WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
It's often a little amusing to see how the English language is used in Thailand. Before anyone says I am being critical I will happily admit that some of the funniest things I have seen have appeared in our own publications at various times.
The example here always makes me smile. 'Hygienic Pork Ham' is quite a common product in Thai supermarkets, but when you think about it does that mean everything else being sold is unhygienic? And isn't it stating the obvious? Surely nobody is going to sell anything unhygienic? I think it's another case of the original meaning (probably 'fresh' at a guess) getting lost in translation.
4 comments:
Oh, the word is hygenic alright..."Anamai" is used as in "medical clinic" or "Hygene" and emphasizes that this meat is "clean" as opposed to what one might find in a street market.
I think its Thai equivalent is a newish buzzword here. The word used in the Thai portion of the ad is อนามัย /anaamai/, which usually mean 'hygienic' or 'sanitary'. In English, we tend to associate the violation of both of those words most often with bodily functions. I think they probably mean it more broadly, like that the factory meets public health standards (something you can't always assume).
I think it's also meant to set those who claim it apart, implying that their competitor's don't care about your health, and unlike their thoughtless competitors their product wasn't gleefully dragged through a pile of manure on the way to your dinner plate.
I guess it's meant to be comforting. But it's kind of like trying to comfort a child by telling him how statistically unlikely it is that he'll be murdered. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss...
Thanks for your comments. I think it's just a case of a too literal translation, but who am I to be critical?
Even so, for me at least branding a meat as hygienic is actually a turn off - and that's exactly what the producer didn't intend.
Fresh would be just as bad wouldn't it?
I mean who is going to buy non fresh pork?
Same same - just different :)
Post a Comment