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Foreigners want you to buy a Honda

July 13th, 2009 by James

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 »

Comment by RMilner
2009-07-13 07:35:48

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.

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Comment by jmadsen
2009-07-13 08:04:56

“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.

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Comment by Dave
2009-07-13 08:16:27

Odds are the blonde is a Russian model…they have flooded the market

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Comment by [PT]Snake
2009-07-13 08:38:09

looks like the chick from That 70’s Show

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Comment by sixmats
2009-07-13 09:04:57

I want to buy a Honda!

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Comment by DC
2009-07-13 09:06:16

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!

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Comment by jmadsen
2009-07-13 12:23:11

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.

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Comment by Nick in Nagoya
2009-07-13 14:57:47

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

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Comment by Eddie
2009-07-13 15:11:44

Perhaps it was intentional.

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

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Comment by mitotourer
2009-07-13 16:43:38

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.

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Comment by Eddie
2009-07-13 17:38:39

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

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Comment by Nick in Nagoya
2009-07-13 19:37:21

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

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Comment by jonholmes
2009-10-01 01:05:06

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.

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Comment by Ryry
2009-07-13 18:10:28

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.

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Comment by Nick in Nagoya
2009-07-13 19:35:24

ok, a Native sounding english accent

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Comment by RMilner
2009-07-13 20:13:54

But they are!

:-)

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Comment by Vagante
2009-07-13 21:35:43

“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. ;-)

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Comment by feitclub
2009-07-13 21:02:16

It’s not the accent, it’s the delivery. That woman sounds like she has no idea what she’s saying.

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Comment by Liv
2009-07-14 01:10:30

I’m a foreigner and I approve this car commercial. Buy a car. I want you to.

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Comment by Vonskippy
2009-07-14 04:41:17

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.

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Comment by Eddie
2009-07-14 12:31:41

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?

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Comment by Haf
2009-07-18 18:24:57

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

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