This has all the earmarks of urban legendry:
“When Exxon was deciding on one international trademark, it considered using the name Enco, until they found out that the word ‘enco’ in Japanese sounds very similar to their word for ‘stalled car.’”
Anyone knowledgeable in Japanese to attest to this???
Source–“Words,” by Paul Dixon, Chapter 17 - “Fizzlers.”
Not that I know Japanese, but I found this discussion http://snopes2.temp.veriohosting.com/ubb/Forum21/HTML/000001.html at Snopes, and the verdict seems to be no.
or rather yes, It’s a UL.
On a similar note, I find it strange to see a person of hispanic descent driving a Chevy Nova.
In Spanish:
No va = It doesn’t go
Vaguely remembered from a couple of years of my youth spent in Japan, there was a Japanese word, unko that means feces (I seem to remember it was not a clinical word, i.e., it was more like “turd” or “shit”). If Exxon (whose name, the story goes, means nothing in any language) were to have become aware of unko they might well have become a little shy about Enco’s chances in the Japanese market.
Of course, things change.
It’s disheartening to consider what the little bit of Japanese I remember is.
I can confirm that Enko does mean breakdown or vehicle trouble. It’s in the dictionary and it is a fairly common term, though it sounds somewhat old-fashioned to me. I belive it is short for engine koshou (= engine trouble). I think the association may be enough to worry some executives, but probably not enough to affect business.
As for unko, it does mean feces but a fairly ‘clean’ one at that - like “poop.” In any case, the two vowels are distinct in Japanese so it would be quite a stretch to link those two words.
If you’re Japanese. I think it quite possible the management team of Exxon had to consider not just what the intemperate Japanese consumer might think, but also how their case might be presented by their marketing forces at hand.
I’ve always learned that the Japanese word for a stalled engine was “En-suto” not “Enco.” It comes from the Japanized-English phrase “enjin sutoppu.” (Engine stop.) However, considering how little I know based on how long I’ve studied and how long I’ve lived here, take what I say with a grain of salt.
You’re right, en-suto is the usual term for a stall. Enko refers to mechanical trouble or breakdown - you know, when you can’t just restart the car and have to call a tow truck.