英文广告标语及其翻译

英文广告标语及其翻译On the English Advertising Slogan and Its TranslationContentsAbstract (in English) I Abstract (in Chinese) II1. Introduction 12. Language Features of the English Advertising Slogan 4 2.1 Feature One: short and simple 4 2.2 Feature Two: unique and creative 62.3 Feature Three: rich in rhetorical devices 73. Functions of the English Advertising Slogan 11 3.1 Function One: to tell about a product 11 3.2 Function Two: to give information about the producer 11 3.3 Function Three: to enhance brand value and promote profits 1216 4. The Main Translation T echniques of the English Advertising Slogan4.1 Literal translation 16 4.2 Free translation 184.3 Domestication translation 195. Conclusion 21 Works cited 24摘要随着经济全球化和世界一体化的快速发展，中国与世界其他国家间的贸易量也日益增长。

与此同时，广告业繁荣发展。

广告标语及其翻译，作为一则广告不可或缺的成分，毋庸置疑，在推动经济贸易发展和促进产品或者服务销售方面起着越来越重要的作用。

在前人对于广告标语翻译研究成果的基础上，本论文就英文广告标语及其翻译这一主题展开详细探讨。

本论文由五个部分组成。

论文的第一部分，主要对于英文广告标语的发展和研究相关背景做了一个简短的介绍。

第二部分和第三部分，主要介绍了英文广告标语的主要语言特点和功能，同时结合英文广告标语实例给以详细阐释。

第四部分，则主要在前人研究成果的基础上，并结合各种典型的英文广告标语实例，分析总结整理出了几种最为常用的英文广告标语的翻译方法，主要包括：直译，意译，归化翻译，运用修辞法, 套译和补偿法。

本论文的最后一个部分是总结部分并阐明英文广告标语及其翻译的未来研究方向。

关键词：英文广告标语；语言特点；功能；翻译技巧AbstractWith the rapid development of economic globalization and integration in the whole world, the trade between China and the other countries all over the world increases day by day. Meanwhile, the advertising industry is booming. As the essential part of an advertisement, the advertising slogan as well as its translation undoubtedly plays a more and more critical role in boosting economical trade and increasing product or service sales. Based on the previous studies made on advertisement translation, this paper is trying to make a detailed study exclusively on the English advertising slogan and its translation. There are five parts in the paper. In the first part, a brief introduction to the background related to thedevelopment and the study of the English advertising slogan is provided. In the second and third part, the major language features and functions of the English advertising slogans are focused upon and expounded through some examples. In the forth part, with the help of some illustrative examples, it will concentrate on the translation techniques of the English adverting slogan, including literal translation, free translation, domestication translation, rhetorical method, loan translation and compensation. In the last part, we will make a summary of the whole paper and a discussion on the future directions of research.Key words:English advertising slogan；language features；functions；translation techniques1. IntroductionRecently, with the rapid development of economic globalization, China‟s entry into WTO and the constant improvement of people‟s commodity consciousness, advertisement plays a more and more significant role in propelling economic growth. As the book “Advertising: Principles and Practice” written by Wells William points out, “Advertising provides informati on that helps match buyers and sellers in the marketplace.” B ased on his years‟ advertisement creation experience, David Ogrily, a famous advertising expert, summarizes that the number of people who only read the slogan of an advertisement is five times more than those who would read the whole part. For the enterprises especially, if their advertising slogan fails, eighty percent of their advertising fee isby all means wasted. As the central part of an advertisement, the advertising slogan does not merely convey the most important information about the product advertised, it also shows people the unique quality of its producer. No matter in terms of the basic creation principles or the linguistic features of the advertisement translation, what can be easily seen is the unique advantages in advertisement making and the great significance of a good advertising slogan. Therefore it is worth that we pay sufficient attention to the study on the advertising slogan and its translation. As an essential part, the English advertising slogan and its translation is the focus of this paper.2. Language Features of the English Advertising SloganAccording to the wikipedia, the advertising slogan, “as a secondary sentence attached to a brand name, is short but memorable phrases used in advertising campaigns and is often claimed to be the most effective means of drawing attention to one or more aspects of a product.”Its purpose is to directly popularize a product that the company hopes to impress consumers, and to indirectly show the corporate image and managing tenet of the producer. Clearly, the advertising slogan plays a great role in competitions between companies.2.1. Feature One: short and simpleThe advertising slogan is usually short, simple, direct, concise,crisp and apt, which visually helps people distinguish and memorize. The advertising slogan can never afford to be long and complicated. It is easy to conclude that almost all the good advertising slogans share this feature. For example,a)Nike: Just do it.b)Nestle: It‟s the taste!c)Apple computer: think different.2.2. Feature Two: unique and creativeThe advertising slogan often features uniqueness and creativity by various means, which not only imply a distinction between the advertised product and the other ones, but also easily impress the potential consumers. As we all know, people tend to be tried of the common-used things but be interested in the new ones, so the difference and novelty of the ad vertising slogan, undoubtedly, can vastly satisfy people‟s curiosity and motivate them to try the new product. Here are some typical examples,a)Louis Vuitton: Epileather.b)Burton Menswear: Everywear.c)Financial Times: No FT, no comment.d)IBM: I think, therefore IBM.2.3. Feature Three: rich in rhetorical devicesLinguistically, the advertising slogan often applies a variety of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, figuration and pun. On the one hand, use of the rhetorical devices strengthens the effect of an advertisement by making the advertising language more colorful; on the other hand, with the consumers‟ impression on the brand intensified, their consumption inclination will be inevitably influenced and guided to some extent, that is, the sales of the advertised product will probably increase at last. Here are some examples,a)Kenco Really Rich Coffee: Get Rich quick.b)Finish Detergent: Brilliant cleaning starts with Finish.c)Greyhound: Greyhound going great.d)Fila: Functional... Fashionable... Formidable...3. Functions of the English Advertising SloganA good understanding of the language features of the English advertising slogan helps create satisfying advertising slogans. It is known that in order to promote sales, every company spares no money for a good advertising slogan. In fact, the real reason why they take it so seriously lies in its functions. Here four main functions are summarized.3.1. Function One: to tell about a productAbove all, a function of the English advertising slogan is to tell consumers what a certain product is about. However, what a really goodEnglish advertising slogan tells us should include not only what a specific product is about but also what the producer does. Only in this way can the producer bring a kind of long-term or even everlasting influence on consumers. After all, some producers only utilize one single advertising slogan to popularize their brand, which decides that a good advertising slogan must well combine two features - traditionalness and timelessness. Take I BM‟s advertising slogan“Solution for the Small Planet” for example. Through it, the consumers do not merely know IBM produces computers but they also learn that IBM provides authoritative business consulting services.3.2. Function Two: to give information about the producerThe advertising slogan conveys the producer‟s managing principle. Through it, the consumers can learn the personality and value of the producer‟s brand, and this is one way through which both its brand effect and enterprise image are gradually established. However, it doesn‟t mean that the advertising slogan must be the best of all but that it must be the fittest to the producer. For example, Nike‟s advertising slogan “Just do it” indicates a kind of youthful sport spirits such as bravery, determination and perseverance, which is just what the Nike group advocates.3.3. Function Three: to enhance brand value and promote profitsA good advertising slogan can enhance the value of a brand and bring more profits to the producer, which is the ultimate purpose of the advertisement. For instance, “A diamond is forever”, as the advertising slogan of DeBeers, is representative. For one thing, it shows the great value of the diamond on the surface. More importantly, it reminds people of its symbolic meaning that love is perpetual in the depth. In such a short sentence, not only the producer‟s advertising purpose but also people‟s ideals or wishes about love are well conveyed. So it is hard for people not to remember this advertisement and the producer can probably achieve their commercial success.4. The Main Translation T echniques of the English Advertising SloganWhen doing the English advertising slogan translation, translators should take the language features of the English advertising slogan into consideration. Moreover, the English advertising slogan translation often involves linguistic transformation of the cross-cultural information of the English advertising slogan. Therefore, the translators should give full play to their imagination and creativity so as to explore the cultural connotation within the advertising slogan. Then they should try their best to apply some flexible translation techniques and express information ofthe original edition clearly and smoothly. Thus we can achieve the ideal effects in such aspects as form, implication and style at the same time and finally realize the expected functions of the advertisement as well.4.1. Literal translationLiteral translation is a kind of translation that follows closely the form of the source language. For short, literal translation is word-for-word translation. Its advantage is that the translator would take every aspect of the source language into consideration, including notional words, form words, sentence structure and language style. Therefore, even if literal translation is word for word, ambiguity of the source meaning and inappropriateness of the sentence structure of the target language caused by differences of grammar systems or cultural traditions should be avoided in order to achieve “reliance, readability and grace”. It is estimated that at least fifty percent of advertising slogans can be literally translated. Generally speaking, literal translation serves as the simplest and the most often used means of translating the advertising slogans. For example,a)“A business in millions. A profit in pennies.”“百万生意，毫厘利润。