Cantonese and Mandarin primarily differ in pronunciation. Although Cantonese is a dialect of Chinese, it’s very different from Mandarin, the official state language of China. Ikea could have avoided the whole situation if they had handled their Chinese translations a bit more sensibly.Ĭantonese is widely used and is recognised as “leading language in daily use” in Hong Kong by UNESCO. But they obviously did not intend for Lufsig to have an obscene name, nor did they mean to create a political symbol. It even got its own Facebook page featuring spoof pictures of the wolf in various locations.Ĭantonese and Mandarin Chinese Can Be Very Different The photograph of the Lufsig-throwing protestor quickly gained media attention, and people dissatisfied with the current government rushed to local IKEAs to buy the toy and express their dissent. Cantonese speakers won’t have much trouble getting the joke: the phrase “throwing Lufsig” sounds like “f*** your mother.” The mistake became a viral sensation after a town hall meeting on Sunday, when a protester threw a Lufsig toy at Hong Kong’s chief executive, Leung Chun-Ying. In the Cantonese dialect, though, it sounds quite similar to a profanity (mother’s c***). That name sounds perfectly fine in Mandarin. In IKEA’s website for mainland China, Lufsig was featured with a Chinese name (路姆西). Cute, right? Until you get to the translated name. The toy is called Lufsig, the Swedish word for “clumsy.” Based on the villainous wolf in the story of Little Red Riding Hood, Lufsig is being sold by IKEA to raise money for education in developing countries. It had all started with a bungled translation, and an act of political protest against Hong Kong’s unpopular government. Despite being known as a city of luxury goods shopping, we saw something unusual this Monday: shoppers scrambling to get their hands on an ordinary IKEA doll.
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