TrademarkTranslationinCross-culturalCommunication-精品文檔

1、Trademark TranslationinCross-culturalCommunicationAs a way directly for economic service, trademark translation is a key topic for social pragmatic research.We tend to introduce cultural elements in trademark and characteristics of trademark language through trademark translation examples. In additi

2、on, from perspective of cross-cultural communication, we conduct an analysis of trademark translation for the purpose to shed some light for translators at translating trademarks.1.IntroductionWith the rapid development of China ' s economy, more and more foreign companies are coming into Chines

3、e market and their popular brands have been well received by China consumers. In the same way, Chinese manufacturers come to realize the importance of a good brand name, especially a good translation of their Chinese brand for helping them entering overseas market. However, many producers only trans

4、late their brand literally, regardless of the diversity of different nations' faith, culturalbackground, political system, way of thinking andconsuming concepts. Therefore, in order to promote our export, to strengthen our national enterprise competitiveness in the domestic and international mar

5、ket, and to set up a good company image, we should pay sufficient attention to the research of trademark translation, and know some skills and principles of trademark translation.2.Basic concepts of trademark and trademark translationA trade mark is a “sign” that distinguishes the goods or services

6、of one producer from those of other producers. Trademark constitutes a part of goods advertising. However, advertising takes promotion as its objective. Therefore, it is commercial. From another point of view, it also illustrates culture. For differences in geographical locations, religion, race, an

7、d economic development level, people in differences countries may have different thinking mode, talents, consumption concepts, and value outlooks. The brand names generally contain specific meanings of a particular culture. When brand names are translated from English into Chinese or vice versa an a

8、dequate and appropriate conversion of cultural meanings can not only accurately reflect the product ' s quality but arouse the customer' s cultural association so as to create the expected advertising effect and help publicize that particular culture. Therefore, trademark translation can be

9、considered as a kind of cross-cultural communication.3.Skills for trademark translation3.1 TransliterationTransliterationmeans translatinga certain brand nameaccording to its pronunciation. The application of this method will satisfy those faddy customers who can easily know from the brand name that

10、 this product is an exotic thing. Such as Adidas （阿迪達(dá)斯），Konica （柯尼卡），Motorola （摩托羅拉），Kodak （柯達(dá)），Rossini （羅西尼）；also some Chinese brand names, such as “ “新科” （Shinco）, “茅臺(tái)” （Mao Tai）, “飛亞達(dá)” （Fiyta）, “味全” （Weiquan） etc. Most of these words do not have specific meanings, some of them are just copied fro

11、m the bos ses' names or place names, so most of them are coined words. Because of this, even if we translate them only according to their pronunciations, the original meanings have not been changed, that ' s to say, this method accords with the principle of equivalence.3.2 Free translationFr

12、ee translation means translating a trademark according to its literal meaning. Because of cultural differences, if we only translate trademarks according to their pronunciations or their literal meaning, even a wonderful brand name will lose its original meaning ordenotation. And then the product &#

13、39; s image will be destroyed.Free translation is a familiar way as well as the most ideal way for us to translate trademarks. Such as Bluebird （藍(lán)鳥汽車）,which in Chinese and English means having a fast speed. Crown （ 皇冠汽車）,undoubtedly, symbolizes noble quality. Pioneer （先鋒音響）,which possesses an advanc

14、ed technology. 3.3Transliteration & Meaning ImplicationWecan also call this way as Pun. For that we both adopt the pronunciation and meaning of a trademark. Such as Quick （快克）medicine, Canon （ 佳能）camera, Benz （ 奔馳）car, Goodyear （固特異）tire, Safeguard （舒膚佳）soap, Ericsson （愛立信）mobile phone, Colgate

15、（高露潔）toothpaste, Decis （敵殺死）pesticide, and“雅戈?duì)枴?（Younger） suite.3.4 Using RhetoricSometimes we use rhetoric to strengthen the attraction of trademark. Alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia are always used. When we meet alliteration, if possible,we' d better keep it, such as Coca -cola （ 可口

16、可樂）， Clean-clear （ 可伶可俐）,Rolls-Royce （勞斯萊斯）.We alsouse personification to exert human characteristics on the products. For instance, we translate the famous computer brand Pentium into"奔騰",as if a person full ofenergy.And speaking of onomatopoeia, Kodak is the very example. Does “柯達(dá)"

17、have t he same effect as the sound produced by the camera whenyou press the shutter? All these translations will bring you a good feeling and attract you to buy them.3.5 Keeping the Original NameSometrademarks do not need you to translate them. They are always the abbreviation of several words, or a

18、 place name,a company' s name, a person ' s name. Such as NEC （Nippon Electric company,Ltd.）,we often let it be. And IBM （International Business Machines）,we seldom say“這是美國國際商用機(jī)器公司牌的芯片！"JVC,LG,TCL also belong t othis kind. It sounds funny, isn ' t it? Sometrademarks come from place

19、 names, and just because of the places, they becamefamous, such as "金華火腿”and "貴州茅臺(tái)”.So wecan directly translate them into Jinhua Ham, Guizhou MaoTai.3.6 OthersHowever, there are certain circumstances when the above mentioned translation skills are not applicable for full conveyance of the

20、implication, meaning, and value of a product. In this case, the translators need to create a translated trademark appropriate for the target culture and acceptable for the target consumers. And sometimes, translators mayborrow the symbols, the signs, and even the pictures on the products. For exampl

21、e, American battery brand “Duracell " originates from “durable” and“cell ” , meaning high volume and long lasting performance. When translating the trademark, the translator is faced with problems with commonly used translation skillslistedin the above sections. Then they turn to “金霸王"as theChinese equivalence for the trademark, resulting in good conveyance of the original impl