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And I felt bad when I told the street vendor in Mexico I couldn’t buy a sweater from him because I didn’t love him (no ‘te’ quiero vs no ‘lo’ quiero). Take a look at this cross-cultural communication gaff on behalf of the U.S. Government.
Do take note that Secretary of State Clinton shared the good intentions behind the “reset button” gift, as well as the deep concern for trying to select the right word, which helped create an aura of congeniality as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov pointed out that she actually had presented an “overcharge button.”
Makes you wonder, however, how the translation was handled. Google Translate is a fun tool for ‘lay people,’ but for professional communication, be it business or government, always work with a native speaker from the target country.(Thanks to Tuva Talk for posting the link, along with an article about another English-Russian miscommunication between Michael Dell, CEO of Dell, and Prime Minister Putin from earlier this year.)
