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by nucleardog 2148 days ago
The name is going to be the first thing many people see, well before finding out the name has roots in another language or culture.

We can talk about how people should act, but the simple fact is a Swedish developer releasing SkrappostSlut or a Chinese developer releasing NiggaApp are probably not going to get a lot of traction in English markets and I’d expect similar issues the other direction. If those markets are important to your business, it’s probably wise to at least be aware of these sorts of issues.

2 comments

A real-world example would be the Japanese university that changed the official English translation of its name to Kindai University; it's original name, using a direct transliteration, was Kinki University which apparently caused awkwardness.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/01/national/japans...

There is also the Bonerowski Palace hotel in Krakow, formerly known as the Boner Palace.
wix.com reads as jerkoff.com in german
Mitsubishu Pajero --> means Wanker in Spanish.
Skoda Laura, a premium sedan was launched a decade or so ago in India. It was too late for the geniuses to learn that “laura” means dick in Hindi, a widely spoken language in northern parts of India.