從文化適應性看商標的翻譯【畢業(yè)論文】

1、<p><b>　?。?0_ _屆）</b></p><p><b>　　本科畢業(yè)設計</b></p><p><b>　　英語</b></p><p>　　從文化適應性看商標的翻譯</p><p>　　On Cutural Compatibility of Bran

2、d Name Translation</p><p><b>　　內(nèi)容摘要</b></p><p>　　本文首先介紹了商標的相關概念,包括商標的定義、功能及商標翻譯與文化的關系。進而從文化適應性的三個原則，即準確的文化意義的把握，良好的讀者接受，適境的審美判斷，探討了在跨文化交際的背景下，文化適應性是翻譯價值觀論的必不可少的組成部分。在文化適應性的過程中，應充分考慮到

3、目標語在其語境中存在的語義、思維方式、地域環(huán)境等的差異及消費者審美標準和審美期待的差異。成功的商標翻譯都是對各種語境因素做出適當?shù)奈幕m應的結果。商標翻譯的良莠直接影響著消費者的接受意向，影響著產(chǎn)品的銷量。</p><p>　　關鍵詞：商標翻譯；文化適應性；適應</p><p><b>　　Abstract</b></p><p>　　Firs

4、tly, this paper begins with definition，functions of brand names as well as the relationship between culture and brand name translation. Then, by making an intensive study of three principles of cultural compatibility in

5、brand name translation, the next part will be introduced from the following aspects, good comprehension of cultural, good reader reception, good aesthetic judgment. We should consider the difference of semantic, regions,

6、 aesthetic standard and aesthetic expect in brand name t</p><p>　　Key words: brand name translation; the theory of cultural compatibility; compatibility</p><p><b>　　Content</b></p

7、><p>　　AbstractIII</p><p>　　1. Introduction1</p><p>　　1.1 Research Significance1</p><p>　　1.2 Literature Review1</p><p>　　1.3 Research Objective2</p&g

8、t;<p>　　2. The Relationship between Brand Name and Culture2</p><p>　　2.1 A General Understanding of the Brand Name2</p><p>　　2.1.1 The Defination of Brand Name2</p><p>　　2

9、.1.2 The Function of Brand Name3</p><p>　　2.2 The Role of Culture in Brand Name Translation4</p><p>　　3. Three Principles of Cultural Compatibility in Brand Name Translation5</p><p

10、>　　3.1 Good comprehension of cultural meaning5</p><p>　　3.1.1 The Difference of Semantic in Brand Name Translation6</p><p>　　3.1.2 The Different Ways of Thinking in Brand Name Translation6

11、</p><p>　　3.2 Good Reader Reception7</p><p>　　3.2.1 The Difference of Regions in Brand Name Translation8</p><p>　　3.2.2 The Difference of Social Relationships in Brand Name Transl

12、ation8</p><p>　　3.3 Good Aesthetic Judgment9</p><p>　　3.3.1 The Difference of Aesthetic Standard9</p><p>　　3.3.2 The Difference of Aesthetic Expect10</p><p>　　Concl

13、usion10</p><p>　　Bibliography12</p><p>　　Acknowledgements13</p><p>　　Introduction</p><p>　　Along with the development of globalization, more and more companies explo

14、ring their international business are concerning about how to promote their products efficiently. Brand name, any visible sign or device used by a business enterprise to identify its goods and distinguish them from those

15、 made or carried by others, playing a vital role in international business. Being different from other kinds of translation, brand name translation is an intercultural communication, which requires the tran</p>&l

16、t;p>　　Research Significance</p><p>　　Brand name, a distinctive sign, may be words or groups of words, letters, numerals, color combinations with signs. Different countries have different cultures, includi

17、ng semantic, regions, religious beliefs, aesthetic standard and aesthetic expect, which can have great impacts on the translation of a brand name. A brand name should avoid unpleasant connection that may offend customers

18、 as much as possible. Well-translated brand names can not only stimulate the consumption desire, but also promote</p><p>　　Literature Review</p><p>　　In recent years, brand name translation has

19、been investigated in various perspectives. Researches such as Zhu Yajun (2003), Wu Hanjiang and Cao Wei (2005) brought forward several effective principles for brand name translation. They thought that brand name transla

20、tion should first consider the contextual correlation of the target language and make proper adaptation to it. However, cultural compatibility, which Liu Miqing pointed out in his book Treatise on Cultural Translation (2

21、005), is one of </p><p>　　Research Objective</p><p>　　This research employs the theory of cultural compatibility. By making an intensive study of relationship between culture and brand name tran

22、slation, we can find many differences. This study aims at combining the theory of cultural compatibility into the brand name translation. </p><p>　　As cultural compatibility is an essential component of tran

23、slation research, the interpreters need to consider cultural differences between source language and target language. This thesis will discuss how to avoid misunderstandings by using the three principles of cultural comp

24、atibility. </p><p>　　The Relationship between Brand Name and Culture</p><p>　　Different countries have different cultures, including regions, religious beliefs, aesthetic standard and aesthetic

25、expect, which can have great impacts on the translation of a brand name.</p><p>　　A General Understanding of the Brand Name</p><p>　　Since China began to adopt the policy of reform and opening-u

26、p in the late 1970’s, and especially since China began to implement market-oriented economy, Chinese people have become more and more conscious of the importance of brand names.</p><p>　　Customers could find

27、 brand name everywhere, on TV, signboards, newspapers, etc. They distinguish commodities according to brand name, which could give them direct information.</p><p>　　The names given to products also come in m

28、any different forms. Brand names can be based on people (e.g. CASIO, Jordan sports’ shoes, and Benz cars), places (Nippon Pint), animals and birds (Dove), or others (e.g. Shampoo, Shangrila, and Apple computers).</p&g

29、t;<p>　　The Defination of Brand Name</p><p>　　The word “brand” is derived from the Old Norse word “brand”, which means “to burn”.</p><p>　　According to the American Marketing Association,

30、 a brand is a “name, term, symbol, design or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition.” The brand name “A syn

31、thesis of all these elements, physical, aesthetic, rational and emotional and cultural, which is a perception, created in the mind of consumers who ascribe beliefs and values to the product. The brand name is the part of

32、 the brand t</p><p>　　In the Encyclopedia Britannica, brand name is defined as any visible sign or device used by a business enterprise to identify its goods and distinguish them from those made or carried b

33、y others. They may be words or groups of words, letters, numerals, devices, names, the shape or other presentation of products or their packages, color combinations with signs, combinations of colors, and combinations of

34、 any of the enumerated signs.</p><p>　　According to the above definitions, it can be concluded that a brand name is the part of a brand which can be spoken out, included letters, words and numbers. As a bran

35、d name is constructed by graphic forms or numbers, from the viewpoint of a manufacturer or a seller, it is visual and verbal; and to the potential consumers, it is visible and audible. Therefore, a brand name can be diss

36、eminated by visual or verbal means and applied to a variety of media, like TV, radio, newspapers, magazines and </p><p>　　The Function of Brand Name</p><p>　　Each product is featured by its uniq

37、ue specification, quality and function. Brand name, as an intangible asset of a company, is a means to inform the consumers and persuade them to buy the product. A brand name is the bridge between customers and products.

38、 A good brand name can bring unexpected advantages as Apple, Lux, and Pampers do, while an inferior brand name can demolish the business. Nowadays, brand may be a kind of economic symbol more than a mark of the product o

39、r service. Brand name is</p><p>　　First, brand names can help consumers recognize the products. Consumers can get a general idea of a product from its brand name as “Chef”, “9 Lives” the food for cats (root

40、from “A cat has nine lives.”). To consumers, there are a lot of products for them to choose, especially identical products, while brand name can help them distinguish these products from different qualities, prices and s

41、ervices. Brand name also helps assure purchasers that they are getting comparable quality. </p><p>　　Second, brand names can give consumers much more information about products. As we know, brand name itself

42、 has a function of advertising, so concise brands are more likely to impress consumers. In other words, most brands, no matter pictorial or word brands, providing information concerning products or services, such as the

43、place of products, the material used for the product, the function of the products, the name of the producer etc. For example, “Pampers” a commodity for baby, the Chinese ver</p><p>　　Third, brand names can

44、promote producers’ legitimate competition. A brand is the priceless treasure of an enterprise, especially those famous brands, such as Sony, Samsung and so on. A number of consumers incline to choose good reputation bra

45、nds. Such as electronic products, consumers are more likely to choose SONY than other brands. In order to attract consumers’ attention, some dealers imitate those famous brands or use them illegally, such as SUNOR imitat

46、es SUPOR, “康帥傅” imitates “康師傅” etc . </p><p>　　Fourth, brand names can stimulate consumption. Brand names like person’s names. A survey stated that most consumers choose the commodities according to the bran

47、ds they are familiar with. However，Children always choose the commodities according to the colorful designs on the package; some consumers choose Li-Ning, Ford and Jordan, for these brand names appeal to consumers’ adora

48、tion.</p><p>　　The Role of Culture in Brand Name Translation</p><p>　　Chinese and English cultures are quite different from each other, which are included in their respective language and expres

49、sed through each of their own languages. There would be no language if there were no culture, different languages produce different cultures. Culture and language are indispensable to each other. However, there are still

50、 two points to be made. First, how languages convey meaning is related to the culture. Second, though languages can convey concepts from other cultures, tra</p><p>　　Finally, culture is given its due, but no

51、t as some disembodied ghostly process of fundamental force of nature. Culture refers to the process whereby particular kinds of learning contagiously spread from person to person in a community and minds become coordinat

52、ed into shared patterns. </p><p>　　Edward Sapir quoted it widely: “culture is that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law, customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by

53、man as a member of society.” </p><p>　　And as famous American translation theoretician Nida (1993) stated “For truly successful translation, familiar with two cultures even more important than mastery two la

54、nguages, for the words will make sense only in its function of cultural background.” </p><p>　　A striking example of how the language system reflects different realities comes from brand name. Selling the sa

55、me product to different countries is not selling to the same world with different labels. As a translator, we should take cultural differences into consideration; otherwise we will mislead consumers and fail in internati

56、onal business. Therefore, when a brand name is to be translated we should pay more attention to target culture.</p><p>　　Culture mainly includes verbal or nonverbal behavior, thinking ways, customs, and aest

57、hetic value and so on. </p><p>　　For example, in Chinese culture, “dragon” is a symbol of royalty, power and dignity. On the contrary, in the western culture, the word “dragon” refers to a large imaginary mo

58、nster which symbolizes evil, cruelty and disaster. So we can’t translate Chinese brand name “金龍” into “Golden Dragon”.</p><p>　　1960s, GM(General Motos）designed a new car called “Chevolet Nova”, unfortunatel

59、y, they meet a big fail in Spain, for “Nova” mean “can not move” in that country. </p><p>　　Three Principles of Cultural Compatibility in Brand Name Translation</p><p>　　Cultural compatibility i

60、s one of useful criterions to measure a work’s quality. “In translation criticism research, cultural compatibility ought to become an indispensable part of axiology view to improve the importance of culture translation.”

61、 (Liu Miqing 2005:74)</p><p>　　Good comprehension of cultural meaning</p><p>　　Good comprehension of cultural meaning is the basis of successful brand name translation. In order to express forei

62、gn cultural features accurately and stimulate the target country consumers’ consumption desire, a translator need to familiar with cultural differences between the original country and the target country. </p><

63、;p>　　The Difference of Semantic in Brand Name Translation</p><p>　　Most semantic words have national culture, so in the process of brand name translation we should not only understand words’ literal meani

64、ng, but also know the cultural significance. Many translation theorists have already noted that brand name translating for company across cultures means distorting the surface message to successfully retain the hidden. T

65、he purpose of such an approach is to transfer the literal meaning in original language and make consumers understand it much easier. Different </p><p>　　For example, a hotplate named “butterfly”. In China, b

66、utterfly is always associated with friendship and love, furthermore, when we talk about butterfly we will think of the legendary love story called the butterfly lovers immediately. However, in the western countries butte

67、rfly is served as flighty things. Another example, “ 喜鵲 ”( magpie ) is a good name for radio and acoustic installations in China. However, in the western countries, people don’t think so. In their view, a magpie is a bi

68、rd whi</p><p>　　Another example is the different connotation of the same figure. In China, the figure “nine” (9) implies everlasting long (久), so Chinese people like to use this figure to express the meaning

69、 of permanently, such as the medicine named “999”. What’s more, the figure “eight” (8) is very popular among Chinese, because the sound of 8 in Chinese is similar to “發(fā)”, which tends to be associated with good fortune. H

70、owever, in western culture, English speakers like the figure “seven”, figure “nine” and “</p><p>　　The Different Ways of Thinking in Brand Name Translation</p><p>　　Due to the distinct ways of t

71、hinking and observation, the same word or expression may have diverse meanings in different cultures. Translators will always be at a disadvantage compared to mother tongue speakers with regard to culture-bound styles an

72、d meaning. Consequently, translators should concentrates on the same feelings of people from two countries with different languages. </p><p>　　On one hand, Chinese people like to classify wine with different

73、 colors, such as “白酒” and “黃酒”; while in English, “白酒” refers to Liquor or Alcohol, and “黃酒” means wine without alcohol. Such as “紹興黃酒” refers to “Shaoxing Wine”, “白葡萄酒”（White Wine）and “紅葡萄酒” （Red Wine）. Another example

74、, washing powder named “白貓” is very popular in China, because in Chinese cultural, “white” stands for “clean and tidy”, meanwhile the animal cat is lovely and likesome. This brand name is perfect and proper, not only<

75、/p><p>　　On the other hand, there are many successful translation examples in good comprehension of cultural meaning. The American tire brand “Goodyear” is named after Charles Goodyear, and its Chinese version

76、is “固特異”. Obviously, it gives consumers a deep impression of superior durability of the tire. However, another version “古德伊爾” translated by inventor’s surname is worse than “固特異”, for the former version can neither refle

77、ct the tire’s characters of sturdiness and peculiarity, nor do give consumers a</p><p>　　Brand name is the most direct advertisement in marketing strategies. The above examples not only give the consumers di

78、rect information, but also conform to different customs in target marketing. As a result, translators should possess a good comprehension of cultural meaning.</p><p>　　Good Reader Reception</p><p&

79、gt;　　The aim of brand name translation is to attract more consumers, so whether it is good or not depends on consumers’ reception. As a result, translator should take consuming psychology into account as well. A decent b

80、rand name translation should be able to meet the psychology of the consumers so as to inspire their purchasing desire. Due to different geographical environment, religious beliefs, ethnicity and race, it exists a lot of

81、differences in cognition, aesthetic value and idea of consumption</p><p>　　The Difference of Regions in Brand Name Translation</p><p>　　Different regions produce different cultures, so a transla

82、tor needs to familiar with products and uses distinct methods such as transliteration, literal translation to make products accepted easily by foreign consumers. As a result, the brand name translation needs to reflect t

83、he social relationships according to cultural factors; otherwise, it will have just the opposite effect to promotion.</p><p>　　For instance, a British car is named “Zephyr”. In western culture, Zephyr is the

84、 name of west wind God of Greece stories. Because the United Kingdom of Great Britain is located off the northwestern coast of the continent European, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and west wind is blowing from the At

85、lantic Ocean, in British thoughts west wind is warmth and genial. For example, famous poem called Ode of the West Wind. As a result, “Zephyr” is popular among British. On the contrary, west wind is re</p><p>

86、;　　What’s more, it is such a commonplace that people always integrate products with place names or materials. For example, wine of Champagne, leather of Morocco, Cashmere, straw hat of Panama, Avon (雅芳) and Vauxhall.<

87、/p><p>　　The Difference of Social Relationships in Brand Name Translation</p><p>　　Social relationships include religious believes, moral principles, history, legends, which are an inseparable part

88、 of culture. There exist many ethical taboos and preferences in each culture. Brand name translators should pay special respect to target market’s custom and religious; otherwise, they would arouse consumers’ consuming a

89、ntipathy and reduce firm's profits. </p><p>　　It is very common to see that the product which uses the same brand name is welcome in some countries but in other countries it may be treated coldly, so the

90、 brand name need to be “In Rome do as the Romans do” as well. One famous perfume “Opium” produced by Y·St·Laurent company in 1977, which was believed to be specially designed for men to be infatuated with this

91、perfume. The product sold well in western countries and even became one of the most welcome perfumes in 1979. Unfortunately, it was r</p><p>　　On the other hand, brand name translations should meet consumers

92、’ cultural psychology needs. “雅戈爾”, a clothing brand, is translated as “youngor”, which clenches consumers’ psychology of younger and caters for aesthetic psychology of consumers. BMW is translated as “寶馬”; and Marlboro

93、(cigarette), 萬寶路.</p><p>　　Above all, translators should take consuming psychology into consideration in advance to meet consumers’ need and avoid taboos. As a result, the brand name translation needs to ref

94、lect the social relationships according to cultural factors; otherwise, it will have just the opposite effect to promotion.</p><p>　　Good Aesthetic Judgment</p><p>　　Different cultures produce d

95、ifferent aesthetic standards and aesthetic expects. At this level people begin to “develop awareness of things for what they are”. This is the level of self-realization and is equivalent to personal identity. So brand na

96、me translation should not only require meeting consumers’ national culture psychology needs, but also needs to adapt to their own aesthetic value or aesthetic judgment. A proper brand name translation can arouse consumer

97、s’ special interest of the produ</p><p>　　The Difference of Aesthetic Standard</p><p>　　With the globalization, enterprises at home and abroad not only face competition, but they take opportunit

98、ies. Different cultures produce different aesthetic standards, so brand name translation should suit consumers’ fancy. America famous sports shoes “Nike” refers to “勝利女神” a goddess’s name of Greece stories. “勝利女神” may be