A slogan from outdoor brand Columbia in the heart of downtown Montreal is making waves on social media.
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On top of the La Baie building downtown #Montreal, Columbia literally translated “Be the Goat” as “Be the Goat.” If by “goat” we mean “greatest of all time”, let’s say the translation doesn’t capture the idea very well…🤨🐐 pic.twitter.com/4AnXHAViXP
— Patrice Cinq-Mars (@patrice5mars) March 29, 2023
The banners hung on the Hudson’s Bay Company building on Sainte-Catherine Street display the message “Be the Goat”, which is a translation of the English phrase “Be the GOAT”. The acronym “GOAT” stands for “Greatest of All Time”.
The English word “goat” also means “goat” in the language of Shakespeare.
“It’s a crime of abbreviation…” commented one user.
This is an acronym crime…
— Marc Dore (@MarcDore2) March 30, 2023
“The translation team decided to keep the goat concept, probably because of the graphics. The English marketing team didn’t think about other languages… That’s what happens in the world of translation, there have to be sacrifices,” believes another netizen.
The translation team decided to keep the goat concept, probably because of the graphics.
The English marketing team didn’t think of other languages…
It happens in the world of translation, sacrifices have to be made.
— Mathieu Gomez (@MathieuGomez8) March 30, 2023
A woman denounces the lack of knowledge of other cultures. “To the average Quebecer, a goat evokes the farm and cheese, not the mountains and the great outdoors,” she writes.
Didn’t the designers think that cultural references vary? If “goat” didn’t also mean “the greatest of all time”, @Columbia1938 would not have taken the goat as a picture.
Especially since to the average Quebecer a goat evokes memories of the farm and cheese, not the…
— Isabelle Laporte (@ilaporte) March 30, 2023
This Columbia brand ad campaign uses goats to promote a new pair of shoes. The animals are featured in several videos to show their ability to adapt to difficult terrain. The phrase “Be the GOAT” is therefore used as a pun in the context.
It is not known when these posters were posted, and it is not known if this is a translation error by Columbia.
Remember that this incident comes at a time when the state of the French language in the metropolis is worrying many actors on the political scene.