A Tentative Study of Trademark Translation Essay

Abstract assay-mark is a particular kind of diction signs. It is the concentration of commodities distinct characteristics, the core of commodities purification, and the powerful branch for an enterprise to participate in international competitions. With the development of globalization and the addition in international grapple, the results of importing and exporting strengthen day by day the exposition of posts is gaining much and more(prenominal) attention. Nowadays, more and more flock come pee-peed that a vertical rendering of a provoker in promoting sales is crucial to the development of international merchandises and profits making. con configuration to rise-nigh instances of denounce displacement reaction, this thesis summarizes around main characteristics of stigmatise, and discusses the principles and more or less common methods of trademark interlingual rendition. Key spoken communication Trademark characteristics shift principles displaceme nt reaction methods ?? ???????????? ,?????????? ,??????????? ,?????????????????????????????????????? ,?????????? ,????????????????????? ,?????????? ,????????? ,?????????????????????????????????????????????? ,???????????? ,????????????????????????? ??? ?? ?? ???? ???? fundament harmonize to R.Heis, an Ameri give notice economist A fault nurture, i. e. trademark is a severalise, diagnose water, sign, design or a combine of them that tells who hurls it or who sells it, distinguishing that harvest-time from those make or sold by others. (Guo Guilong & deoxyadenosine monophosphate Zhang Hongbo, 2008 100) A trademark is just like a products key reveal, which is the representative of the realize of a company and the symbolism of quality. In promoting sales, the trademark plays a very(prenominal) in-chief(postnominal) role in arousing consumers desire to shop, rescue the huge economical benefits and even in determining the survival of a company.With mainland Chinas joinin g to the WTO, China strengthens cooperation with other countries, including increasingly frequent economic and trade exchanges. How to introduce our products to foreign countries, bring foreign products into the domestic markets and conduct a undefeated sales business has become kind of authorised. Therefore, a successful translation of trademark becomes urgent and requirement for the enterprises. While trademark translation is not only a h cardinalst con transformation from cardinal engrave to another, and a clear intention of the cross- language commercial, a special cross- heathen communication activity.Thus, it is vital for us to pay more attention to the principles and methods of trademark translation. Chapter1 The Characteristics of Trademark Though there ar various definitions of trademark, they sh atomic number 18 nighthing in common. In prevalent, a trademark should be simple and open to remember, and should be distinctive and favorably associative. 1. 1 Simpl e and docile to Remember It is a basic requirement for a trademark to be simple and easy to spell. Choosing short and simple backchats for composing trademarks provide attend consumers cut through them more tardily, because simple and short intelligence informations ar easy to wait in memory.Nowadays, with the fast development of economy, more and more trademarks flood into the market, how could consumers victimize all of them? Therefore, if a trademark is short and easy to spell and memorize, it heap occupy the market easily. In fact, most closely- completen trademarks are in short form, much(prenominal) as Nike, Sony, Apple and so on. 1. 2 classifiable from Similar Products We all bed that the purpose of using trademarks is to distinguish whiz product from others. Therefore, to be distinctive is another important characteristic of a trademark. Trademarks, in a moxie, are couple to signs and reputations.Distinctiveness freighter athletic supporter customers not t o be easily confused with other trademarks in the market either by clayey or appearance. Distinctive and typical linguistic process may be used to distinguish the relevant product from others. Kodak (camera) created by the manager, is distinctive and easy for the potential consumers to memorize. The Chinese far-famed trademark Lenovo(?? ), bunghole easily be variousiated from other computers, because Lenovo, a coined word, can be associated with the word legend which is particular and attractive. Lenovo is more innovative than legend.Adventurous consumers give opt that trademark distinguishes the relevant product from other computers with consummate ease. 1. 3 Arousing brotherly Association Most trademarks can depend on prospering association, which is an indispensable gambol of trademark. Owing to the requirement of marketing, a trademark is not only a sign, but besides an advertisement. It should arouse the flourishing association and plant the in effect(p) quality to consumers. most trademarks have inherent essence and some have historic or heathenish intensions, both of which can arouse well-to-do associations. sixty (soap) is a product of Unilever Company.LUX, a Latin word, sum sunshine. So the consumer can associate it with bright sunshine and flushed skin. This trademark even let mint imagine the quixotic feeling on the summer beach. Whats more, consumers can associate LUX with rafts and luxury from its appearance and pronunciation. Thus, Unilever Company publicizes the good quality of its products by the booming association of the trademark. From the in a higher place ex adeninele, we can see that the inherent pith of trademarks plays an important part in advertising and can arouse hoi pollois desirable association and let them accept the products.Chapter 2 The Principles of Trademark deracination Trademark translation is an art as well as a science. It is a comprehensive process which is related to linguistics, translati on theory, inter ethnic communication, esthetics, and consumer psychology. broadly speaking, trademark translation is a entangled task of compromising between the meanings of trademarks and their consumers. Therefore, to register trademarks successfully, some principles should be sayn into consideration. 2. 1 Reveal the Products Characteristics Usually, every product has its identification.Trademark translation should suggest the features and functions of the products, so that the buyers could immediately think of the use of products when they see the trademarks. As has been discussed by Xu Hui and Cheng Zhendong, the characteristic of a product heart and soul that it has some basic elements which differ from those of others (Xu Hui, 200455-56). The sayd leaf blade name should match with the characteristics of products and show the idea of the original name. The characteristics of products not only distinguish from others, but in any case contain the ability to communicate with the consumers.Thus, in the process of translation, the spokesperson should hollow the characteristics of the products, so as to promote the understanding of products for consumers, and help learn the characteristics and functions of the products by the first sight. For ex lawsuit Ale, a trademark of suit-dress Hope Show is translated into ?? , in which the word ? instantly reflects in the products for the arrange category, and ? add more promotion of a happy and peaceful feeling to the goods. The translation not only reflects the features of the product but also caters to consumers aesthetic taste.Nobody will have s get a line in products which they are not acquainted. A successful trademark translation should have the trait that customers can learn the category and characteristics of the product. Like Nike, the illustrious American reproach of sports wears, is the name of the goddess Victory in Greek myth. According to its pronunciation, it can be translated into ?? or ?? in Chinese. However, these two name calling cant enunciate the characteristics of the product, but even give people a error that Nike is some products for w symptom. ?? is better. ? meaning something durable.As the sport wear, durability is equal to good quality. ? implies that people can finally overcome difficulties and succeed, conforming with the intension of Victory. These two wrangling in Chinese show the features of the product perfectly. some other example is Procter & Gambles antidandruff shampoo Head & Shoulders. The translation ??? means dandruff disappears when washed, and highlights the distinct characteristics of the product fully. another(prenominal) two examples are Sportsman (bicycle) and Unlsports (sports shoes).The former is translated into ????, the latter into ???? . If you are not long-familiar with the trademarks, who will associate it with their products? 2. 2 Choose the Appropriate Words As the symbol of products, trademarks should be simple and easy to remember and understandable for consumers. So in order to leave the surmount impression on consumers, translators should choose some appropriate words during the process of trademark translation. The more complicated words in the translation, the weaker the trademark enunciates and the less memorable it becomes. For instance, McDonalds was transliterated into ???? in mainland of China before and now is displaced by ??? .Also, in mainland, the scrape name Hewlett & Packard had a long translation of ??? -??? for a long period. Now, the six-character version, long and meaningless, has been replaced by the two-character version ?? . Balancing these two versions, we can see the latter is easier to estimate and memorize. Moreover, ?? contains more meanings and can stimulate more favorable e favorable association of the the productassociation of consumers. Similarly, Head &Shoulder(shampoo) was transliterated into ????? before and now a more compact and meani ngful version ??? is popular. Stafanel, the place name for apparel from US, is translated into ???? now. However, what well-nigh a two-character version ?? ? Also in China, Mercedes-Benz, the pit name for a quality car from Ger galore(postnominal) a(prenominal), was transliterated into ???? ?? before and yet is put into ?? at present. A car from Great Britain Rolls Royce is translated into ???? now instead of the former transliteration ??? ??? . The Chinese version for Fair Child, a semi-conductor from the US, was ????? before and now is ??  instead. ?? is easier to be pronounced and memorized than ???? for Nescafe from Swiss.The upper new versions have replaced the old renderings because they are simple and easy to be accepted by consumers, in pronunciation, form and meaning. Easy acceptance by consumers finally promotes the sales of the products. On the contrary, some translations sound profane or may lead to negative associations in the Chinese language. Thus much (prenominal) translations would not be recognized and accepted by consumers. For examples, Psorales, a drug, was put into ??? when just coming into China.No whiz knew what ??? was and untrue it to be something discarded. It is not hard to imagine nobody would buy things that sound worn and useless. Later, it is replaced by ??? ,a more vivid and meaningful version, and its sales was ameliorate afterwards. 2. 3 Analyze the Aesthetics Features Trademark translation should comply with the characteristics of word structure of trademark in the TL. Getting the best out of the combination of dish aerial in meaning, sound and form is the internal requirement if we want to realize the associated function and the advertising function of a brand name.(Tang Zhongshun, 200275-77) The translated trademark accordingly must be normative, elegant, vivid and visual. Firstly, beauty of meaning means the translated terms should produce an artistic conception through a favorable association of wor ds or component words so that people will have bounteous and nice association and arouse the expected value and pursuit of wonderful things. We have the typical examples of fagot (beverage) and Tide (washing power). Since Sprite was translated into ?? in Chinese, this product has prevailed in China due to the brilliant simulation and abundant connotation.The translated term ?? in sound is not only sooner close to the pronunciation of the original brand name, but also makes people have a favorable association of lustration, neatness and tidiness, showing the sort and feature of the product. Secondly, beauty of sound means a brand name of the original and its translated version should basically share the uniform or like pronunciation with the quality of sonority, rhythmization and musicality so that an aesthetically pleasing use is gained in hearing that brand name (Zhang Quan, 200477-79).There are many successfully translated versions fully reflect the beauty of sounds. Take OMO (washing power) and Clean&Clear (facial cleanser) for example. As OMO is translated into ?? ,it sounds like a compliment great in English. The translated term of Clean&Clear, ???? makes good use of rhyming rhythmic reduplication in order to achieve a combination of phonetic rhythm and verve.Lastly, beauty of form means the translated trademarks should make the best of conciseness and simpleness in structure, namely using few syllables, legibility and understandability of the words and avoiding difficult and seldom-using words. People prefer two or three words of translated versions because this structure better accords with the referential custom and aesthetic psychology. There are many famous translated brand names with the above feature, such as Head&Shoulders (shampoo), Avon (cosmetic), Johnsons (cream) and so on. Especially the translated version ??? is full of the characteristics of concision, elegance and vividness representing the feature and function of the p roduct. 2. 4 deport Attention to Cultural Differences Edward Taylor defined finis as a complex whole which includes friendship, beliefs, art, morals, law, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by mortals as members of a society. (Taylor Edward B, 187136) Namely, the study factors contributing to the making of culture are the religions, habits, customs and story, which vary sizeable from countries to countries.As a carrier of culture, language is an important part of culture which reflects the characteristics of a nation, which not only includes the nations historical and cultural background, but also contains the national outlook on life, lifestyles and ports of thinking. From the kinship between language and culture, it is obvious that translation is not only a process of transferring the outset language into the fag language, but also a process of a mutual communication and exchange between different cultures.Therefore, during the process of trademark translation, as language and culture are intrinsic from each other, it is essential to pay more attention to cultural differences. 2. 4. 1. Differences in Religions Religions, myths, legends, and images from literary works are an in-separable part of culture. They are deeply root in culture and at the alike(p) time contribute a great deal to the formation of peoples concepts about plastered objects.These elements, when involved in brand name translation, call for the translators sensitivity as well as flexibility in cultural adaptation in order that functional equivalence could be succeed between the stock brand name and the brand brand name. For example, Goldlion was not well-liked when it first appeared in the Chinese market with the name?? . It is said that many people would not buy that product just because the name sounds very close to?? in some Chinese dialects. Other people consider that the name was not well accepted because it resembles the sound of??,which is also a taboo idea in China, especially in Hong Kong, where people showing a particular liking for things with luck-bearing names. Anyway, the product did not sell well until the new name??? was adopted by Zeng Xianzi, a famous Chinese entrepreneur. He skillfully took apart the source brand name into metal(prenominal)andlion. The first part was vocally put into? to be faithful to the original, firearm the latter adopted the method of semantic transliteration and was put into?? ,meaningbringing profit. Such an auspicious name has helped a lot in building up the good fame of the product. 2. 4. 2 Differences in History.Every sphere has its own history. In the history, many historical incidents happened. These incidents have carved into the culture and have become a part of it. Being unaware of the history when translating a trademark will lead to failure. Opium is a brand of perfume. in truth in the western cul ention to hich reflects nd nice associationame, but also makes ation. things. he producr. ture, such kind of trademark name is popular, such as Poison, another perfume brand. However in China, ?? has a negative meaning. The Chinese people experienced the shameful history related to opium since 1840, when the notorious Opium state of war broke out.Without the consideration of history, this brand encountered the resistance from the Chinese consumers. Finally, the trademark name ?? was banned in China. 2. 4. 3 Differences in Customs and Habits Custom is one of the branches of culture reflecting the specific characteristics of a nation or parts of the nation. It is the fix of long history and closely linked with the surroundings and the way of life. So some customs and habits exist in one culture but may be absent in another, which brings about an obstacle to Chinese-English brand name translation.Many Chinese brand names come from Chinese custom. One of the most famous rice wines named ??? (Daughter Wine) is produced in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province of China . To Chinese customers, the brand name represents the happy events in ones life, temporary hookup they cannot arouse the same feeling in westerners if translated literally and that will utterly cause cultural loss, because the western consumers do not know about the custom of the ancient Shaoxing. It is said that in ancient Shaoxing a wave of this wine was buried under the ground when a daughter was brought into the world.When the daughter grew up and became a bride, the jar was dug out and presented to the guests attending the wedding. As the wine was uncapped, the smell of the wine spread far, and all guests became excited and congratulated the parents, so it was named ??? . When a translator translate the trade mark, it is very necessary to reveal the cultural information of the brand names. It is not only easy for customers to know about the origin of the wine but accept it quickly, because any one from any country would like to equally appreciate the beautiful things, scre w the happy feeling and desire success.Thus, in order to reveal the cultural information of this brand name, perhaps the translation Daughters union Wine is more suitable. 2. 4. 4 Differences in the Attitudes towards Animals and Numbers People nourishment in different cultures hold different attitudes and beliefs towards animals and numbers. What is considered a good omen in one culture may not symbolize the same in another. Therefore, it is generally advisable that people should not use this type of words to name the relative products, and when one translates existing brand names of this type, cultural adaptation may help him find a more proper target brand name.The difficulties caused by such words in brand name translation may be illustrated with the pastime example. As we know, the Chinese people often associate lams with good luck because the Chinese character ? sounds the same as? (meaninggood fortune). Some Chinese legends even say that when a bat lives 100 years, it turn s albumen in color and hangs upside down from a tree, and eating that bat could bring a person longevity. A red bat foretells even better luck for?? sounds exactly the same with?? (being supremely fortunate). Some Chinese stick to the belief so much that they name their products??. But if the translator adapts his linguistic choices to the different attitude towards the animal in European cultures, he would not consider Bat a good name, for bat is regarded as an extremely evil omen in many European folklores. maybe translations like Fortunes would be better. Besides, numbers bring about different associations. Generally speaking, each culture has certain numbers believed to be either palmy or ominous, but this may often differ from individual to individual. Lets take the translation of 7-up, a brand of dim drink, as an example.The number 7 is thought to be a halcyon number to many English speakers, but it does not have the same meaning in Chinese. Considering the cultural diffe rence, the translator, in order to create a similar effect among the Chinese consumers, worked out the name?? . The name is quite satisfactory because its first part? remains faithful to the source brand name without conveying any unfavorable meaning, and its second part? conveys the meaning ofhappiness and good luck,and hence makes up for the loss of connotation in the number7.Chapter 3 General Methods in Trademark Translation Peter Newmark once said that different translation strategies should be adopted according to the different functions of different works (Mou Yan, 2008). It is well-known that trademark translation is not only to convey the cultural information of the source culture, but also to set up a good image in the target culture, and finally to attract the people in the target market to the product. In order to achieve these purposes, translators should adopt the following methods in the process of trademark translation. 3. 1 erratum Translation material translation, referred to as semantic translation by Peter Newmark, is a way of translation which aims at preserving the most possible cultural messages (including the communicative aspect of culture, such as, the formal elements of the SL) of the source text at the sacrifice of the formal elements of the target language and sometimes even the intelligibility of the target text (Zheng Shengtao, 1994). Since the formation of words in the Chinese language is different from that in the Western languages, it is really impossible to achieve trademark translation by word-for-word translation in most cases.Peter Newmark favors literal translation too. He says, I am somewhat of a literalist because I am for truth and verity. (Newmark Peter, 200162) Although sometimes literal translation may create something exotic or even eccentric for the target language readers, it will gradually be accepted by the target language and its culture. As long as the translated brand names from foreign language can be tac it and accepted by the target consumers, literal translation is the best way for promoting cultural exchange through the brand name translation in China.As the brand name translation is to transfer between cultures, translators should make the target consumers understand the source culture. Some people say there is a better way for translators to approach the original. That is literal translation, which can nourish the national feature. For example, some traditional brand names, which are very familiar to the Westerners even to the world like ?? (The Yangtze River), ?? (the Yellow River), and ?? (the Great Wall) are chosen by the producers, as they are the symbols of Chinese wonderful natural history.When translators translate them, they have no need to do any translation. As these brand names are well-known to the world, and these Chinese characteristics of brand names are fresh and mysterious to the Westerners, it is easy to evoke the target consumers purchasing desire. Trans lators can adopt literal translation. The brand names ?? , ??? , ??? carry our ancient cultural information. When translators translate them into the Western languages, they should keep literal translation and add some notes, in order to let the target consumers know the source culture.Literal translation also keeps the general form and keeps the structure of the source language. Today, Chinese culture are getting more and more popular in the world, and more and more Westerners are eager to study our language in order to learn our long history. Therefore, the kind of translation is a necessary way to let more people learn our traditional culture. On the other hand, in the English-speaking countries, there are some brand names which can be literally translated. For example, the very famous brand name White cat is translated into ?? .And the brand name Camel is translated into ?? . All these translated brand names are very suitable for the products, and the products will very credibl y be loved by the consumers in the target market. hither literal translation is not the same as word-for-word translation. Word-for-word translation is to rigidly reproduce every word in the process of translation. purely speaking, it is not a translation method. But, literal translation is a skill of translation, even if there do exist some additions or deletions while the essence of the original is not destroyed.Literal translation makes the target language more smooth and acceptable. Although literal translation can most possibly maintain the cultural messages of the source language, it sometimes will cause misunderstanding of the cultural messages or create unintelligible meanings. Lets take Sprite as an example. If the word Sprite is translated literally or directly, it cogency be ?? . The version would put Chinese consumers into great confusion because ?? is a human-like monster in Chinese culture. Thus translators should consider other methods.Literal translation is adopt ed as the most ideal translation proficiency in reproducing images because it can preserve the original images as much as possible. Some English expressions wearing word-for-word similarity to some Chinese expressions may mean something quite different. In this case, translators should go deeper to find out what these English expressions really mean otherwise mistakes will be make in literal translation. 3. 2 Transliteration Transliteration in a narrow sense is a mapping from one system of writing into another and it is in general based on the pronunciation.Transliteration attempts to be lossless, so that an informed reader should be able to reconstruct the original spelling of unknown transliterated words. To achieve this objective, transliteration may define complex conventions to deal with letters in a source script that do not correspond with letters in a goal script. Transliteration means that trademarks are translated into similar names in pronunciation according to the origi nal ones (Li Yi, 2009232-234) It is generally believed that the adoption of this method can help to achieve various purposes.Some trademarks obtained in this way can efficaciously remind the customers of their classic status. Such trademarks are easier for target consumers to pronounce and memorize. Still, some trademarks are deliberately transliterated in order to cater to the foreign consumers general preference for foreign goods because some thus-translated trademarks sound more foreign-like. The world famous trademark Intel means the ability to learn and reason and the capacity for knowledge and comprehension. Now you see why it is translated into ??? which sounds foreign-like and is easy to memorize and read.Meanwhile, it indicates the characteristic of the product. Another example is the translation of Ya Ya. ?? (down wear) is transliterated into Ya Ya instead of Duck. The translated trademark Ya Ya is a dodgy name that can fulfill the simulating function of trademark effec tively. These two examples show the characteristics of being simple and easy to pronounce and memorize and as well obey the principle of aesthetics. Though transliteration embodies the sound beauty of the original one, the translated trademark dictions should be chosen carefully.During transliteration, it is important to obey the characteristics of arousing desirable association. Philip was once translated into ??? which sounds more similar to the original one than ??? . But the three characters ??? will arouse unfavorable association. People prefer good and appropriate words, and hence, when using transliteration method, translators should do their best to choose beautiful words. For example, Lancome (cosmetics) is put into ?? .The two Chinese characters are beautiful and can be associated with an elegant woman with certain sacred qualities. These two words ?? are always connected with beautiful things, such as ???? ,???? . Thats why Chinese females have a fancy for Lancom e. In translation practice, we find that English trademarks are highly lucid in letters or words and can be pronounced easily in one breath, while the transliteration of Chinese trademarks are lowly into independent words in accordance with the specific Chinese characters. So the English version often lacks coherence.To avoid the disadvantage of transliteration in unappeasable accordance with the standard Chinese pronunciation, we can use transliteration method flexibly. To some extent, we can translate a trademark according to the local pronunciation. The following examples successfully avoid the above problem. ?? (refrigerator) is translated into Frestech instead of Xin Fei. Frestech is composed of fresh and engineering science, which is coherent in structure and pronunciation. Whats more, it also implies that the product is produced with advance technology. ?? (tonic food) means that happiness is coming, suggesting the product will bring happiness and wellness to consumers. The English version Life caters to westerners psychology and is easier for them to pronounce and spell. 3. 3 let off Translation Free translation reproduces the matter without the manner, or the content without the form of the original. Usually it is a paraphrase longer than the original. In order to take advantage of the target language and make translated brand name more idiomatic and acceptable, some imaginary brand names are freely translated.Free translation can communicate the information of products clearly and vividly. It will make a strong impression on the target language consumers and arouse their response. There are many successful examples to show this method. For example, Ariel (washing powder) is rendered as ?? . The word ? means clean and clear. So ?? indicates the super change capability of the washing powder. Similarity, Safeguard (soap) is not literally translated into ?? , but ??? . The translation describes the products function and attributes.Rejoice (sham poo) is not translated into ??, but ?? , meaning softness and glossiness. Slek(shampoo) is also rendered as ?? through free translation. ?? in Chinese can be a noun as well as a verb phrase. If ?? is interpreted as a noun, it means beautiful buds, implying ladies will be like an elegant bud after using the shampoo if ?? is interpreted as a verb, it means nourishing a bud to make it come out. This implies the shampoo can make hair glossier. Zest(soap) is paraphrased as ?? through free translation. ? is a very popular word in China, which brings the soap a fashionable element.This translation is improved from the original one ?? in literal method. ?? is more proper and suitable to meet the needfully of the youth who are the target customers. 3. 4 Liberal Translation positively charged Transliteration In order to reach the criteria of trademark translationbeauty in meaning and sound, and to make the translated versions possess the general features of good brand names, we can use the combination of liberal translation and transliteration to translate brand names, since in many cases liberal or transliteration cannot do the job along.A good translation of a brand name should not only be similar to the original sound but also reflect the connotation of the original. The combination of liberal translation and transliteration may achieve double purposes, as the message of the brand name will be more vividly reflected so that it will be more impressive to guide consumption. Here we take some examples to appreciate the merits of this kind of method. For example, Pampersdiapers from P&G, is rich in meaning and clear in pronunciation. The translated brand name ??? has got a balance between the meaning and the pronunciation. The brand name of a music Bufferin is translated into ??? . The translated brand name does not tell us what the medicine is, but it forms a sound which is very close to that of the source brand name. A drink named Milo is translated into ?? , which not only makes us know that the pronunciation of the translated word is close to that of the original, but tells us what the product is make from and the property of the product.