We all seem attracted to foreign words. Psychologists tell us that people associate positive ideas with words that they do not understand. In the United States, if you add an accent to a word, you can raise your prices — even if the word has no accent in its original form (check how many grills in your area call themselves Grillé) or if the accented word was made up (Häagen Dazs).

It’s not just accents. Starbucks has found that la dolce vita sells. A Grande Mocha Frapuccino goes for US$4.55, while a Shake with Shaved Ice Chocolate and Coffee would probably command only half that price. And we’d be surprised if that many caffeine addicts know that their exotic-sounding “venti” merely specifies 20 ounces of java. Looking to regain some of its lost luster, Buick labeled its premium mid-size car the LaCrosse (no accent) — but called it the Allure in Canada because LaCrosse relates to self-gratification north of the border. In Asia and Latin America, English is the language that sells, with sometimes scary results (check Engrish.com for some examples).

Memorable language grabs a consumer’s attention. But where should you look for catchy foreign-sounding names? There are specialty naming boutiques that do this kind of work, but we think that this “accentology” could be a new service offering for language service providers looking to increase revenue and their prestige. LSPs could create a service to find accented words for American or English companies that want to convey a more cosmopolitan image. We have long said that the true role of LSPs is to make global communications happen. While adding diacritical marks to brand names won’t be enough to raise their visibility, more visible marketing services like this one could help them get into some of those corner offices that generate bigger service invoices.