Yurun Zhang
One day in the French class in the Francisation program, I was practicing French with my classmates. When I said “je vais t’attendre chez KFC ”, my classmate reminded me that KFC here in Montreal is called PFK. Then, I immediately asked what the people here call “the apple store” which sells iphones. Do they change it into “une pomme”? She laughed without giving me an answer.
I googled when I returned home, and I found out the apple store is still the apple store but KFC here becomes PFK. This is because of the Section 63 of Quebec French language charter, which states that the name of an enterprise must be in French. But why has only KFC changed its name, while the Apple Store, Dairy Queen, Subway and many other brands have not. Some people explained that if the brand does not make sense in French, then they change their names. For example, Shopper’s Drug Mart goes by Pharmaprix in Quebec because Quebecois would be confused by “shopper’s”, and they might think this is a proper name rather than referring to someone who goes to the store as a “shopper”. Canadian Tire also does not change the name because most French people can understand those two words. To some extent, we can think that brands which change their name try their best to integrate into the local society to attract customers. As long as the brands’ name does not cause confusion, they do not need to change the name. However, for those world-known brands like KFC, does their name really cause confusion? Is it really necessary for them to change the name?
The localization of names also happens to people. People tend to have a local name when they go to a new country. However, when I just arrived at the first course at McGill, the professor said that you do not need to change your name to an English name. Every professor will try hard to learn your own name. But many Chinese people I met outside McGill will still use their English names because it is easy to pronounce and remember by local people. And having an English name may also provide them with more interview opportunities. Some may have other reasons for using an English name.
Here is a link for the discussion about why Chinese have an English name:
For me, I think no matter what, people or brands should be empowered to choose which name they want to use other than being forced to have a localized name. When people try to learn and become accustomed to the local cultures, the local society also needs to become more inclusive to them. Also, people who do want to have a localized name also need to be willingly accepted instead of having to use their real name. Inclusion should be inclusive across the board, not just one aspect!
Questions:
Do you have any examples of foreign brands having a localized name when they enter your country? From your perspective, should brands keep their original names or should they change to a new local name?
Do you give yourself a localized name when you stay in another country? Do you feel comfortable using that? Do you prefer to use your own name given by parents?
