Question:
My friend Todd Osborn (he makes commercials) is producing an infomercial for
Rosetta Stone language learning software. He's looking for translators and
interpreters with high profile clients to endorse it from a point of view of
authority. If anyone has worked for any organizations like the State
Department, FBI, Peace Corps, armed forces or any Fortune 500 companies, AND
will say nice things about the Rosetta Stone software, he would like to hear
from you. He's looking for someone to say something like, "I have worked as
a translator or interpreter for [insert your client here], and I think the
Rosetta Stone software is a great way to learn a language." Compensation for
whoever is chosen to appear in the infomercial is involved. If you are
interested, please send a paragraph on why you like the software to him
directly at toddosb...@comcast.net. You can pass this on to any colleagues
who translate other languages as well.
Answer:
How interesting. About a year ago I wrote a note
about this very language-learning program
(under the title "Who is Rosetta Stone?"; quoted below).
Whatever Todd does, I hope he makes sure that the people
in the infomercial know the proper intonation for "Rosetta Stone";
it's not the name of a person, it's the name of a stone.
==QUOTE==
There is a radio commercial for a language learning program called "Rosetta
Stone". The enthusiastic radio announcer pronounces the program like the
name of a person, "RoSETta STONE", not like the name of a famous
archaeological artifact, the "RoSETta stone". I just saw a television
commercial for the same product. This time, the announcer pronounces the
term correctly as "RoSETta stone",
but the two or three satisfied customers who refer to the product by name
intone it like the personal name "RoSETta STONE", as does another announcer
at the end who tells the viewer how to buy the product. I wonder whether
this commercial, on radio and television, is increasing the proportion of
Americans who think that Rosetta Stone is a person.
In checking the Buffalo telephone directory, I find there are five people
named "R Stone", none of whom will spell out her first name. Hey, an idea:
The next time linguists hold a convention, offer free admission or some
other goody to anyone who can produce I.D. as Rosetta Stone.
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