Ud..sale?
Getting back to Copenhagen from the US has been easier this time around. And it’s all thanks to the Danish stores. This year, instead of posting UDSALG signs in the departments trying to get rid of last year’s goods, they’ve gone for SALE. Jyllands-Posten remarked on it in yesterday’s paper, ironically warning the locals not to get confused by the signs.
Magasin looks just like the Macy’s in New York.
I imagine it’s helping to boost business with international customers.
But how do the Danes feel about this? Is it ok to go 100% Anglo? Or should they make an effort with bilingual signs?
January 8th, 2008 at 9:43 am
After reading you post, I then noticed the sale signs in Norway. They just write ‘Salg’ here - which seems to be a compromise between English ‘Sale’ and Danish ‘Udsalg’.
Then I saw a sign that read: ‘Sale op til halv pris’.
Which is bilingual in a confusing sort of way.
January 8th, 2008 at 10:39 am
I love that last one! I wonder if the locals even notice anymore, or if the new words are already perfectly blended in.
To be fair, the reverse happens as well. Case in point: the word “sparring,” which I never heard in a business context in the US. But sure enough, I find myself offering to be a “sparring partner.” Amazing how quickly we adjust.
January 10th, 2008 at 10:24 am
One of my favourite signs that i pass on my way to work is “Café Latte + Bagel med cream cheese”… I think it’s cute that there’s still a need for “med”.
January 10th, 2008 at 10:28 am
That’s a great one. I’ve got one that might get lost in translation, but I’ll give it a go. Basically, my Russian neighbors in Boston really got the mixture of Russian and English down to an artform. At the grocery store, the girl who sells boloney wanted to ask us if we want it sliced thin or in a big piece, and it sounded like: Vy hotite eto na SLICEiki ili PIECEikom? The humor is surely lost on non-Russians, but just imagine how good this looks with Cyrillic mixed in!
January 10th, 2008 at 10:44 am
Speaking of ‘med’, Sushitarian have their English menu littered with the equivalent of the Danish abbreviation… so it’s full of w/’s. As in:
Bean soup w/ beans.
January 14th, 2008 at 10:59 am
It’s a little easier for me here in Finland, since the Finnish for ’sale’ is ‘ale’ - I did, however, think that an inordinately large amount of department stores were plugging their beer department before I learned a little more of this strange language
January 25th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
“Sale” or “Udsalg”…hmm. The only one I take any notice of, if I’m honest, is “slutspurt”. Then the party is really getting going!
January 28th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Too true. Don’t you just run to cover the kids’ eyes when you see that one? No wonder they’ve opted for “Sale” - although I’m pretty sure the French get a bit repelled when they see their word for “Dirty” in every shop.
February 19th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
At least Udsalg sounds a bit lite Sale if it is pronounced properly. I had a Danish colleague who bought some siuts in Sweden. When someone asked him what the shop was called he replier Rea (Swedish for Sale)
February 26th, 2008 at 10:51 am
When my Mum was in Denmark once she asked if we coud get some of “that nice Udsalg cheese”!
February 26th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Wait, Rea isn’t a shop??
I made the same mistake last time I was in Stockholm.
On a different note: my Russian great-grandmother was really curious about the brand “Na-nee-nai” (say it out loud) - she heard about it all over the US radio. Turns out what she was tuned into was “.99″ - as in, 99 cents - the last part of just about all advertised prices in the US.