Brasil or Brazil?

Welcome to another addition of my blog! I am Chris Teague, and I really like to write and share exciting information!! In fact, I created this blog to dedicate time daily to my passion of writing as well as compliment my work in marketing. As this blog progresses, I will feature stories from folks I interview in the business world... These interviews will mainly be centered around the topic of marketing, but there is a chance for some inspirational stories to show up from time to time. Are you ready to read today's topic, "Brasil or Brazil?"

The first spelling of this blog's title is a Portuguese spelling of what we in North America know as, Brazil. So that you know where I am coming from, I want to let you know that I actually lived in Brazil for three years during college, and recently participated in a Rotary Group Study Exchange for six weeks over this past summer, so I know a little bit about Brazil. Well, now that you know some background, I bet you want to know where I'm going... Read on, my friends!

When I was in Brazil this summer, I stayed in hotels and ate at restaurants that catered to foreign travelers like myself. I vividly remember reading a menu at a hotel in Rio de Janeiro during my final week in Brazil, and catching the mis-use of English translation. Now, I am not saying the hotel was stupid or anything like that; rather, I am really just pointing out how little things, like knowing how a language is used by native tongue is important. The menu read: "Cheese with dip of cheddar." What the menu meant to say in my native tongue was: "Cheddar cheese dip." Obviously, I was able to understand what the menu said, but it still looked strange. I mean, I'm writing a blog topic about the menu right now!

I am fortunate to speak Portuguese fluently, and was often called upon to play the role of translator during my trip to Brazil this summer. However, the role was very difficult at times because there were expressions used in Portuguese that literally made no sense in English. I had to understand the expression's meaning before translating it, which sometimes took longer than my audience wanted to wait. Being the passionate marketer I am, I wanted to always make sure the message I was communicating had the right meaning. Yes, I often had to take time to figure things out, but the message was much better when I did.

Knowing that Brazil is spelled, "Brasil," in Portuguese is important when you are writing to a Brazilian. Understanding the meaning of what you are trying to say is also very important, especially in marketing communications. This business of marketing is all about communicating; isn't it? Next time you whip up some content that you think is kind of circumstantial, you might want to take a look at it again to avoid being the "Dope of person."