Kay Xander MellishExpert on Danish business culture

Drop Dit Danglish: Mixing up "Wanting" and "Wishing"

6 Dec 2016 · 1 min

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In this short monologue, the speaker highlights a common mistranslation of the Danish term "kundeønsker" (literally "customer wishes"). He explains that in English, a "want" denotes a realistic, attainable need, whereas a "wish" refers to a fanciful, unlikely desire. Using examples—customers want healthy sandwiches, while wishing Prince Harry would serve one—he argues that translating "kundeønsker" as "customer wishes" misrepresents the intent. Given the customer‑centric culture of English‑speaking markets, he recommends rendering the term as "customer demands" to convey the practical expectations of customers.

Chapters

Mixing up wanting and wishing. Every successful businessperson pays attention to what customers want. Yet the Danish buzzword kundeønsker is often mistranslated as customer wishes. Wants and wishes are very different in English. A want is something a customer has a good chance of getting, while a wish is lovely but unlikely. Customers want healthy sandwiches. I wish Prince Harry would serve me a healthy sandwich. Since English-speaking societies tend to be ones in which the customer is king, I usually translate kunde ønsker as customer demands.