Since 1999, a proposal to restrict the use of foreign words advanced by the federal representative Aldo Rebelo (PC do B – SP) has been under discussion in the House of Representatives. Although it achieved first-instance approval, it received amendments that caused it to be submitted again to the House for approval as a Law Replacement Project.

The survey interviewed 805 people from April 17 to 30, 2004. The respondents were distributed across all the regions of São Paulo: North (24%) South (23%), East (11%), West (21%), and Center (22%).

What have we found?

Although the survey focused on upper-class respondents (the two highest income ranges, A and B), most people claimed they do not know English or have only basic notions of the language.

When the respondents were prompted to spontaneously mention English words or sentences, those associated with emotions – such as I love you – were the ones that most often came to mind. Can this be explained by the popularity of movies in which infatuated couples exchange love vows as the story approaches a happy end?

Other top of mind choices were greeting phrases, such as Thank you, Good morning, and Goodbye – which allegedly represent the amity of Brazilians.

Knowledge of suggested words

When presented a list of most frequent foreign words, 43% of the respondents claimed to know all of them, but only 9% of this group was able to state their correct meaning.

Of particular interest is the fact that 55% of the respondents did not know the meaning of the word delivery, a high figure considering that most of them belonged to the highest income ranges (A and B).

How can the ignorance of foreign words hinder communication?

The study shows that people link particular words to the context in which they appear. For example, they may not know what Drive-thru means, but they know it is related to “acquiring a product or service without leaving your car”.

The group that has shown to have most trouble dealing with foreign words are the elderly, especially those aged above 65.

Why use foreign words?

For half of the respondents, the use of English words in daily life is an imposition of globalization. For them, Brazil is inserted in the global context and the adoption of English words reflects the economic role played by the USA at global level.

Globalization was more frequently cited by A-class respondents, and also by the young and by those with a college degree.

For a smaller number of respondents, the use of English words in daily life provides people with a feeling of being informed and up-to-date. In addition, for those above 65 years old, speaking English is a way to relate to the present times and to feel included.

The sentiment of submission to the USA rises as the age of the respondents increase. 15% of the respondents aged 65 or more pointed out this as the chief reason for the use of foreign words.

Conclusion

As a general conclusion, few respondents said that the use of English words in daily life hinders communication and affects the comprehension of messages. On the contrary, they see it as condition for being part of the global community.

The fact that Brazilians are naturally inclined to communicate and establish relationships makes living with foreign words a lot easier, even when their meaning is not fully grasped.

Research Supervisor: Regina Pacheco –Executive Director, Omni Marketing (May 2004).

Spot aired on the Radio Station Bandeirantes during April 16-25, 2004.

“On the 27th, at 7pm, Omni Marketing will hold the first edition of Researching the Research, an event designed to introduce managers and ombudsmen to a new methodology for discovering their companies’ customer loyalty index. The lecture will be conducted by Gizelda Giampietro, ombudsman at CPM and member of the American and Canadian Association of Ombudsmen. Sign up on 3365-0440. Call now, we have limited places: 3365-0440.”

Paulistanos trust banks but resent fees

São Paulo - 63.4% of the Paulistanos aged 18 or more classify bank fees as regular or bad. On the other hand, 63% of this group claims that banking services have a good quality and are trustworthy. For 78%, in turn, financial institutions have a positive image. These conclusions were drawn from a survey presented today by the research institute Omni Marketing.

The survey interviewed 400 men and women from all the regions of the city of São Paulo. 43,3% of the respondents did not have a bank account, while 56,4% of them had a bank account and at least one telephone line.

Omni also informed that it has launched a research system that allows for real-time monitoring, Omniweb 2.0. The software was developed by Cadmus on Microsoft’s .Net platform.

According to one of the partners of Omni, Irma Ferreira, "the main advantage of the Omniweb 2.0 system is that it allows our customers to asses selected results and search new information according to their specific needs at a given moment.”

fonte: Milton F.da Rocha Filho
www.estadao.com.br

Read the complete article...

Omni Marketing is launching a new market research and analysis system designed to provide instantaneous information on product performance, customer care services, and employee satisfaction. This system allows decision makers to quickly change their strategies in order to revert customer migration processes, improve collaborator satisfaction, or boost sales.

"A simple change in the way office furniture is laid out can increase worker productivity. However, most companies would take months to discover this because they don’t have the habit of listening to their employees on a regular basis", says, Regina Célia Pacheco, Executive Director, Omni Marketing. "With our system, companies will have real-time access to this type of information from the moment they start a survey with customers, collaborators or partners.”, she claims.

Surveys with customers, collaborators or customer care services are only a few examples of the real-time research types available through Omniweb 2.0. The Institute – the first in the country to obtain an ISO certificate in its sector – also conducts corporate image surveys (positive and negative attributes of a company), Social Responsibility surveys (needs of the local communities), customer loyalty and satisfaction studies (relating to both the interested company and its competitors), cancellation surveys (reasons for customer loss), and organizational climate studies (collaborator satisfaction with the company and its leaders).

The Omniweb 2.0 system enables customers to combine different data for real-time, cross-sectional analyses. For example, it is possible to know how well a product is accepted by 40-year-old women, and then restrict the sample to 40-year-old women who are economists.

Based on Microsoft’s .Net platform, Omniweb 2.0 was designed to meet Omni’s needs for sharing customized results with its customers, and for combining them with solution packages. By enabling users to access the results on-line, Omniweb 2.0 speeds up decision-making processes and helps improve business results.

Microsoft’s .Net platform is based on accessible, flexible and adaptive models. This ensures its compatibility with both current and future applications. In addition, it includes all the current programming languages, allowing users to integrate their data with the results of their surveys.

São Paulo, 01/10/2003
Roberto Pinto – Verbo Comunicação