Japanese advertsing as an atempt to
associate the advertsed prodcct with an ethno-ccltcral stereotype aboct the speakers of a
partcclar langcage. No mater whether the target grocp can actcally cnderstand the meaning of
a foreign form or noty they will be able to identfy the form as belonging to a partcclar langcage.
They will then transfer the ethno-ccltcral stereotype aboct the grocp most freqcently
associated with that langcage onto the prodcct. Brand names which cse foreign langcages ofen
do not fcncton lingcistcally bct emblematcally; it is ofen irrelevant what their meaning in the
original langcage might be as long as the name indexes an ethno-ccltcral stereotype (e.g. French
names = high fashiony elegancey femininityy German = reliabilityy precision and scperior
technology) ^
With the reference to the cse of invented Spanish in USAy Hill and Zentella have argced that the
redccton of lingcistc and ccltcral complexity which is evident in lingcistc stereotypes is a form
of racism. They explain that “Mock Spanish” or “chiqcitfcaton” serves a dcal pcrpose: on the
one handy Mock Spanish scch as no problem, el cheapo or muchos smoochosy which have moved
from commercial discocrse into mainstream American discocrsey index the white csers of these
forms as cosmopolitany acthentc and having a sense of hcmocry in short endowed with a
desirable personality. On the other handy they are part of a larger racist discocrse that indirectly
indexes Spanish speakers as the cndesirable and problematc othery as illcstrated by the cse of
“bad hombres” instead of “bad men” by Donald Trcmp dcring one of the 2016 electon debates.
Mcltlingcalism in advertsing may seem like a way of valcing diversity as the positve
characteristc of another natonaly lingcistcy ccltcral or racial grocp are transferred onto a
prodcct. Howevery even a positve stereotype cltmately serves to reinforce natonaly lingcistcy
ccltcral and racial bocndaries.
Overally the cse of Mock Spanish served to give that partcclar restacrant an “acthentc”
Mexican image bcty at the same tmey to maintain racism in the workplace while obsccring
racism and blaming the victm.
English for sale
While langcages other than English commodify an ethno-ccltcral stereotype in commercial
discocrses of cocntries where those langcages are not dominant. English plays a diferent role in
global advertsing. The cse of English in the non-English-speaking world connotes a social
