声明：本文系沪江英语原创翻译
Coke's New Zealand blunder: Hello, death
可口可乐在新西兰闹出乌龙：你好，死亡
What Coca-Cola might have thought was a harmless Kiwi greeting has turned into an embarrassing PR blunder.
可口可乐公司认为没问题的新西兰问候语却演变成了尴尬的公关失误。
The beverage manufacturer has run signage around the country that reads: "Kia ora, mate."
该饮料厂商在全国印有“Kia ora, mate.”字样。
But mate is the te reo Maori word for death or dead.
但在毛利语中mate这个单词指“死亡”或“死了”。
Communications expert Cas Carter said it showed the multinational company had not bothered to take the time to do its research, or to seek local guidance.
人际交往专家Cas Carter说这表明这家跨国公司没有特意花时间研究或向当地人请教。
推特用户@waikatoreo：
语言混用失败。
推特用户@DarrenDavis10：
试着“接地气”却弄巧成拙。在毛利语中“kia ora mate”的意思是“你好，死亡”。虽然含糖量高的软饮料不好，尤其对口腔健康有害，但据我所知也不是那么快致死的。
"There is a growing trend among international companies to try and reflect local culture in their marketing. Done well it is awesome - done poorly - it is a major risk," she said.
她说：“跨过公司中流行一种潮流，就是想在营销中尝试反映当地文化，做好了效果很好，但如果搞砸了就太冒险了。”
"The blunder is even greater because 'mate' is such a well-known Maori word because it is in our most well-known haka – which has been seen all over the world."
“这个错误糗大了，因为‘mate’这个毛利语的词大家太熟悉了，它就出现在最著名的哈卡舞（新西兰橄榄球队在比赛前跳的舞）中，全世界都看得到。”
Social media users have pointed out the irony in a soft drink company using the phrase.
社交用户已经指出了一家软饮料公司使用这个说法的讽刺意味。
推特用户@surayacasey：
就算不提不懂毛利语中“mate”一词的意思，我也觉得从未听过有新西兰白人用毛利语说“kia ora, mate”，听起来太过刻意。
"Coca-Cola is not the healthiest drink so saying 'hello, death' looks like they're fessing up how unhealthy the drink really is," Carter said.
Carter说：“可口可乐不是最健康的饮料，所以说‘你好，死亡’好像就是在承认这款饮料其实有多不健康。”
She said a clever apology could fix it quickly but the blunder was unlikely to affect the company's bottom line.
她说一个明智的道歉可能会迅速解决问题，但这一失误不太可能影响公司的利润。
University of Auckland Business School head of marketing Bodo Lang said cross-cultural mistakes in marketing and advertising were more common than people realised.
奥克兰大学商学院营销主任Bodo Lang说：“营销和广告中的跨文化错误比人们意识到的更为普遍。”
"Generally they occur when a global brand uses language or cultural icons inappropriately. The most common response to such incidences is humour and a short burst of commenting and copycat activity on social media," he said.
他说：“通常在一个国际品牌使用语言或文化符号不当时会出现这种情况，最常见的反应就是一笑了之以及在社交媒体上短期的热议和效仿。”
"One of the easy ways to avoid such blunders is to enlist the help of professional translator or a cultural consultant. Incurring such a small upfront cost is typically worth it because it prevents having to deal with bigger issues later on and dealing with disappointed customers through the various touch points that global brands have."
“避免这种错误的一个简单方法就是求助于专业翻译或文化顾问，前期花费的小成本通常是值得的，能避免后期去处理更大的麻烦以及通过跨国品牌分店安慰失望的消费者。”
Coca-Cola has been contacted for comment.
已联系可口可乐公司对此作出回应。
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