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Foreigners want you to buy a Honda

wow-a-car

And they’re using awkward English to tell you so:

(Note: “ECOCAR GENZEI” = a tax reduction for buying an environmentally friendly car.)

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22 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - July 13, 2009 at 7:19 am

RMilner

Awkward English doesn’t matter to the domestic market, any more than awkward French, or Yoruba, or Laotian.

The actors were probably chosen primarily on looks. Their accents sound a bit strange, I don’t think they are native English speakers.
jmadsen

“Wow! This is the new Stream”

“Looks cool!”

“And it’s EcoCar Genzei!”

Uhm, where’s the “awkward English” in that? They just have accents, is all, but RMilner was 100% correct. No one here really listens, anyway.
Dave

Odds are the blonde is a Russian model…they have flooded the market
[PT]Snake

looks like the chick from That 70′s Show
http://www.sixmats.com sixmats

I want to buy a Honda!
DC

Uhm, where’s the “awkward English” in that?

“And it’s EcoCar Genzei!” = “And it’s tax reduction!”

jmadsen, have you been in Japan so look you’re forgetting natural English? Let’s Engrish with me!
jmadsen

DC,

that’s not awkward English, that’s what you get when you blend the two languages together into Japanese-English Marketing Speak.

To be awkward English, it has to be English in the first place.
Nick in Nagoya

Why cant they ever use people who speak English with a proper accent.

Eddie

Perhaps it was intentional.

Maybe they wanted to use models that looked European rather than American or British.

mitotourer

If there was even a .5% chance that Honda’s ad department could tell the difference between proper English and garbled crap, then maybe I would believe they intentionally hired Eastern Europeans to be their foreigners.

But they have no idea.

Eddie

It’s not garbled crap. It’s well-pronounced English with a European accent.
Nick in Nagoya

i dont really care, but she makes it sound like “newstream” rather than “new stream”

jonholmes

because native English speakers cost more than some other foreigner having a hard time make end meet as an “English teacher” or otherwise.

BTW, she aint even cute.

Ryry

There’s no such thing as a “proper” English accent. If there was, all the Australians, Americans and Canadians, etc. would all be speaking it wrong.

Nick in Nagoya

ok, a Native sounding english accent
RMilner

But they are!
Vagante

“There’s no such thing as a “proper” English accent. If there was, all the Australians, Americans and Canadians, etc. would all be speaking it wrong.”

And if there were, others might be writing it wrongly.

http://www.feitclub.com feitclub

It’s not the accent, it’s the delivery. That woman sounds like she has no idea what she’s saying.
http://www.ieatmypigeon.wordpress.com Liv

I’m a foreigner and I approve this car commercial. Buy a car. I want you to.
http://www.hormel.com Vonskippy

Why would Japanese people want a Mini Van? With a ever shrinking birthrate it’s not like they have a bus load of kids to haul around. You’d think the Mini Cooper would be a better sale.

Eddie

Yeah of course Vonskippy. An experienced company like Honda has decided to spend a lot of money on manufacturing / advertising a new range of vehicles that nobody wants to buy.

Have you always been so stupid?

http://www.zdwonline.de Haf

It’S not so awkward, and the accent is not so bad. I’Ve seen and heard much worse.