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How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

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Re: How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

#221

Post by orthoxerox »

dhosek wrote: post #59
rtkwe wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps even the source of that rule.

Pax is another one that violates the rule that someone pointed out lower. Also Malm is a surname which is another violation of the rule (one of the characters in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was named, if I recall correctly, Stefan Malm). I remember reading the books with my then-wife and she said it was like reading an IKEA catalog. I thought she was referring to the character/place names, but it turned out that…

If I remember correctly, the second book was published posthumously, and my guess is the editor's hands were tied.

Re: How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

#222

Post by amiga386 »

thomashabets2 wrote: post #193

As a Swede in London, it's annoying that IKEA staff don't understand you when you pronounce the names correctly. You have to change letters (e.g. å is not a with an accent. It's a different letter) and read it like you don't know the language.

This is the mutley crueh story all over again

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_umlaut

> When Mötley Crüe visited Germany, singer Vince Neil said the band could not figure out why "the crowds were chanting, 'Mutley Cruh! Mutley Cruh!'"

But like those German speakers assumed German orthography, English speakers will assume English orthography when presented with Swedish words.

Only foreign words learned by sound have a chance of getting pronounced correctly, e.g. croissant or Djokovic... maybe even Smörgåsbord?

If there were a British furniture shop operating globally and using placenames for products, British people would have trouble asking the locals for HAWICK (hoik), LOUGHBOROUGH (luffburra), FROME (froom) or YNYSYBWL (anissabul)

Re: How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

#223

Post by markvdb »

> Every possible product name is carefully checked to avoid undesirable meanings in other languages, political or religious affiliations and fit into our global profile.

I present to you "Svalka" wine glasses. Dump", rubbish heap", or easy, promiscuous woman of ill repute in informal Baltic (and Slavic?) slang.

Re: How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

#224

Post by fangspire »

markvdb wrote: post #223

> Every possible product name is carefully checked to avoid undesirable meanings in other languages, political or religious affiliations and fit into our global profile. I present to you "Svalka" wine glasses. Dump", rubbish heap", or easy, promiscuous woman of ill repute in informal Baltic (and Slavic?) slang.

My favorite Ikea product name.

Re: How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

#225

Post by ragazzina »

thomashabets2 wrote: post #193

As a Swede in London, it's annoying that IKEA staff don't understand you when you pronounce the names correctly. You have to change letters (e.g. å is not a with an accent. It's a different letter) and read it like you don't know the language.

Do you find ABBA's English pronunciation/phrasing annoying?

Re: How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

#226

Post by [deleted] »

markvdb wrote: post #223

> Every possible product name is carefully checked to avoid undesirable meanings in other languages, political or religious affiliations and fit into our global profile. I present to you "Svalka" wine glasses. Dump", rubbish heap", or easy, promiscuous woman of ill repute in informal Baltic (and Slavic?) slang.

[deleted]

Re: How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

#227

Post by jabron »

thomashabets2 wrote: post #210
necovek wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd suggest you look at it as funny and not annoying: IKEA in London, being a very multicultural place, likely has many non-native English speakers as well! When all else fails, you can always go back to the basic international language of gesturing, pointing and acting out the use of something to get to your point. (Or more boringly, point at the name on your phone) You could also try adapting pronounciation to what…

> you can always go back to the basic international language of gesturing, Doesn't really work for the kind of products they sell. E.g. going to the spare parts place and asking for a replacement part for Mörbylånga or Nackanäs. And I don't know the international gesture for a table. Besides, they have many tables. I don't think saying "Bläddra", and signing that you're flipping through a book, helps at all either. >…

> But it feels like if you were to go to Russia and slowly and loudly say "I-ski want-ski a-ski table-ski".

As much as it may feel that way sometimes, I don't think IKEAs in foreign countries are sovereign Swedish territory.

Re: How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

#228

Post by rimliu »

senko wrote: post #40

My favorite is `fejka` for the artificial plant/flower. I think "being as widely-understandable pun as possible" is definitely one of their naming priorities.

Mine too. It was such a delight seeing it for the first time. Still brings a smile many years later.

Re: How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

#229

Post by johanvts »

fy20 wrote: post #13

For a Swede it must seem kind of strange to understand the product names. You see an ACORN toy, a NIGEL bookshelf, and the CROYDON sofa... which sounds like it belongs in a council estate flat. Definately more fun would be the Polish version. How many people can pronounce the BYDGOSZCZ sofa, the PRZEMYSŁAW bookcase and the PSZCZOŁA soft toy?

Would also be more fitting as most of it is made in Poland.

Re: How does IKEA come up with names for its products?

#230

Post by tecleandor »

markvdb wrote: post #223

> Every possible product name is carefully checked to avoid undesirable meanings in other languages, political or religious affiliations and fit into our global profile. I present to you "Svalka" wine glasses. Dump", rubbish heap", or easy, promiscuous woman of ill repute in informal Baltic (and Slavic?) slang.

I have a "Särna" chair. "Sarna" in Spanish is "Scabies".

Fun fact: Although "Sarna" comes from Latin, seems like it's only used in Romance languages present in the Iberian Peninsula (Galician, Catalan, Portuguese, Spanish...) and not for example in Italian, Romanian or French, as it's an Iberian loan word. Most other languages derive from another different Latin word, "scabiēs".

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