Could Toyota Learn from Sarah Palin?

I am always appalled the way native Marathi speakers mock and tease Marathi spoken by non-natives. It's vulgar.

The Times of India reported on 1 February 2010:

"..."Just because one can write, read and speak Marathi does not entitle him to local jobs...For getting jobs in Mumbai, one has to be a Marathi by birth. Just knowledge of reading and writing the language will not do," Raj Thackeray said at a party meeting at Shanmukhanandaq hall in Matunga area.

Raj also criticised party members for distributing Marathi alphabet books to north Indian taxi drivers last week.

"Think over the type of protest you were undertaking. Who told you to teach them Marathi," Raj said..."

So now we are not even amused. We frown (and attempt to lynch?) if you speak Marathi despite being not borne in Maharashtra!

However I must admit that I was shocked to see the efforts of Toyota president Akio Toyoda speaking English at a press conference on Feb 5 2010.

He said: "Believe me, Toyota’s car is safety. But we will try to increase our product better.”

I agree with David Pilling when he says:

"...It would normally be unforgivable to mock someone’s difficulties in English. But the fact that Mr Toyoda, who earned an MBA in the US, had not been drilled in a word-perfect English apology says much about Toyota’s sub-quality response to its recall crisis. In Japan, the apology, like ikebana and haiku, is an art form. Yet as recently as last Friday, when the Toyota chief made his tangled mea culpa, the company was still failing to address the concerns of its customers, 70 per cent of whom live outside Japan..." (FT, Feb 10 2010)

Recently Sarah Palin, a Presidential hopeful, who had been shown reading notes from her hand at a question and answers session, was mocked in US.

But I guess Ms. Palin did better than Akio Toyoda.


Artist: Mike Luckovich