Word of mouth or word of ear? Let's end the dilemma

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The debate has been going on for a long time, but continues to this day, to define the effect of transmitting information verbally, from one person to another. Despite the controversy, we have decided to shed some light, gathering the arguments that lead us to opt for "word of mouth" as the most appropriate term.

Thus, we can see that "word of mouth" is not only the most used expression on the Internet, with 291,000 results on Google when doing an exact search related to marketing, compared to the 15,100 results for "word of mouth", but there are organizations that refute its use.

On the one hand, "word of mouth" has its own entry on Wikipedia , defined as follows: "Word of mouth is the technique of passing on information by verbal means, especially recommendations, but also information of a general nature, in an informal, personal manner, rather than through mass media, advertising, organized publication, or traditional marketing." In this case, "word of mouth" has no definition at all.

Fundeu , the Urgent Spanish Foundation, also validates the all mobile name list use of the expression "mouth to mouth" as opposed to "mouth to ear", arguing that "The correct expression is mouth to mouth (or, with an adverbial value, from mouth to mouth); mouth to ear may be a Catalanism (and poorly translated, since mouth to ear would in any case be "mouth to ear", since the ear cannot perceive sounds)."

The same Catalanism that may have given rise to the confusion is explicitly mentioned in Wikilengua , where they also lean towards the use of "mouth to mouth": "The expression mouth to ear or mouth-oreja is a Catalanism for mouth to mouth or mouth to mouth. In Catalan it is bocaorella and in the adaptation to Spanish there is, in addition, an incorrect translation with a false friend, since orella is not "ear", but "ear". Therefore, it is meaningless, because the ear does not have the capacity to hear, a function that corresponds to the ear."

We wanted to take an active part in this controversy, since from our pages we are eyewitnesses of this widespread doubt, every time we refer to the influence of recommendations from our peers (the popular "word of mouth"), in purchasing decisions. In this way we take up the baton of the open debate that already took place in 2006 on the Territorio Creativo blog , from the comment published by a reader, in defense of "word of mouth".

The arguments expressed here refer to a use of "word of mouth" used in some schools and universities, although "word of mouth" was much more widespread, especially because it responded to an overwhelming logic. Even the Royal Spanish Academy includes the meaning "word of mouth" as "Said to spread news, a rumor, praise..."

Readers' comments followed overwhelming logic, leading to the most commonly used expression:

"Mouth to mouth is said more easily than mouth to ear. It also implies a step further in the execution of the process, that is, a mouth belongs to a person who has a brain that transfers it to another mouth that has a brain that, it seems, is ready to say to another mouth, which has another brain? However, mouth to ear, comes first, that is, from a mouth with a brain to another, only, with an ear (that hears, but does not speak). It therefore comes first in the process?"

"Although many marketing teachers want to impose their criteria by teaching that the expression "word of mouth" is correct and denoting a modernist point because you always have to create something new to be in the front row, the meaning of the terms used proves them wrong because while "word of mouth" denotes the transmission of information at an exponential level, a pyramid system, "word of mouth" truncates the desired meaning, limiting itself to the transmission of information from one person to another, a sender and a receiver in a private communication."

"The expression "word of mouth" implies a message journey that tends to infinity, while "word of mouth to ear" implies that the message journey has reached its goal."