商标翻译显现文化差异

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【Abstract】Abrandisshownbyaname,aword,asign,asymbol,adesignoracombinationofthem.Itisintendedtoidentifytheproductsorservicesofonesellerorgroupofsellersandtodifferentiatethemfromthoseofcompetitors.Brand-namingitselfrepresentsastrategicallyimportantissueandmaydeterminethesuccessorfailureofaproduct.Agoodbrandnamecanalsosavemillionsofdollarsovertheproduct''''slifebecauseitcarriesitsownmeaning,describestheproduct''''sadvantages,anddifferentiatestheproductsignificantlyfromitscompetitors.Byreadingthebrandnames,itiseasytotelltheproductsfromonetotheotherandtoknowthecharactersofproducts.Forthegoodbrandhasthefunctionsofdistinguishing,providinginformationofproductsandbeingsymbolofcredit,thegoodbrandhasagoodadvertisementfortheproductandhelptotakeinalargermarket.

Withtheglobalizationofworldeconomy,especiallywithChina’sentryintotheWorldTradeOrganization,moreandmorepeopleinChinahaverealizedtheimportanceofgoodbrandnamesandinternationalbrandnamesinpromotingsalesandcultivatingmarkets.Itisthereforenotonlynecessarybutalsourgenttostudyonbrandnamesandthebrandtranslationupgradetoanewlevel.Themainobstacleofbrandtranslationisthedifferentcultures.Theculturaldifferencesarerepresentedbytheformsoflanguage.Duetothefactthatbrandsaremainlydescribedbylanguage,therearesomedifficultiesinthebrandtranslation.Then,inthispaper,apartfromsomegeneralknowledgeaboutbrands,theculturaldifferencesbetweenEnglishandChinesebrandsareshownandsomemistranslationsaregiven.Whatismore,inordertoavoidtheculturalconflictsintranslation,somecommonskills(includingTransliteration,SemanticTranslationandTrans-semanticTranslation)andsomecreativeskills(EffectivenessTranslation,CharacterTranslation,ApproximationTranslationandEleganceTranslation)areprovided.Andattheendofthepaper,somegeneralprinciplesofbrandtranslationaregivenforagoodbrandtranslation.

【KeyWords】brands;culturedifferences;translation;skills

【摘要】商标是商品和商业服务的标记．它是指商品生产者、经营者、服务提供者为了使自己生产、销售的商品或提供的服务,在市场上与其他商品或服务相区别而使用的一种标记。这种标记一般用文字、图形或用文字和图形的组合表示,并置于商品或商品包装上、服务场所或服务说明书上.商标名称的好坏具有战略性的重要作用，甚至会决定产品的存亡。一个好的品牌名称在产品的营销过程中可以节省大量资金，同时为企业赢得更多的利润,因为它能表达特定的含意或者展现产品的特色，使产品区别于竞争对手.商标不同于其他标志,它与商品和商业服务紧密相联,是用在商品生产经营和商业服务领域内的特定标记。通过商标可以区别不同商品生产者、经营者或商业服务提供者的商品或服务.可以了解产品或服务的性质和特点.好的商标是具有信誉度的,具有为商品做广告宣传的作用,正因为如此,好的商标又可以刺激消费,提高商品的市场占有率.

伴随着经济的全球化和中国加入世贸组织，人们越来越多的意识到：在产品销售过程中，好的商标名称以及国际化的商标名称发挥着重要作用。研究商标名称是一项必要而且紧迫的任务.商标的翻译也提升到一个新的高度.商标翻译中最主要的障碍就是语言的不同,以及由于不同的地区,不同的语言,不同的背景所带来的文化的差异.这种差异通过语言表现在商标的翻译与表述之上,使得商标翻译具有一定的难度.就此,本文在对商标基本认识的基础之上,重点说明了商标翻译中常出现的文化差异现象,及忽视文化差异的商标失译例子.并就此,拟出一些避免文化冲突的商标翻译方法,包括最常用的音译法,意译法,音意兼译法和一些个人的独到的方法---效果翻译法,性质翻译法,似等翻译法及联想求雅翻译法.同时,简要地归纳一些商标翻译中应遵循的规则.从而为得到更好地商标翻译而服务.

【关键词】商标；文化差异；翻译；技巧

1.Introduction:thesignificanceofbrands

1.1Definitionofbrands

Abrandisshownbyaname,aword,asign,asymbol,adesignoracombinationofthem.Itisintendedtoidentifytheproductsorservicesofoneselleroronegroupofsellersandtodifferentiatethemfromtheircompetitors.Inotherwords,thebrandistreatedasthesymboloftheactualproduct.Itisasynthesisofalltheseelements:physical,aesthetic,rationalandemotionalandcultural,whichisaperceptioncreatedinthemindofconsumerswhoascribebeliefsandvaluestotheproduct.Brandsareprintedonthesurfacesoftheproducts,packagesanddirections,andhangedinpublicplaces.Brandshavethefollowingthreecharacters:

Firstofall,brandisamarkwhichiscloselyconcernedwithacertainproductorservice.Brand,beingdifferentfromArts,isusedasaspecialmarkinthefieldofthesupplyingandoperatingofproductsorservices,.Second,brandhasthecharacterofdistinguishingoneproductorservicefromanotherandisdifferentfromasignwhichshowsthequantityandqualityoftheproductorservice.Third,brandhasaparticularfeature:itiseasytobereadorunderstoodbyreadingtheword,sign,symbol,designorthecombinationofthem.[1]p116

1.2Functionsofbrands[2]p59

Asthedevelopmentofeconomy,brandmaybeakindofeconomicsymbolmorethanamarkoftheproductorservice.Bandplaysanimportantroleinthetrading,anditssignificanceisrealizedbymanycompanies.Brandshavefivefunctionsasfollows:

1.2.1Distinguishable

Beingcommodities,differentproductsorservicesofthesamecharacterhavedifferentquantities，qualitiesandservices.Brandsarelikethefacesoftheproducts.Itisnotdifficulttoseethatdifferentbrandshavethesamefunctiontodistinguishonekindofproductsorservicesfromanotherkind,justasthefunctionofpersons’names.However,brandscandomuchbetterthanpersons’namescando.Becausebrandsarethesignaturesofproductsorservicesandnoneofthemarerepeated.Thatistosay,whentheconsumersreadabrandinastoreorapublicplace,theycaneasilyandquicklyjudgewhatkindofproductorservicethebrandisrelatedto.Andbrandshelptheconsumerstobeawareofthedifferencesbetweenacertainproductandotherproductsoraserviceandotherservicesofthesamekindandrememberthem.Generallyspeaking,consumerswouldseldomornevermakeamistaketochoosetheproductorservicewhattheywantbyreadingthebrands,justastheynevermakeamistaketocalloutsomebodybycallingtheperson’sname.

1.2.2Informativefunction

Sincebrandsarethemarksofproductsorservices,theymusthavesomethingtodowiththem.Inotherwords,brandscanreflectthetraitsofproductsorservices.Mostbrands,nomatterpictorialorwordbrands,provideinformationconcerningproductsorservices,suchastheplaceofproduction,thematerialusedfortheproduct,thefunctionoftheproducts,thenameoftheproduceretc.Forexample,“Coca-Cola”isbasedontheproduct’soriginalconstituentsextractedfrom“cola”leavesandfromthe“cola”nut.“康泰克”meansrestoringthehealthofthepatient.“Rolls-Royce”indicatesthefoundersofthiscarcompany,“CharlesRolls”and“HenryRoyce”.

1.2.3Symbolofcredit

Brandhasacredit.Asweallknow,whenconsumersfirstbuyaproductorenjoyaservice,theyusuallymakeacreditarchiveintheirmindsforiteitherconsciouslyorunconsciously.Sincebrandsstandforthenamesofproductsorservices,whichcandistinguishproductsorservicesfromonekindtoanother,consumersareeasiertorememberthebrandsthantoremembertheproducts.Thenconsumersalwaystransferthecreditofproductsorservicestotheirnames——brands.Thereforebrandsactuallygetthecreditswhichareconnectedwiththequantityandqualityofproductsorservices.

1.2.4Stimulatingconsumption

Variousimagesandnamesaswellasvariousrelatedfactors,suchasthestyleandthecolorofcalligraphyonthepackageadoptedbybrandshaveasmuchstimulatinginfluenceonconsumers’purchasingdesireasthesocialstatus,culturalbackground,modeoflifeandlivingenvironmentoftheconsumersdotothecustomers.Brandsdesignerstrytomakethesebrandsassmartaspossibleandasuniqueaspossible.Generallyspeaking,brandshavetheactiveinfluenceonthestimulationoftheconsumption.Accordingtotheinvestigation,mostconsumerschoosethecommoditiesaccordingtothebrandstheyarefamiliarwith.Childrenchoosethecommoditiesaccordingtothecolorfuldesignsonthepackage.Packageswithgaily-coloredcartoonfiguresaremostwelcomedbytheyoungconsumers.Mostcostumebrandshaveromanticconnotationjustbecausethedesignershavemasteredyoungladies’romantic-pursuingpsychology.Forexample,“AmourAmour”thebrandofakindofperfume.“OilofOlay“thebrandofacertainactivehydratinglotion.Thearticlesnamedafterthenamesoffamouspersonscanalsostimulatetheconsumptionbecauseconsumersworshipthemandhavethepsychologyofimitatingthem.Forexample,sportswear,“LI-NING”,iswelcomedbysportsfans.

1.2.5Providingprotectionbylaw

Thebrandistheexhaustlesstreasureofanenterprise,especiallythosefamousbrands.Itcannotbedeniedthatsomedealersorbusinessesusethebrandsofothersunlawfully.Underthiscircumstance,theregisteredbrandscanobtainprotectionbylawfortheproductsorservicesandalsofortheproducerortheproviderowningthisbrand.

2.Culturaldifferences

TheEasternersandtheWesternliveinindifferentpartsoftheearth.Thatmakesthemunavoidabletohavethedifferentmaterialconditions,thinkingpatternsandactions.Therefore,theChineseandtheWesternershavedifferentcultures,waysoflife,traditionalhabits,historicalstoriesandpoliticalandeconomicalsystemsandsoon.Forlanguageisatooltodescribeallofthese,ChineseandEnglishspeakershavedifferencesinwaysofexpressionandlinguisticcultures.ThesameistruewiththeChinesebrandsandEnglishones,Then,itisnecessarytopayattentiontotheculturaldifferences.Otherwise,manyfoolishnessesandunnecessarytroublesmaycomeasduepunishments.Thefollowingaresomemainexamplesofcultureconflictsinbrandtranslations.

2.1Differencesinliteralmeaning

Quiteoften,wemayfindthatsomeChinesewordswithbestwishesarebeyondthecomprehensionoftheEnglishpeople,orhavejusttheoppositemeaninginEnglish,andviceversa.Forexample,onekindofexportinglipstickwhichismadeinChina,isnamed“芳芳”（“Fangfang”）.InChina,thisisagoodnamewhichgivespeopleaniceimpression.Theword“芳”,areusuallyusedtodescribetheflowerswhicharebeautifulandcharming,andthegirlswhoareprettyandelegant.Chinesehavemanyotherphrasescontainingtheword“芳”,suchas“芳容”（good-looking）,“芳芳”(beauty,fragrant),“芳香”(good-smell)andsoon.WhenitistranslatedintoEnglishjustaccordingtotheChinesePinyin,itis“Fangfang”.However,insteadofprettyandbeautifulimpression,afeelingofhorrorraisesupintheEnglishreaders’minds.BecauseitisacoincidencethatthePinyin“fang”justisanEnglishword“fang”,whoseEnglishmeaningareasfollow:①longsharptooth,espofdogsandwolves,长而尖的牙（尤其指狗和狼的）②snake’stoothwithitinjectspoison(蛇的毒牙).[3]p524Then,itiseasytoimagethatwhentheEnglishspeakersreadthisword,adogorwolfwiththelongsharpteeth,orasnakemaycomeoutinsteadofaprettygirlwhojustusesthislipstick.[4]p80

Andonemoreexample.“蓝天”（“Langtian”）isabrandofonekindoftoothpastemadeinChina.ItisverypopularinChinaandinthesoutheastofAsia.ButitfailsinAmericamarket.Why?Thetranslationisthekeyofallreasons.Thebrand“蓝天”istranslatedinto“Bluesky”and“BlueHeaven”.InChinese,theblueskyandthewhitecloudsarethesymbolsofhappinessandelegance.ButinEnglishblueskyisawordwhosemeaningare:useless,withlessvalue,nosteadyandaninvalidnegotiablesecurities.Supposingthatyouareaconsumer,canyoubuythis“useless”commodity?Besides,anotherword“BlueHeaven”isanameofonekindofnarcotics,withabluecapsule,andhasexistedintheWesterncountriesforalongtimebeforethecomingof“蓝天”.Then,whenthewesternersreadthenameofBlueHeaven,theymostlytakeitasthenarcotics.So,dotheydaretobuyit?[5]p95

2.2Differencesinconnotation

Differentlandsandculturesbetweeneastandwestmakespeoplehavedifferentthinkingpatterns.Forinstance,onekindofperfumedsoapforbathisnamed“蜜蜂”(“Mifeng”)inChinese.Maybetheproducerwantstotelltheconsumersthatsoapisperfumedandconsistsofmanyspices,whicharegottenwiththebees‘helpofcollectingthemfrommillionsofflowers.ButthisimplicationisbeyondtheunderstandingoftheEnglishpeople.Englishspeakersdon’tlikethisname,becausetheythinkthatonthebodyofthebeetherearemanyinvisiblefinehairsandthatmaymakethemfeeluncomfortable.Sofewarewillingtobuythissoap.

And“蝙蝠”(“Bianfu”Pinyin)isasymbolofluckandhappiness.ItispopularwiththeChinesepeople,for“蝠”(“fu”)and“福”(happiness)arehomonymyinChinese.“蝙蝠”isagoodbrandfortheproductsuchasglasses.However,thingsaredifferentinEnglish.ThenwhatwouldEnglishspeakersthink?Theythinkthatthe“Bat”isablinduglyandfierceanimalwhichfliesonlyatnight,anddoesn’tdaretoturnupinthedaylight.Inthewest,batstandsfordeath,andifabatcomesintoyourhousebyaccident,thatmaybeanillomenforyou.AndtheEnglishpeopleusuallycompareanoldbattoanoldblindanduglywoman.Therefore,howcanthewesternpeoplewearthe“Bat”glasseswiththisthought?[6]p96

Hereisonemoreexample.TheChinesepeopletakethemagpieasaluckybirdwhichbringspeoplegoodnews,asasayinggoes:Ifthereisamagpiestandinginthetipandsinging,agoodnewswillcome.InChina,every7thJulyinthelunarcalendar,whentheherd-boyandtheweaving-girlaresupposedtomeet,themagpieswouldgatherasabridgetohelpthem.Ofcourse,inChinese,“喜鹊”(magpie)isagoodnamefortheradioandacousticinstallations.However,inthewesterncountries,peopledon’tthinkso.Theythinkthatamagpieisabirdwhichiswhistlingdayandnight,makingnoisesandbringingthejunksintothenestle.Andthenamagpieisusuallycomparedtoapersonwhotreasuresthoseuselessthingswiththeleastintentiontothrowthemawayandapersonwhochatterswithoutstopping.Seenow,whowillbewillingtobringthenoisemakerintohouseinsteadofavoidingthem?[7]p95

2.3Differencesinusages

Somewords,whichoriginatedinChinese，arefrequentlyspokenandwrittenbytheEnglishpeople,however,theyareseldomusedintheirliteralmeaning.Then,weshouldalsobecarefulabouttheminabrandtranslation,orelse,itwouldleadtoajoke.Forinstance,onekindofexportingbatteryisnamed“白象”（“Baixiang”）.ItistranslatedintoEnglishdirectlyas“WhiteElephant”.Itmaybeanexactlyrighttranslation.But,inEnglish,“awhiteelephant”isausage,meaningaburdensomepossession(沉重的负担)anduselessthings.(无用而累赘的东西).See,whowillbesofoolishtospendthemoneyonaburdensomepossessionorauselessrubbish?[8]p80

Onemoreexampletoillustratethispoint.“白翎”(“Bailig”),onekindofpenmadeinShanghaiChina,istranslatedintoEnglishas“WhiteFeather”directly.Asaresult,itfailstotakeinthemarketoversea.Whatisthereason？InEnglish,thereisanidiom“toshowthewhitefeather”whosemeaningisthatdesertingontheeveofabattle.Thatistosay,awhitefeatherhastheconnotation“acoward‘.Assumingthatwhensomeoneseesapeninyoursuitpocketorinyourhand,whatwouldtheythinkofyou?Whatwouldyoufeelwhenyourealizethattheythinkyouareacoward?[9]p56

3.Skillstotranslatebrandsintheperspectiveofcross-culturalcommunication.

NowthattherearesomedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglish,weshouldpayattentiontothemandnoticethecultureconflictsbetweenthesetwolanguages.Weshouldbeculture-consciousandtrytoreduceoravoidmakingmistakesincross-culturalcommunication.Thefollowingdiscussessomeskillsoftranslatingbrandsinacross-culturalcommunicationperspective.

3.1Commonskills

Whenitcomestobrandtranslation,thecommonskillsaretransliteration,semantictranslationandtrans-semantictranslation.

3.1.1Transliteration

Transliterationisthewaybywhichthebrandistranslatedaccordingtothepronunciationofthesourcelanguage.Thetranslatorspickupwordsinthetargetlanguagewiththesamepronunciationasthoseinthesourcelanguage.Thepurposeofsuchanapproachistocomplywiththelinguisticrulesandtoconveythesourcelanguageculture.Manybrandsaretranslatedbythisway.ThefirstandthemostsuccessfulexampleoftransliterationisanAmericanbeverageCoca-Cola.Thebrandnameofthiskindofblackbeverageisformedbytwowords“coca“and“cola“.“coca“wastranslatedinto“古柯”whichisaplantgrowinginSouthAmerica,and”cola”wastranslatedinto”古拉”whichisanotherkindofplantgrowinginAfrica.Now,itistranslatedinto”可口可乐”,whichmakestheconsumersfeelsweetandhappy.Similarexamplesare“Pepsi-Cola”(百事可乐)and“Lactov”(乐口福).Otherexamplesare:thefamousJapaneseelectronicproductbrand“Nokia”(诺基亚)，thelargestfastfoodbrand“McDonald’s(麦当劳)，andthesuitbrand“Pierrecardin”(皮尔卡丹)andsoon.

3.1.2SemanticTranslation

Semantictranslationisthewaybywhichthebrandistranslatedaccordingtothemeaningofthesourcelanguage.Thepurposeofsuchanapproachistotransferthesourcelanguage’smainmeaningandmaketheconsumersofthetargetlanguageunderstanditmoreeasier..Numbersofbrandsaretranslatedbythisway.Forinstance,aChineseelectronicproductbrand“熊猫”isrenderedintoEnglish“Panda”;thepopularcarbrand“Crown”intoChinesename“皇冠”andtheChinesebicyclebrand“永久”intoEnglishname“Forever”andsoon.

3.1.3Trans-SemanticTranslation

Trans-Semantictranslation,combiningwithTransliterationandSemantictranslation,isahighskillwhichrequestsafirmbasisandprofuseimagination.Takingthepronunciationandthemeaningofthesourcelanguageintoconsiderationatthesametime,Trans-Semanticisatranslationskillreflectingthetraitsofproducts.Itisthebestskillhavingthebesteffecttotranslatethebrandsofcommonproducts.Forexample,ashoesbrand“warrior”istranslatedinto“回力”.IthasasimilarpronunciationtoEnglishword“warrior”and,inChinese,alsohasameanofhavingalargepowertodoanything.[10]p50Andonemoreexample,thethreecharacters—“芬格欣”indicatenothing,butamongwhich,“芬”and“欣”willarousepersons’beneficialassociationtofeelthatitwillbringpeoplebacktohealthaftertakingthiskindofmedicine,.Anotherskin-protectioncreaming“Tobady”istranslatedintoChinese“丹芭碧”whichhasnothingtodowiththepropertyofcommodity,but“丹”and“碧”willgivepeopleabeautifulenjoyment,arousingtheirassociationwithskinandappearance.

Besides,therearesomeothercreativeskillstotranslatethebrands.Infact,translatorshavemoreorlessemployedtheseskills.Aproblemisthattheysometimesdon’trealizeit.

3.2EffectivenessTranslation

Effectivenesstranslation,justasitsnameshows,isawaythatthebrandistranslatedbytheeffectivenesswhichtheconsumersmaygetorwishtogetfromthisproduct.Forexample,onekindofshampooisnamed“head&shoulder”.Justasitsadvertisementsays,ithastheeffectofsmoothingthehair.Byusingit,youmayhaveaheadfulofsilkyhairflyingintheair,blackandblight.Thus,ItistranslatedintoChinese“海飞丝”.“Rejoice”isanotherbrandofshampoo.Fromtheword“Rejoice”,wecanknowitsmeaningishappy.IfitistranslatedbytheskillofSemantictranslation,theresultisnotasgoodas.translatingitintoChinese“飘柔”.Byreadingthisname,itiseasytoknowthatthecommodityisonekindofshampoo,whichhastheeffectivenessofmakinghairsoftandsmooth,whichconformstothethinkingofChinesepeopleaboutthehair——beautifulandhealthyhairshouldbesoftandsmoothforever,.

Onemoreinstance.Onekindofsoap,itsEnglishnameis“Safeguard”.Accordingtotheword“Safeguard”,itisnotdifficulttoknowitisacleaner,whosedutyistokeeppeopleclean.Thatistosay,ifyouuseit,thereisnoviruswithyou.What’smore,youmaygetabestfeelingofkeepingcleanforever.Thus,inthisway,thereisnonamebetterthan“舒服佳”.[11]p79

3.3CharacterTranslation

Duetothefactthatbrandsarethesymbolsofproductsorservicesandreflectthecharactersofproductsorservices,peoplejustpickupthewordswhichcandescribethecharactersofproductsorservicesdirectlyinthetargetlanguagetotranslatethebrands,“Benz”hasbeeninatopforalongtimeinthefieldofcarswithaspecialandsuperiorquality——fast,whichiswhatallthedriverswant.“奔驰”isagoodtranslationto“Benz”.Whenpeoplereadit,afastrunninghorsemaycomeuptoyou.Sothename“奔驰”mayjusttellyou:“Look!thisisBenz!”.[12]p79

Let’scometoanotherbrand“Nike”.“Nike”isabrandforaseriesofsports’products,beingfamousinAmericaandevenallovertheworld.ItisalsothenameofGoddessofSuccessintheGreekmythology,symbolizing‘success’.WhilewetranslateitintoChinesename“耐克”,itimpliesthatthisseriesofsports’productshasthetraitofgoodqualityandaredurable.IfyouwearthemyoumightgettheblessofGoddessofSuccessandwouldgetsuccessinthefuture.

3.4ApproximationTranslation

BecauseoftheexistenceofculturaldifferencesinEastandWest,thereisaphenomenonthatsomewordsinsourcelanguagehavetheeffecttogivetheinformationofproducts,butinthetargetlanguage,theyhaven’t.Theninordertopassovertheinformationofbrandsandproductsbetter,wepickupthewordshavingtheequalorapproximateeffectinthetargetlanguageintranslatingbrands.ThisiscalledApproximationtranslation.

“玉兔”isafoodbrandinShanghaiChina.IfwetranslateitintoEnglishdirectly,itmaybe“JadeHare”or“JadeRabbit”.Butinfact,wetranslateitinto“MoonRabbit”or“MoonHare”.Because“玉兔”(“Yutu”)isarabbitinChinesefolkstorywhichlivesonthemoonasanangelrabbit.Thatistheword“玉”means.Thus“玉兔”becomesthesymbolforthemoon.WhenitistranslatedintoEnglishname“MoonHare”,theword“moon”givestheimpliedmeaning,ratherthantheword“Jade”,whichismisleading:therabbitismadeofjade.Inthatcase,howcanitbeeaten?[13]p119

Onemoreexample,“westwindhasdifferentculturalassociationsbetweenChineseandEnglish.BritishisacountywithislandstothewestofEurope.ItswestistheAtlanticOcean,theeastistheNorthSea,andtheEnglishchannelisbetweenitandEuropeancontinentinthesouth.WhileChinaisacountryintheSoutheastofAsia.Whenthewestwindisblowingup,awarmspringdaycomesinBritish.However,inChina,itisafreezingwinterday.ThegreatEnglishpoetP·B·ShelleywrotethepoemtheOdetotheWestWind:

It’sawarmwind,thewestwind,fullofbirds’cries

Ineverhearthewestwindbuttearsinmyeyes

Foritcomesfromthewestlands,theoldbrownhills

Inthispoem,authorspeakshighlyofthewestwindandtakesitasthehopeandstrength.Nevertheless,inChinese,westwindisconsideredasthedrearyanddesolatesuchastheChinesepoems:《忆秦娥》“咸阳古道音尘绝，音尘绝，西风残照，汉家陵阕。”and《天净沙·秋思》“古道西风瘦马，夕阳西下，断肠人在天涯。”Thus,theEnglishwestwindhasthesameimplicationastheChineseeastwind“东风”andtheEnglisheastwindissimilartoChinese“西风”.That’swhyweshouldtranslatethecarbrand“东风”intoEnglishwestwindratherthaneastwind.”[14]p102

3.5EleganceTranslation

EleganceTranslationisatranslationskillinwhich,realizingthathumanbeingstendtopursuesomethinggood,thetranslatorsinglesoutwordswithfineconnotationsinthetargetlanguagetoconveythemessageofthesourcetext,sothatitbringsgoodassociationstothetargetreadersandcreateseleganteffect.

Onekindoffemalecosmetics,named"Avon"istranslatedintoChinese"雅芳"."雅"(ya)meanselegantand"芳"("Fang")meansasbeautifulasaflower.Thenwhenpeoplereadthewords“雅芳”，theymaygetanassociationwithanelegantandprettygirlSuchaneffectofhavingwhiteandbeautifulshiniswhatthisproductcanbring.[15]p80

Anotherclothesbrand“Goldlion”,isnottranslatedintoChinesedirectly"金狮".Because,inChinese,"狮"(lion)hasthesimilarpronunciationto"失"（lose）.Ifitistranslatesinto“金狮”，itbecomestheChinese"金失"whichmeanstolosethemoney.Then,nobodycouldacceptit.WhenitistranslatedintoChinese"金利来",itmeansthecomingofbothgoodluckandmoney.Ofcourse,itispopular.[16]p207

3.6TranslatingFlexibly

Inordertogetthebesteffect,wemayusetwoormorewaystotranslatethebrand.Thatmakestranslationmoreflexible.Fromtheexamplesabove,itisnotdifficulttonoticethatsomebrandtranslationshaveusedtwoormoremethods,suchas“奔驰”usingtheskillsofsemantictranslationandCharactertranslation.OneSino-Americajointventureproducesonekindofcarnamed"transit".Whenitistranslated,thedrivers’wishestodrivesafelyandsmoothlyareconsidered,andaccordingtothepronunciationitistranslatedintoChinese"全顺".Thisusestheskillsoftransliterationandeleganttranslation.

4Somegeneralprinciplesinbrandtranslation

withthedevelopmentoftheforeigntrade,theimportanceofbrandshasbeenrealizedbymoreandmorepeople.Brandtranslationisacomplexskillwithsomeconsiderationsofeconomiceffectandbringingmoreintereststotheproducersasshownabove.Andtherearemoreandmorecreativetranslationskillswhichbelongtothetranslationcategoryandatthesametimeitdoesn’tbelongtoit,insomeextent.Inanyway,allbrandtranslationsmaycomplywiththegeneralprinciplesasfollows:

(1)Faithtotheproducts

Eitherthenativelanguagebrandorthetranslatedbrandhassomethingtodowiththeproduct.Itmirrorstheproductandisasymbolforit.Differentproductshavedifferentbrands.[17]p79

(2)Simpleandcreative

Brandtranslationisalmostnotmorethanfourwords.Inthiscase,thebrandissimpleandeasytorememberandread.Andifthebrandtranslationiscreative,itmayhavethepowerofshowingitsspecialtrait.Thenitmaybestimulatingandimpressive.Thatmaymakeproductshaveahighsalerateinthemarket.

(3)Colorfulandimaginable

Thetranslatedbrandalsogivestheinformationofproducts.Agoodbrandtranslationshouldbereadableandimaginablethatcangivemoredetailsandinformation.Bydoingthat,thisbrandmaybemorepopular.

(4)Complyingwiththecultureofsourcelanguage

AsEugeneNidaputsit,“Fortrulysuccessfultranslating,biculturalismisevenmoreimportantthanbilingualism,sincewordsonlyhavemeaningsintermsoftheculturesinwhichtheyfunction.”[18]p110TranslatedBrandsareforthetargetlanguageconsumers.Iftheycan’tunderstandit,thatmeansthetranslationisincomprehensible.Iftheymisunderstandit,thatmeansthebrandtranslationisafailureandmayhaveabadeffectontheproductsoon.

5.Conclusion

Tosomeextent,abrandismoreimportantthantheproductitself,whichisamaximwesternadvertisingdesignersgenerallyacceptandabideby.Forwordsindifferentcultureshavedifferentculturalconnotations,whicharousesdifferentassociation.Peopleracktheirbrainstoinventbrandswhicharefullofwitandhumor,vividnessandvigor,uniquenessandnovelty,togiveadeepimpressiontotheconsumersandtriumphsovertheopponentsinkeencompetitions.Thus,brandsarealsospecialwordsinregardstotheireconomicfeature,withthebasicfunctionofdistinguishproducts,providinginformation,symbolsofcreditandstimulatingconsumption.regardingtothis,thebrandstranslationisaveryimportantskill.Whenbrandsarebeingtranslated,theculturaldifferencesshouldbeconsideredandtheinformationofproductsshouldbealsopaidattentionto.Thebrandstranslationhavemanyskills.ThecommonskillsareTransliteration,Semantictranslation,Trans-semantictranslation,andEffectivenesstranslation,besides,thecreativewaysofCharactertranslation,Approximationtranslation,EleganttranslationandTranslatingflexiblyaretheskillstomakethebrandstranslationbetter.Inaword,theyareallbasictotherulesofFaithtotheproduct,simpleandcreativeandeasytoremember,colorfulandimaginableandcomplyingwiththenativecultureoftranslatinglanguageandinterestsforbusiness.

ChineseandEnglisharedifferentlanguageswithdifferentcultures.Thesignificanceofresearchingonthebrandtranslationindifferentculturesistoimprovetheinsightoftheusingoflanguagesandunderstandthesourceandtargetlanguagecompletelysothatbrandscangetanequaleffectintwolanguages.Afteraresearchonit,theforeigntradingandcross-culturecommunicationmustbemoreeffectiveandeasier.

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