A very amusing but still extraordinarily relevant anecdote from Dave Trottâs blog:
In 1853, Jose de Fonseca wrote and published a Portugese to French phrasebook.
This was such a success that the publishers decided on a Portugese to English phrasebook.
They employed Pedro Carolino to write it.
The only problem was that Carolino didnât speak English.
This didnât seem a problem to Carolino, he would just translate Portugese phrases into French, using de Fonsecaâs phrasebook, then translate the French phrases into English, using a French to English dictionary.
So in 1855, he wrote and published his Portugese to English phrasebook.
And he was oblivious to any disconnect between the three languages.
The book, published as English as She is Spoke, is full of mistranslated gems, including these âuseful phrases:â
âA horse baared donât look him in the tooth.â
âThe stone as roll not heap up not foam.â
âTo buy cat in pocket.â
âNothing some money, nothing some Swiss.â
âTo come back at their muttons.â
âTo craunch the marmoset.â
About this book, Mark Twain said it best: âNo one can add to the absurdity of this book, nobody can imitate it successfully, nobody can hope to produce its fellow; it is perfect.â
The lesson here? Games of telephone -- either with a literal telephone, via email, or through three different languages -- donât work very well.Â
If the media team gets a different version of the brief from the creatives, or if the creatives get a translation of the brief from the account team, or if the strategists and media planners donât hear the same information at the same time, youâll end up with plans that are as garbled and unfocused as the useless phrases above. This is funny for a pithy Mark Twain quote; itâs considerably less funny when money, time, and your teamâs sanity are on the line.
One brief. Every time. No excuses.Â