Brand names as loan words - Essay Example

ANT 253 H1F- Final Essay Loan words are found in language all over the world. A special type of loan words is brand s. For example, in the African language Mandinka, a very common word to denote washing products is Omo. Omo has become part of the lexicon of Mandinka, and is no longer associated with the specific products of the company called Omo. All washing products, irrespective of the brand, are known as Omo in Mandinka. Discuss some examples in your essay of brand names that have become loan words and what they are used for nowadays. Draw upon theories from class to develop your argument. Name of T.A: Names of Team Members: 1. _____________________________________ 2. _____________________________________ 3. _____________________________________ 4. _____________________________________ This paper requires the examination and evaluation of the phenomena of loan words as brand names .In the modern business world there is a profound link between linguistics and the choice of words used for the purposes of marketing. The interaction of cultures and races has presented the multinational companies and their marketing strategies with the challenge of utilising "loan words" as brand names and vice versa to capture greater market shares. This paper explores not only various examples in this regard but their underlying linguistic implications and explanations. Loan words which are used as brand names are borrowed from other languages in referring to foreign items of food, sports, and clothes.(Koslow 1994:575-585) There are many examples of the use of foreign words like kebab, sushi, pasta, Eu de toilette ,cologne which are all basically foreign brand names and .and the list could go on running into thousands of pages. The question at hand gives an interesting example of the Omo washing powder itself. A similar example can be given about many other brand names.In the early nineties when washing powder was replacing washing soap in the South East Asian countries especially Pakistan and India, people increasingly used the term "Surf"(which was the original name of the brand) to refer to any washing powder."Surf" was therefore a loan word.Another modern example is Google.Nowadays nobody wants to just search the "search engine".In fact the term search engine has become obsolete eversince the term "to google" or "googled" was invented.Therefore there has been an increase in the situations where foreign brand names have infiltrated our local languages as well as where loan words used as brand names become common colloquialisms.(Luna.D 2001;284-295) Consider the term "xeroxing" for example which comes from the Xerox brand photocopiers and "hovered"(meaning to use a vacuum machine) coming from the famous Hoover brand of Vacuum Cleaners. The mass media has become a leading source of new loanwords. In the new age we have the American advertisements asking Asian audiences to "do the dew" and almost every other cold drink bottle is called Pepsi or Coke, regardless of what the brand on top of the bottle says. News, programs, documentaries, game and quiz shows, sports, even dramas have all got a significant role to play in adding more and more foreign words and phrases to the local languages through clever advertising and catchy slogans.(Danesi 2004). The main reason for this may be because, "Copywriters believe that foreign words add class or mystique to their copy. It makes no difference that the average reader doesn't understand the message. They aren't supposed to. What does matter is that the text evokes an image and attaches prestige value to the products being advertised." (Douglas 2006) These strange usages can often become household names successfully yet they cause conceptual problems for learners faced with processing English as a second language along with their native languages. Academics have often argued that languages have an evolution history of their own and the usage of these languages is in a constant state of influx. Some languages die or get extinct, others get old yet stronger and many others remain at the danger of merging or fading out completely. (Shepard 1996; 2-4) For Spolsky (1998) languages are alive and they tend to manifest their history and attitudes whenever there is an interaction between multi cultures.Other examples of "loan words" which became brand names are Mercedes, Volkswagen and Birkenstock and these have become a part and parcel of English Language. Modern linguists distinguish between foreign words and loanwords,yet at times it is very difficult to tell the difference A similar trend can be seen with in the Chinese language, which has now borrowed a lot of loan words thanks to persuasive advertising by foreign multinationals.(Yajun 2004:252).Also noteworthy is the case of Brazil, where academics have pointed out towards a trend of 'shop-sign English' and other similar phenomena from Europe and Asia into Latin America. (Friedrich 2002:21-25) It has also been noted that developing nations use more and more English loan words due to "The superiority attributed to what is foreign, especially when business and advertising are involved.(Friedrich 2002:24). So far English remains the only language that has loaned the most words to other languages and cultures especially in the branding arena. (Sherry and Camargo 1987).Thus there has been an import of item names like "Kleenex" to refer to tissues and "Geezer" to refer to any water boiler almost globally. The increased use of loan words (better known as bilingualism) has a lot of connected factors in its success or otherwise. The consumer attitude of Immigrants into western English speaking countries has played significant role in the adaptation of advertisements to local languages. (Spolsky 1998, Douglas 2006:322-342) .Therefore one of the marketing strategies is to give more attention to immigrant groups or minorities during brand marketing.Advertising firms in the US are cleverly using Ghetto slangs and African loan words to make their brands more familiar and popular with the black community. O"First, second and third generation immigrants, as also whether the similarity of their native language to the language of the country or adoption, or socio-economic status plays a role. The extents to which immigrants have learned the language prior to arriving in the country of adoption, as well as the reasons for choosing to immigrate to a particular country are also important." (Douglas 2006:322-342). The use of load words has become increasingly significant due to increased travelling and globalised trade industries which causes a large scale exposure to , customs, brand names and material objects from other countries. In this regard marketers often look towards "inter-linkages and communication between countries and cultures, similarity in cultural values between countries, etc"( (Douglas 2006:322-342).This can only be done through research of the loan words and cultural implications which provide a mirror of the values and practices of a culture. (Douglas 2006:322-342). "Language has many facets that relate to the meaning of consumer products. Linguistic structure plays an important role in the formation of cognitive processes such as perception and hence judgment and choice as well as in brand recall and recognition and the encoding and recall of information". (Douglas 2006:322-342) It has been observed by many academics that foreign language and loanwords can "help in establishing the identity of a local (indigenous) product" (,Douglas 2006:1) Also how the minorities use the language within their culture and their use of loan words in their advertising practices has also been found to impact consumer response. The successful use of loan words as brand names will entail tapping into how the loan word use will touch the perception of bilinguals through the practice of " message recall" (Luna and Peracchio, 2001). Language plays a vital role in cultural content and in retaining information relating to that culture.The use of loan words as brand names and in general advertising helps bridge the gap between different groups and communities who may have their own particular modes of communication, this binding them together. (Abrams et al., 2003). Globalization and multiculturalism have paved the emergence of hybrid cultures.Loan words are only one incidence of the implications of such a fact. A more related linguistic development is how English has loaned its own words to other languages thus promoting Anglicism .This has largely been due to massive colonization and global marketing as many English terms have entered popular usage in other tongues. Take the example of "Television"(a.k.a T.v) and other technology related words which are sometimes adapted to the importing language in a process similar to Anglicisation. (Cooper 2004, Danesi 2004) Many academics note that not all cultures have perceived Anglicisation negatively even though other countries have seen it as a sign of modernisation as noted above. An important example of positive reception of anglicised loan words is in Japan where English or Pseudo English brand names have immensely impacted the marketing culture.(Shepard 1996:1) However in countries like France ,English is looked down upon and loan words are perceived as adulterating the local language. Avoiding the use of loans words thus becomes a matter of measures by public-interest groups and governments .They have increasingly encouraged the use of "French neologisms" to describe technological inventions and encourages the use of those words in place of imported English terms (Spolsky, 1998). The interaction of English and the immigrant languages like Punjabi and Urdu has also given birth to interesting examples of loan words and terminologies like "bazaar", "British-Born-Confused Desi", "kebab" etc. The use of brand names which consist of loan words and ultimately absorb themselves into the local language entails a deeper understanding of sociological linguistics (Spolsky 1998) as well as anthropology. Humans as social animals react to loan words in a way which involves their own perception of these foreign words. Adjectives like "Super" and "Golden" have become a part of local Asian languages and used liberally in marketing jargon and brand names. The level of understanding of such words has often little to do with their popularity.(Danesi 2006)The success of the Japanese car "Suzuki"(which is actually a Japanese surname) had little to do with the understanding of its meaning and eventually all small cars were popularly known as "Suzukis" in South East Asia. However there has to be certain meaning or a feeling that the native speakers would come to associate with that name. Another example is that of South Korea where loanwords have found their way into daily lives. Southern Koreans have adopted the Western culture during their reformations movement. There are so many loanwords used in Korea, which some words do not even have an official name in their language. A loanword such as "Pajama" is used by the majority of Korean people even when they have the name for it in their language. Most Koreans think very optimistically about everything that is derived from the West. There are even some words like "Ice-cream" which has no official name for that word made in Korean language. However, unlike the South Koreans the North Koreans use only the pure Korean words. Like the word "Ice-cream", it is purely translated into Korean word which North Koreans call it "Ice-snack". Therefore as apparent from these examples what will count more is the "Phonological Methodology" employed in the use of choosing such brand names (Danesi 1985).The ease or difficulty with which such loan names can be pronounced (take the popularity of "Omo" as given in the question, which is easy to spell and pronounce) will be a major factor in their popularity..Another factor is the ease with which the loan word can be spelled as well the degree to which the name sounds foreign and what kind of aesthetic reactions are likely to the sound of that name. The use of loanwords as brand names has a high degree of the cultural insight associated with it. The localisation of foreign brand names has much to do with the status they might denote as well as the current cultural, political, or religious sensitivities towards the product. In conclusion where as loan words have been easily absorbed into the open west culture, some conservative cultures like the French and the Arabs do not like the use of English words as they are.Infact even though Arab advertising tries to incorporate the Arab version of the English brand name, the French have proved particularly hostile to English loan words. The use and abuse of loan words therefore is unavoidable in the modern era of the global village.(Abrams 2003:209) The phenomena has helped Marketing immensely, yet many nations of the world are not particularly happy to see English as a primary means of conversation and are hostile to even "loaning" English words in their branding strategies. References Cited Abrams, J., O'conner, J., Giles, H. (2003), "Identity And Intergroup Communication", In Gudykunst, W.B. (Eds), Cross-Cultural And Intercultural Communication, Sage, Thousand Oaks, Ca, Pp.209-215 Bernard Spolsky 1998, (Series Editor: H. G. Widdowson), Sociolinguistics Danesi, Marcel. 1985. Loanwords And Phonological Methodology. Ottowa,Canada: Didier Danesi Marcel 2004, "A Basic Course In Anthropological Linguistics". German Loanwords In English: An Historical Dictionary By J. Alan Pfeffer, Garland Cannon Joseph W. Sheperd, Professor Aichi Gakuin , 1996,Loan Words, A Pitfall For All Students, The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. Ii, No. 2, Koslow, S., Shamdasani, P.M., Touchstone, E.E (1994), "Exploring Language Effects In Ethnic Advertising: A Sociolinguistic Perspective", Journal Of Consumer Research, Vol. 20 Pp.575-85. Luna, D., Peracchio, L. (2001), "Moderators Of Language Effects In Advertising To Bilinguals: A Psycholinguistic Approach", Journal Of Consumer Research, Vol. 28 Pp.284-95. Patricia Friedrich, 2002, English In Advertising And Brand Naming: Sociolinguistic Considerations And The Case Of Brazil, - Jul 2002, English Today (2002), Cambridge University Press. Samuel Craig, Susan P. Douglas, 2006 ,Beyond National Culture: Implications Of Cultural Dynamics For Consumer Research,Volume: 23 Issue: 3 Page: 322 - 342 International Marketing Review Sharman, N., Pawle, J., Cooper, P. (2004), "Horse And Carriage, Moonlight And Roses, Sun And Surf Using Projective Techniques In A Computer/Web Assisted Interview To Tap Into Theemotional Effect Of Advertising", Excellence In International Research 2004, Esomar, Amsterdam, Sherry, J.F., Camargo, E.G (1987), "May Your Life Be Marvellous, English Language Labelling And The Semiotics Of Japanese Promotion", In Journal Of Consumer Research, Vol. 14 Pp.174-88 Zhou Chenggang A1 And Jiang Yajun, 2004, Wailaici And English Borrowings In Chinese,Volume 20 ,Issue 03 - Jul 2004 ,English Today, Cambridge University Press Read More