Why Linguists Are Needed In Marketing

It seems there is a new victim of Names You Should Have Checked In Every Language Before You Use Them For Your Latest Product.

The German netzeitung writes that Microsoft's iPod challenger - the Zune - shares its name with the male sexual organ. At least in the French-speaking part of Canada, Quebec. It actually seems that in Quebecois it is called Zounzoun or Bizoune. There are also comments on the web that there is a Hebrew word for f******, which phonetically comes dangerously close to sounding like Zune.

Here is the challenge: Can you remember this happening before? If I remember correctly a former client was a d*** in some language. So Microsoft is not alone in this, but you certainly would have thought this does not happen anymore.