英语专业毕业论文功能对等理论视角下的商标翻译分析.doc

摘 要商标名称是指商标中可以用语言称呼的部分，是产品的标记，是产品形象的重要内容之一。本文从商标名称的相关知识入手，介绍了商标名称的概念、特征及功能。商标名称是一种文化现象，我们在商标名称翻译时需要注意它的可行性，以奈达的”功能对等”理论作为商标名称翻译的基本原则及翻译的方法，这是一种可行的方法。商标名称具有特有的文化特点，与文化有着密切联系，我们需要从不同国家的特性、习俗和习惯、语义联想等不同角度分析商标名称翻译过程中的文化障碍。尽管在商标名称互译中存在文化障碍，但它们并不是不可以跨越的。译者应灵活运用具体的翻译方法，跨越文化障碍，力求达到功能对等和最佳翻译效果。 关键词：功能对等；商标；翻译AbstractA brand name is the part of brand that can be vocalized, and the sign of a product. This paper starts with the information of brand names to introduce the definition, characteristics and the functions of brand names. The brand name is a phenomenon of culture. We should pay more attention to the possibility of brand name translation, and take the Nadas “Functional Equivalence” as a cardinal principle and methods employed in brand name translation，this is a viable way. Brand names possess peculiar cultural characteristics and have intimate relation with culture，then we need analyze the cultural barriers of the brand name translation from different national traits, different customs and habits, different semantic associative. Although there are cultural barriers in the brand name translation, we can still overcome them. Translators should use the techniques flexibly so as to overcome the cultural barriers in brand name translation and try to translate brand names perfectly. Key words: functional equivalence; brand name; translation Contents摘 要.iAbstract.iiIntroduction1Chapter 1 Overview of Brand Names.21.1 Definition of Brand Names21.2 Formation of Brand Names2 1.2.1 Proper Names3 1.2.2 Common Words.3 1.2.3 Coined Words.41.3 Characteristics of Brand Names.5 1.3.1 Brevity.5 1.3.2 Elegance.6 1.3.3 Originality.71.4 Functions of Brand Names .7 1.4.1 Informative Function.8 1.4.2 Aesthetic Function.8 1.4.3 Evocative Function.10Chapter 2 Functional Equivalence Theory and Brand Name Translation.122.1 Functional Equivalence122.2 Consideration of Factors in Brand Name Translation13 2.2.1 Consumer Psychology13 2.2.2 Cultural Factors14 2.2.3 Aesthetic Factors162.3 Application of Functional Equivalence in Brand Name Translation16 2.3.1 Equivalence of Informative Function16 2.3.2 Equivalence of Aesthetic Function17 2.3.3 Equivalence of Evocative Function18Chapter 3 Methods Employed in Brand Name Translation.203.1 Literal Translation203.2 Transliteration213.3 Combination of Literal Translation and Transliteration233.4 Creative Translation24 3.4.1 Addition or Deletion24 3.4.2 Blending25 3.4.3 Acronym26 3.4.4 Purposive Misspelling26Conclusion27Bibliography28AcknowledgementsIntroductionA brand name is a sign representing cultural characteristics of different nations, societies and times. It serves not only its expected functions of communication; it is also employed in a symbolic manner to identify a brand and its cultural origin. Today, well-known brand names have become cultural icons, and enjoy powerful advantages in the fierce competition. Brand names, as part of language, reflect the features of a certain nation, including the historical and cultural background, their attitudes towards life, and their life style and thinking pattern.Brand name translation is influenced by cultural elements which differentiate it from general translation. Brand name translation is of significance in the competitive market. Brand names mirror the culture of different countries, so cultural elements must not be ignored in the translating process. At present, with economic development and increasing international contact, the exchanges between different countries become more and more frequent. And trade surplus becomes an important part of our national economy. Proper translation of brand names also becomes more and more important so as to promote the sales of goods and cultivate foreign markets. Chapter 1Overview of Brand Names1.1 Definition of Brand NamesA brand name refers to a specific name employed by a corporation to identify uniquely a product or its manufacturer, or a service and its provider. （Li Guisheng，1996） It is quite often used interchangeably within “brand name”, although it is more correctly used to specifically denote written or spoken linguistic elements of any product. A legally protected brand name is called a proprietary name. A powerful brand name embodies a unique set of values and hence personality. A successfully designed brand name can bring about enormous value in a real sense, which is invisible wealth of a company. Therefore, brand name is of more and more importance in “global village” and the right and suitable meaning of a brand can be an enduring advantage.1.2 Formation of Brand Names From the perspective of the linguistic structures, brand names can be mainly divided into proper name brand names, the common word brand names and the coined word brand names.(He Chuansheng,1997) However, there are some similarities and differences in the formation of Chinese and English cosmetic brand names. 1.2.1 Proper Names Using a proper name especially a persons name can create a sense of amicability between the product and the consumers. A good name will inspire the consumers to think about the image under that name. Take some brand names for example, “Charlie” in English has the long-standing image of being a confident but warm little girl; “大宝”in Chinese is an adorable nickname for a male who is the family members darling. When personal names are used as brand names, distance between the commodities and the consumers could be shortened while the sense of intimacy could be established. In such a delightful and cheerful state, consumers would be inspired to be better informed about the products, if interested and satisfied, they will purchase. Thus, a very successful sale could be fulfilled as the brand name fully performs its fundamental function.1.2.2 Common WordsCommon words will add more amicability and friendliness in the products and names provide the denominators and translators more choices. Usually, the common words used in Chinese and English brand names include adjective and noun. The brand names formed by common nouns have symbolic and metaphor functions. Products with these names possess the characteristics of these words or objects, for example, “Ivory” can make you skin smooth and white. The cosmetic brand names formed by adjectives or adjective plus noun can show a very direct description of the main characters of the product.1.2.3 Coined Words When certain qualities, characteristics and functions are taken into consideration, coined words can be created. Since they are coined, they are unique and novel as there is not much possibility that another similar one will appear. Many English brand names are created by means of lexical methods, such as shortening, compounding, blending, affixation, etc while the Chinese brand names tend to use word group. Shortening is the simplified form of the original words. For example, “SR”, a brand name of toothpaste, is formed by acronym, that is, to use the initials of the ingredients of the product (Sodium, Ricinoleate). Compounding is a popular and crucial way of forming English and Chinese cosmetic brand names. By compounding, two or more words are together to show the feature, quality and function of the product, so compound brand names can illustrate the characteristics of the products from multi-perspectives. Examples are: “Body Flower” stresses its function of making the body full of the fragrance of flowers. “Head & Shoulders” stresses its function of moistening the hair and making it soft and easy to comb. Different from English, Chinese is the ideograph language. So word groups can be formed by putting characters together. Usually, certain words have good connotations are frequently used. Names of plants and animals are often used as brand names. Chinese cosmetic brand names have a preference of the pretty images of some of them which can arouse the interest and bring good association, such as“蜂花”(cosmetic),“紫罗兰” (cosmetic)and “佰草集” (cosmetic).The above-mentioned have attached great importance to the point that they are pure, natural and environmentally safe products by using the raw material from the outside world and the consumers can get the essence of the flowers and herbal extract by using them.1.3 Characteristics of Brand Names A brand name is the name of a product, which is a mark or a symbol that can be used to define a certain product. The goal of a brand name should aim at setting up a good image in the market, arousing consumers favorable association and purchasing desire. Thus the language used in brand names must have some features of its own.1.3.1 Brevity Brevity is a basic requirement of a good brand name, which means brand names should concise in spellings and pronunciations to make them eye-catching and easy to remember. According to an investigation, Chinese brand names consist of mainly two or three characters, and 70% of them (including Chinese versions of foreign ones) are two-character construction, 29% are three-character construction, only about 1% are more than five characters. Name a few as examples, “立白”(washing powder), “碧浪” (washing powder), “汰渍” (washing powder), “雕牌” (washing powder), “奥妙” (washing powder), “海尔”(electric appliance), “双星”(sports product).Whereas most English brand names are made up of one to four syllables on most occasions. Brand names such as “Benz” and “Ford”(cars) consist of one syllable; Brand names like “Sony”(electric appliance) and “Kodak”(film) are composed of two syllables; those like “Accustom”(watch) and “Adidas”(clothing) are made up of three syllables; “Electrolux”(appliance) comprises four syllables. In addition, most of these syllables consist of sonorous vowels and consonants with less friction, making the brand name easy to pronounce and remember. 1.3.2 Elegance As far as elegance is concerned, it means that both brand names and their rendered versions should have favorable association but avoid unpleasant connotation that may offend customers to arouse consumers purchasing desire. For example, the Chinese version “金利来” for the English brand name “Goldlion” is better than “金狮”, for “金利来” not only presents consumers the good quality of the tie but indicates the profit or good luck it can bring. While on the other hand, brand names such as “交际花”, “舞女” are forbidden to register in our country according to our Interim Regulations of Brand Name Registration because of their vulgar tastes.1.3.3 Originality A brand name should be as novel and unconventional as possible in wording, pronunciation, meaning and other aspects, so as to arouse the interest of the consumers and leave a deep impression on them.There are a variety of methods that can be used to achieve this effect. Word formation such as abbreviation, initials, numbers, and parallelism is one way to create originality. The brand name “TCL”(TV set) is special and new in home-made TV sets. Appealing sound is another way to obtain this effect. “Yahoo” and its Chinese version “雅虎” have a very peculiar and strong phonological effect and thus cause a pleasant psycho-acoustic impact on its hearers. Still unusually combination of common words, or coined words in English brand names, such as “7-up” (beverage), “0M0” (powder) and so on, leave a fresh yet deep impression on costumers because of their unique form and pronunciation.1.4 Functions of Brand Names The brand name is intended to appeal to the target consumers favorable meaning so as to spread ideas or information about persuade symbolic, or convince consumers. The basic functions of brand with pleasant sound and the products that will names are informative, evocative and aesthetic.1.4.1 Informative FunctionIt is well known that high-information is an important value of advertisement, to say nothing of its core, brand name. Brand name should firstly be informative to provide the consumers with information about the uses, characters, values and the target consumers.For example, brand names such as “Benz” (car), “Mary Kay” (cosmetics), “蒙牛”(milk)，“张小泉”(scissors)，“青岛”(beer) provide consumers with product makers, materials and producing areas. Those like “Microsoft” (computer), “H20” (cosmetics), “立白” (washing powder), “舒肤佳”(soap) provide us with the information about basic uses of products. Brand names such as “钻石”(watch) imply the characteristics and the value of the products. Brand names can also indicate who the potential consumers are, such as “兰贵人”(cosmetics), “劲霸”(apparel), “淑女屋”(apparel), etc.1.4.2 Aesthetic Function In order to appeal to consumers, a good brand name should also have an aesthetic effect on them. Information alone supplied by brand names is far from enough to attract consumers and they should also bring consumers pleasant feelings, which can be manifested in the following three aspects sound, form and meaning. To begin with, sound is not only an indispensable element of a brand name, but also an essential way to attract consumers, i.e. a means of accomplishing advertising effect. So on TV advertisements, brand names are always articulated. Brand names with beautiful sound are preferred by consumers as well as brand name designers. For example, “Kodak” (camera) simulates the sound when we push the shutter of a camera, while “Pepsi” reminds us of the sudden sound “si-” when we open up a bottle of soda drink and “Coca-Cola” is rhythmic and harmonious, easily pronounced and remembered. Then, form is closely related with psychology, and could arouse consumers psychological and visual reaction. A brand name with aesthetic features in form is more outstanding. For instance, “S” reminds people of ladys curvilinear figure. Thats why many female articles are named with “S” added, such as, “Aeress” (underwear), “Finess” (cosmetics), “Simples” (cosmetics), etc.Last but not least, semantic aesthetics should also be taken into consideration. Favorite Chinese characters in brand names include “诚”（honesty）, “梦”（dream）, “爱”（love）, “美”（beauty） etc. It is the same case with “淑女屋”(apparel), which attracts girls who desire to be gentlewomen.1.4.3 Evocati