Sparlock has a different name in some other languages

cedars

Hi everyone

I know for a fact that our beloved hero Sparlock has been given a different name in at least one other language version of the "Become Jehovah's Friend" DVD. Caleb has also been given a different name in the same video. Obviously it makes a degree of sense to rename Caleb according to names that are common in various different countries. However, "Sparlock" is hardly what you would consider an "orthodox" name in ANY country, and could easily have been used in multiple language versions to identify the "evil" toy character if the Society so wished.

I personally believe the decision to change Sparlock's name in other language variants is a cynical ploy to stop people in EVERY country from googling "Sparlock" to see what online information comes up. It would certainly seem an obvious means of throwing a spanner in the works if only English-speaking countries are aware of the name "Sparlock" and its connotations, whereas people in non-English speaking lands are rendered oblivious to the voluminous negative material circulating online about the new DVD in connection with the keyword "sparlock".

If you haven't yet read my article on the "Become Jehovah's Friend" DVD, it can be found on the following link:

http://jwsurvey.org/cedars-blog/the-watchtowers-new-toy-story-what-parents-need-to-know

I would appreciate your thoughts.

(As always, if you haven't already taken part in the 2012 JW Survey, please do so!)

Cedars

Open mind

So what are some of the varients cedars?

Don't leave us hanging!

om

cedars

Open mind - I would love to go into more details, but I'm trying to keep the precise country in which I live under wraps, because otherwise it would be VERY easy to identify me (for those who know me in real life). If I gave you the country-specific name of Sparlock in my locality, it could possibly pin me down, so I'd rather not risk it.

I'm sure it would be very easy for posters from other countries to verify my claims. I'm not saying that EVERY other language is renaming Sparlock, but certainly in at least my country he has been given a new identity.

Sorry I can't be more specific, I hope you understand!

Cedars

Gorbatchov

Is the DVD with Sparlock released worldwide? It could be released only in the top 5 languages. (US / English, German, Spanish, French, Italian).

Why I say so: my county's language (Netherlands / Dutch) is a small language group, not all digital WTS publications are released.

So, I'm not sure that our big friend / hero Sparlock is going to land in our country. I let you know, our convention is end this month...

cedars

Gorbatchov - I can assure you, my country is much smaller / less significant than yours! I'd therefore be VERY surprised if they didn't go to the trouble of producing a Dutch version of the video if they've gone to the trouble of redubbing in my local language.

Cedars

InquiryMan

It is already been published in Norwegian, which is spoken by less than 5 million people.

Caleb is called Jacob, whereas Sparlock is still Sparlock

OUTLAW

In WatchTower World..

A Sparlock by any Other Name..

Is still Tossed in the Garbage..

(Right next to Jesus)..

........................... ...OUTLAW

sir82

I personally believe the decision to change Sparlock's name in other language variants is a cynical ploy to stop people in EVERY country from googling "Sparlock" to see what online information comes up.

That sounds just kind of goofy, really.

I don't think many people will google "sparlock" out of the blue. 99.9% of the world's population knows virtually nothing about JWs and cares even less. Why would a "worldly person" care enough to google the name of an imaginary toy they've never heard of from a WT-produced video they've never seen?

The only people who know the name "sparlock" are JWs and "apostates" on boards like this one. That still doesn't exceed 0.1% of the world's population. Even with that, what would prompt a JW to google the imaginary name of the toy, anyway?

Not everything the WT does or doesn't do is part of a master plot to confound the machinations of a vast apostate army.

"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar".

cedars

sir82 - it's just an opinion. And it sounds like you underestimate the power of keywords. I help in running a website and keep a close eye on what traffic comes through as a result of people googling certain keywords. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that some Witnesses will google "sparlock" out of curiosity to see what comes up on the search engines (maybe it they're REALLY dense they'll think it's a real character whose movie they should avoid)! By renaming Sparlock's character in certain languages, the Society inevitably dampens the damage from people doing this (i.e. Witnesses discovering negative info connected with the video online). I can't think of any other reason why the name "Sparlock" would be changed in certain languages.

Cedars

sir82

I can't think of any other reason why the name "Sparlock" would be changed in certain languages.

I dunno, it's pretty easy for me to think of reasons.

How about "Sparlock just sounds unusual, or means something weird, in Japanese / Mandarin / German / Swahili / Korean / Quechua / [fill in any of 100 other languages here]".

Sparlock has a different name in some other languages

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