Some of us are old enough to remember when Chevrolet introduced its new “Nova.” It was a cute, compact car that was marketed to compete with the Ford Falcon. However, there was a small problem marketing the Nova in Spanish-speaking countries. “No va” in Spanish translates loosely to “it doesn’t go.” Not a great name for a car. Well, it seems as if Mark Zuckerberg has made a similar mistake renaming Facebook.<\/p>\n
The Western Journal<\/a> reported the following today:<\/p>\n Giggles, snickers and some awkwardness greeted Facebook\u2019s decision to change its corporate name to Meta.<\/strong><\/p>\n Jokesters poked fun at Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg<\/a>, who is Jewish, because \u201cmeta\u201d is pronounced like the feminine form of the Hebrew word for \u201cdead,\u201d, according to the Times of Israel<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIn Hebrew, *Meta* means *Dead*,\u201d Dr. Nirit Weiss-Blatt, a tech expert, tweeted on Thursday. \u201cThe Jewish community will ridicule this name for years to come.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n …Zuckerberg said the name<\/a> Facebook does not cover \u201ceverything we do\u201d at a time when his empire includes Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, its Quest VR headset, its Horizon VR platform and more. Zuckerberg explained that the metaverse is a form of the virtual world where everyone is connected by virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses and phone apps.<\/strong><\/p>\n The article also notes:<\/p>\n In Portuguese and Spanish, the word is not so troubling because it means \u201cgoal.\u201d In Brazil, however, the word has a sexual connotation, according to Bloomberg<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Zuckerberg\u2019s announcement was a boon for Nova Scotia-based Meta Materials. The company\u2019s stock rose 26 percent in after-hours trading on Thursday, when Zuckerberg made his announcement, and another 6 percent on Friday, according to Reuters<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The article concludes:<\/p>\n Name changes can often fail<\/a> in translation.<\/strong><\/p>\n Kentucky Fried Chicken learned that when it entered the Chinese market in the 1980s, according to the BBC<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The restaurant\u2019s \u201cfinger lickin\u2019 good\u201d motto, when translated into Mandarin, came out \u201ceat your fingers off.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n It’s probably a good idea to use a translation application of some sort before you make a significant name change. Sometimes mistakes can be very misleading!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Some of us are old enough to remember when Chevrolet introduced its new “Nova.” It was a cute, compact car that was marketed to compete with the Ford Falcon. However, there was a small problem marketing the Nova in Spanish-speaking … Continue reading