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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】商標(biāo)是商品和商業(yè)服務(wù)的標(biāo)記．它是指商品生產(chǎn)者、經(jīng)營(yíng)者、服務(wù)提供者為了使自己生產(chǎn)、銷(xiāo)售的商品或提供的服務(wù),在市場(chǎng)上與其他商品或服務(wù)相區(qū)別而使用的一種標(biāo)記。這種標(biāo)記一般用文字、圖形或用文字和圖形的組合表示,并置于商品或商品包裝上、服務(wù)場(chǎng)所或服務(wù)說(shuō)明書(shū)上.商標(biāo)名稱的好壞具有戰(zhàn)略性的重要作用，甚至?xí)Q定產(chǎn)品的存亡。一個(gè)好的品牌名稱在產(chǎn)品的營(yíng)銷(xiāo)過(guò)程中可以節(jié)省大量資金，同時(shí)為企業(yè)贏得更多的利潤(rùn),因?yàn)樗鼙磉_(dá)特定的含意或者展現(xiàn)產(chǎn)品的特色，使產(chǎn)品區(qū)別于競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手.商標(biāo)不同于其他標(biāo)志,它與商品和商業(yè)服務(wù)緊密相聯(lián),是用在商品生產(chǎn)經(jīng)營(yíng)和商業(yè)服務(wù)領(lǐng)域內(nèi)的特定標(biāo)記。通過(guò)商標(biāo)可以區(qū)別不同商品生產(chǎn)者、經(jīng)營(yíng)者或商業(yè)服務(wù)提供者的商品或服務(wù).可以了解產(chǎn)品或服務(wù)的性質(zhì)和特點(diǎn).好的商標(biāo)是具有信譽(yù)度的,具有為商品做廣告宣傳的作用,正因?yàn)槿绱?好的商標(biāo)又可以刺激消費(fèi),提高商品的市場(chǎng)占有率.

伴隨著經(jīng)濟(jì)的全球化和中國(guó)加入世貿(mào)組織，人們?cè)絹?lái)越多的意識(shí)到：在產(chǎn)品銷(xiāo)售過(guò)程中，好的商標(biāo)名稱以及國(guó)際化的商標(biāo)名稱發(fā)揮著重要作用。研究商標(biāo)名稱是一項(xiàng)必要而且緊迫的任務(wù).商標(biāo)的翻譯也提升到一個(gè)新的高度.商標(biāo)翻譯中最主要的障礙就是語(yǔ)言的不同,以及由于不同的地區(qū),不同的語(yǔ)言,不同的背景所帶來(lái)的文化的差異.這種差異通過(guò)語(yǔ)言表現(xiàn)在商標(biāo)的翻譯與表述之上,使得商標(biāo)翻譯具有一定的難度.就此,本文在對(duì)商標(biāo)基本認(rèn)識(shí)的基礎(chǔ)之上,重點(diǎn)說(shuō)明了商標(biāo)翻譯中常出現(xiàn)的文化差異現(xiàn)象,及忽視文化差異的商標(biāo)失譯例子.并就此,擬出一些避免文化沖突的商標(biāo)翻譯方法,包括最常用的音譯法,意譯法,音意兼譯法和一些個(gè)人的獨(dú)到的方法---效果翻譯法,性質(zhì)翻譯法,似等翻譯法及聯(lián)想求雅翻譯法.同時(shí),簡(jiǎn)要地歸納一些商標(biāo)翻譯中應(yīng)遵循的規(guī)則.從而為得到更好地商標(biāo)翻譯而服務(wù).

【關(guān)鍵詞】商標(biāo)；文化差異；翻譯；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,長(zhǎng)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.“藍(lán)天”（“Langtian”）isabrandofonekindoftoothpastemadeinChina.ItisverypopularinChinaandinthesoutheastofAsia.ButitfailsinAmericamarket.Why?Thetranslationisthekeyofallreasons.Thebrand“藍(lán)天”istranslatedinto“Bluesky”and“BlueHeaven”.InChinese,theblueskyandthewhitecloudsarethesymbolsofhappinessandelegance.ButinEnglishblueskyisawordwhosemeaningare:useless,withlessvalue,nosteadyandaninvalidnegotiablesecurities.Supposingthatyouareaconsumer,canyoubuythis“useless”commodity?Besides,anotherword“BlueHeaven”isanameofonekindofnarcotics,withabluecapsule,andhasexistedintheWesterncountriesforalongtimebeforethecomingof“藍(lán)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”P(pán)inyin)isasymbolofluckandhappiness.ItispopularwiththeChinesepeople,for“蝠”(“fu”)and“?！?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,“喜鵲”(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(沉重的負(fù)擔(dān))anduselessthings.(無(wú)用而累贅的東西).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”可口可樂(lè)”,whichmakestheconsumersfeelsweetandhappy.Similarexamplesare“Pepsi-Cola”(百事可樂(lè))and“Lactov”(樂(lè)口福).Otherexamplesare:thefamousJapaneseelectronicproductbrand“Nokia”(諾基亞)，thelargestfastfoodbrand“McDonald’s(麥當(dāng)勞)，andthesuitbrand“Pierrecardin”(皮爾卡丹)andsoon.

3.1.2SemanticTranslation

Semantictranslationisthewaybywhichthebrandistranslatedaccordingtothemeaningofthesourcelanguage.Thepurposeofsuchanapproachistotransferthesourcelanguage’smainmeaningandmaketheconsumersofthetargetlanguageunderstanditmoreeasier..Numbersofbrandsaretranslatedbythisway.Forinstance,aChineseelectronicproductbrand“熊貓”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“海飛絲”.“Rejoice”isanotherbrandofshampoo.Fromtheword“Rejoice”,wecanknowitsmeaningishappy.IfitistranslatedbytheskillofSemantictranslation,theresultisnotasgoodas.translatingitintoChinese“飄柔”.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.“奔馳”isagoodtranslationto“Benz”.Whenpeoplereadit,afastrunninghorsemaycomeuptoyou.Sothename“奔馳”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:《憶秦娥》“咸陽(yáng)古道音塵絕，音塵絕，西風(fēng)殘照，漢家陵闋?！盿nd《天凈沙·秋思》“古道西風(fēng)瘦馬，夕陽(yáng)西下，斷腸人在天涯。”Thus,theEnglishwestwindhasthesameimplicationastheChineseeastwind“東風(fēng)”andtheEnglisheastwindissimilartoChinese“西風(fēng)”.That’swhyweshouldtranslatethecarbrand“東風(fēng)”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"金獅".Because,inChinese,"獅"(lion)hasthesimilarpronunciationto"失"（lose）.Ifitistranslatesinto“金獅”，itbecomestheChinese"金失"whichmeanstolosethemoney.Then,nobodycouldacceptit.WhenitistranslatedintoChinese"金利來(lái)",itmeansthecomingofbothgoodluckandmoney.Ofcourse,itispopular.[16]p207

3.6TranslatingFlexibly

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