On Translation of Chinese Brand Name 浅析中文商标名的英译

浅析中文商标名的英译On Translation of Chinese Brand NameContentsAbstract (i)摘要 ....................................................................................................................... i i1. Introduction (1)2. Main Principles (1)2.1 Easy Identification (2)2.2 Attention of Cultural Difference (2)2.3 Catchy Names (4)2.4 Attention of Political Factors (4)3. General Methods (5)3.1 Using the Pinyin of the Characters (5)3.1.1 Advantages (5)3.1.2 Disadvantages (5)3.1.3 Useful Conditions (6)3.2 Free Translation (6)3.2.1 Improper Situations (6)3.2.2 Suitable Situations (7)3.3 Transliteration (7)3.4 Homophonic T ranslation (8)4.Current Relevant Situations (8)5. General Criteria of Successful Cases (9)6. Conclusion (10)Bibliography (11)Acknowledgements (12)AbstractIn recent years, the progress of the translation on brand name-a practical branch of translation- is very remarkable. Obviously, the English-Chinese translation of brand name has developed a lot with enormous famous fruits such as Coca-cola(可口可乐)，Goldlion(金利来) and Palarold(拍立得).Comparatively, the translation of Chinese products is less noticeable. A great majority of the Chinese trademark names are just translated into the pinyins of the Chinese characters, with several noted cases such as 海尔（Haier）and李宁（Lining）.According to the examples collected, the author does some systematical analysis. On such basis, this article summarizes the principles and methods of the translation on brand name. The results show that if various relevant translation principles and methods are combined in the translation practices, the successful English brand names of Chinese products shall energetically promote their sales in foreign markets. Meanwhile, by several surveys on the translated Chinese products, the author finds out the general characters of successful cases, with a goal of providing reference and help illustrating in the future translation of Chinese brand name.Key words: Chinese brand name: translation; principle; method摘要近年来，商标翻译，作为翻译理论的应用领域之一，其成果十分显著，尤其是商标的英汉翻译，其成功案例比比皆是，简单通俗的例子如Coca-cola(可口可乐)，Goldlion(金利来) and Palarold(拍立得)等。

相比而言，中国产品商标的英译理论成果要少得多，一般普通的商标名都采用汉语拼音，众所周知的例子有海尔（Haier）李宁（Lining）等。

本文作者根据所收集到的案例，进行了系统全面的梳理，在此基础上，总结了前人关于商标翻译的原则和方法。

其实，在翻译实践中，中国商品名的英译，若能灵活运用各种翻译方法，必将大大促进我国产品在国外的推广和销售。

同时，本文作者通过在几个超市的实践调查，指出了当前商品名英译的普遍现状及成功案例的普遍特征，希望能够为以后中国产品商标英译提供一些有价值的参考和启示。

关键词：中文商标名；翻译：原则；方法1 IntroductionCurrently, as the global economy has enjoyed a big boom in last decades, China, as one of the greatest developing countries, benefits a lot from it. With more and more Made-in-China exported overseas, it’s essential for us to exert ourselves in translating our brand names into foreign languages. In our daily life, though we have seen many kinds of translated brand names, not many of them are of high quality and most of them are only pinyins of the Chinese characters. This phenomenon greatly catches the author’s attention. Nevertheless, the translation of the trademark is a very practical translation action with high commercial value. Thus, the effective translation oftrademarks may be urgent and necessary(Hehui, 2007: 71-76)．According to the opinion of R.Heis, an American economist :“A brand name, i, e, trademark, is a name, form, sign, design or a combination of them that tells who makes it or who sells it ,distinguishing that product from those made or sold by others.A brand name is that part of brand that can be vocalized”(Guo Guilong.& Zhang Hongbo, 2008: 100).We all know that the trademark plays a very important role in the sale of products. In the eyes of customers, a famous trademark means reliable quality, reasonable price and good service. Once a brand name upgrades into a famous brand, it enjoys additional and special value. A good translation of trademark which is always meaningful, conspicuous and impressive will be propitious to the forming of famous brand, as the people would always give more attention to famous brand(白光, 1997: 7). Thus, the author tries to conclude the main principles in the following aspects.2 Main PrinciplesAs to the main principles, different translators have different idea. In general, the translated brand name must also follow the principle of brand name. As has been stated by Qi Yunfang that brand name must be easily identifiable, catchy, readable (戚晕方, 2003: 50). It is also discussed by Li Kexin that the translator should abide by the following four principles: (1) retention of both pronunciation and meaning. (2) imitation of the pronunciation. (3) avoidence of everyday vocabulary. (4) avoidance of cultural conflicts. (李克兴, 2010: 303-305)Above all, in order to achieve theses goals in brand name translation, the author believes that the following principles should be taken into account..2.1 Easy identificationUsually, every product has its identification. Translation should show the functions and the features of the products, so that the buyers could immediately think of the usage of products when they see the trademarks. As has been discussed by Xuhui and Cheng zhendong, the characteristics of the product means that one has some basic structures which differ from that of others(徐荟, 2004:55-56).Thetranslated name should match with the quality of the products and show the idea of the original name. For example, now“海信”，a brand name of an electrical equipment，has been translated into Hisense. It’s rea lly a successful case, because Hisense not only shows the advantages of the original Chinese trademark such as simple spelling and clear pronunciation, but also shows the high quality and high sensibility. Another example,“索牌”，when translated into Suo Brand，the foreigners will be puzzling at its meaning. What’s worse, they will take it for granted that the quality of such rope is just so so. However, when it is translated into Solid, it arises the positive thinking –such rope is solid, which wins more customers.2.2 Attention of cultural differenceDifferent kinds of people have different minds, especially those from different cultural backgrounds. In general, a customer under certain cultural circumstance only believes the doctrine prescribed in his culture, and only has a model of his own lifestyle in his head. He is dogged at the consuming concept and buying action while facing the foreign culture, and he would be biased against other’s cu ltural action and living style (谢文怡and刘云腾, 1997：55). Thus it is necessary for the translator to have a good knowledge of the culture of target market. To get it, we should do several investigation, find the convergence and avoid the cultural conflicts. People from different places may have different understandings in many aspects such as: different attitudes towards numbers, animals and plants.（1）Different understandings to animals: what is considered good or wonderful may not symbolize the same in another, this phenomenon could be illustrated with the following example: As we know, Chinese people often associate mandarin duck(鸳鸯in Chinese) with a couple of lovers, who are always in deep affection with each other, living happily together and never be separated. But in western culture, there is no similar association. Therefore, if you only translate the 鸳鸯枕套into Mandarin Duck Pillowcase. When such pillows are sold in western market, they could catch as much attention of the buyers there as that of our Chinese who understand the good omen of 鸳鸯. Then, think twice, we would find a corresponding word-lovebird. Inthis way, the westerners may understand the original spirit of brand name, adapt it and love it.(2) Different understandings to plants: names of plants also acquire different connotations to people from different cultures. People associate their feelings and emotions, happenings and natural phenomena with various plants.紫罗兰-a small plant with sweet smell purple flowers-is regarded as something loved by girls or women. Though the English word Pansy refers to the same plant, but, to the westerners, it also arises the unfavorable association-someone who is a gay and without any masculinity. Thus, if a kind of shirt with such a brand name is targeted at English-speaking consumers, no one is willing to buy it. Compared with Pansy, Violet might be a more suitable target brand name for it, because violet arouses no negative association, and to some degree, show the popularity of the shirt.(3)Different understandings to numbers: besides, numbers bring about different associations because of the different cultural traditions, religious believes, people have different preferences in different numbers. In China, as we know, there are many products with brand names made up of numbers or including numbers, such as 666, 金六福，十三香. At the same time, we may see the products named 7-up,7-eleven in European market or American market. But if we export the products with the brand name 666 ,十三香directly to the foreign markets, they are sure to meet trouble. Because the number six is the symbol of demon, the number 13 is also a number which brings bad luck. Who would be willing to buy products that arouse you of demon, evil things? Thus, for the translation of brand name, it is necessary for him or her to know the differences among different cultures, try to avoid the negative effects of the brand names and exert oneself in finding the equivalent brand name with a positive association.2.3 Catchy namesAs is the same with advertisement, the translated brand name should be catchy, that is, brief and novel. By several experiments, the advertise psychologist draw a conclusion that when the ad is less than 6 words, the consumer could remember 34%of them. But when it is less than 6 words or even as long as 12 words, only 13% of them could be remembered. Thus it is the brief name that could easily obtain remarkable effect. Most of the Chinese brand name are translated directly according to the Chinese characters, such as 天绿园（Natural Green Country）, This translation follows the principle-faithfulness, but it is too complex. But if it is changed into Green, it would be much easy for the customers to remember. Another example, the brand name Xoceco is the abbreviation of Xiamen Overseas Chinese Electricity Corporation. In this way, Xoceco is much easier to be remembered.2.4 Attention of political factorsEvery nation has its own political believes, thus political factors should be taken into consideration while translating the trademark.(1) Attention of Chinese political factorsAs a Chinese, we should always be aware of our nationality and protect our national fame in the global communication. Therefore, as a Chinese translator, he or she should keep the national standard in mind. In Chinese legend,大鹏is described as a kind of huge bird with extraordinary strength. There are many companies in China taking 大鹏as their companies’ names, such as Dapeng Agent, Dapeng Import and Export Trading Company. When the bird 大鹏is translated into a correspondent word Roc, a problem arises, because ROC is the abbreviation of Republic of China. A product with such a brand name of course will not be allowed by China Government, and at the same time, such brand names would cause misunderstanding.(2) Attention of foreign political factorsMeanwhile, it is necessary for the translator to know relevant political information of the foreign market. In China, there are many products named after animals such as monkey, donkey and elephant. But if we export these products into the American market, problems would arise. Since the donkey is the symbol of the Democratic Party in USA and the elephant of Republic Party. Thus, to equip the Chinese products with suitable and popular translated brand name, the translator should also be aware of the foreign political factors.3 General MethodsUnder the above principles, there are following practical methods of brand name translation.3.1 Using the pinyin of the Chinese characters3.1.1 AdvantagesThis method is often used to keep the original characteristics of the brand name, especially those special factors in China which can not find correspondent words in English. In Chinese shoes market, there is a kind of sports shoes named Kongfu. When one sees such shoes, he or she will think of the ancient Chinese people and its famous martial arts with long history. Those who love sports or martial arts would like to choose such shoes. This method is easy to use –just to take the pinyins of the Chinese characters as translated brand name.3.1.2 DisadvantagesHowever, this method only has the function of being a symbol, it always loses the original spirit. For example, “金锁牌”into Jinsuo, “骏马牌”into Junma. In such cases, the western buyers would be puzzling at what does the translated brand name mean, and thus, would be hesitating at buying them. What’s worse, sometimes this method of translation may cause misunderstanding and negative imagination. When “航友”, the brand name of a kind of towel, is translated into Hangyou, the result is terrible. The consumers in the English-speaking countries could not appreciate the warmth of the original brand name-航友, which means a good friend in your trip. Otherwise, they would not be at easy when using the towel with such a terrible brand name. Thus, when applying this method, it is better for us to pay more attention to the pinyin of some particular characters. Another similar instance is the trademark of a pillow友蝶. When we just take the pinyin of the two characters, we get the translated name-Youdie. Obviously, it would not be a popular brand name.3.1.3 Useful conditionsThis method can be used in two cases:（1）the brand Chinese names are named after their producing area, such as “北京牌”into Beijing,“苏州”into Suzhou and“青岛牌”into Qingdao. Since the names of places are always talked by the foreigners in the form of pinyin. (2) Some brand names, which named after some less famous scenery such as “天一阁牌”（Tianyige）(宁波)，“青铜峡牌”（Qingtongxia）and “黄鹤楼牌”（Huanghelou）(武汉). However, if some brand names which are named after some Chinese famous places, it is better to translate them to the relevant English words, because these places of interest are often known to foreigners, and such English names would make them adapted by the western buyers much easier, such as “庐山牌”into Mount Lu,“天坛牌”into Heaven Temple and “长城牌”into Great Wall.3.2 Free TranslationWhen we translate “黄海牌”into Yellow Sea, “燕牌”into Swallow, we are using the method of free translation. Free translation means translating a trademark according to its literal meaning. In this way, we could keep the customers in different places having the same feeling towards a certain commodity.3.2.1 Improper situationsSince the same thing would cause different associations for different cultural backgrounds, it is necessary for the translator to know whether the name translated has any negative meaning in the foreign culture. For example, “鸭鸭”, a brand name of a kind of feather dress, sounds good and enjoys a good sales. However, if it is translated into the English word-Duck, the condition of this kind of dress would be different. Since the animal duck in the westerners’ eyes is dull and slow. If it is translated into Yaya, it would be better. There are other examples with problems such as “孔雀”Color TV, in China, is a bad bird and would bring people bad luck. When “孔雀”is translated into Peacock, of course, people dare not to buy it. Also “白象”has no negative meaning, but the translated White Elephant refers to something big, clumsy and useless in English speaking countries, who would buy the useless things ?Thus, if this method is adapted, it is necessary to pay attention to the different connotations caused by the cultural differences.3.2.2 Suitable situationsUsually, this method is used to reproduce both the ideological content and the style of the original trademark. There are two suitable situations:The original brand names are named after animals which are popular to both Chinese and foreigners, such as Monkey, Deer and Camel. In China, there is a kind of famous electrical appliance named 熊猫. When the products are exported overseas, the brand name is translated into Panda. Since both the foreigners and Chinese take panda as a honest and reliable animal, the electrical appliance with such a brand name is more likely to bring the buyers an impression of reliable quality.The original brand names are named after something which is widely accepted by both oriental and occidental. For example, star is usually used as the brand name of products both in China and English-speaking countries, since star is often thought to be mysterious and permanent. In China, there are many products with brand names including Star, such as Golden Star(the name of milk powder).When“双星”, the brand name of a famous Chinese sports shoes, is translated into Double Star, it brings the buyers the same good imagination, that is, if you put on such shoes, you would have the feeling of flying with two stars under your feet.3.3 TransliterationTransliteration means that trademarks are translated into similar names in pronunciation according to the original ones (Liyi, 2009:232).On the condition that we can not keep both the meaning and pronunciation of the original brand name, we translate it into a brand name which is more or less the same with the pronunciation.For example, when Jeanwest is translated into“真维斯”, we adapt or create the English word which shows the similar pronunciation with that of Chinese characters. These English words not only pronounce in the similar way, but also meaningful. For example, “风华”Forward, “四通”Stone and“好娃友口服液”How Are You Oral Liquid, there are also many successful cases such as “苏泊尔”Supor, “美的”Midea and “格力”Gree, there are famous in foreign markets and promote the spreading of the brand name. When a kind of cosmetics, “美加净”is translated into Maxam, it not only keeps the beauty of the rhyme but also shows the foreign characteristics andcatches the foreigners’ attention.3.4 Homophonic translationHomophonic translation is a useful method in translation, which renders a text in one language into a near-homophonic text in another language, usually with no attempt to preserve the original meaning of the text. In the condition of trademark translation, the translated brand name has a pronunciation similar to the original name, and a meaning associative to the pronunciation instead of the original meaning. Sometimes this method is also called Onomatopoeia-and-meaning-based Translation. It is a flexible and creative way of translation, taking care of both sound and meaning as well as the euphonious, cultural and promotional effects(彭春艳，2001:100).4 Current relevant situationsIn the market, it is not difficult for us to find some successfully translated trademarks. But a majority of them are foreign products with known examples such as Coca-cola(可口可乐), Simmons(席梦思) and Palarold(拍立得). Most of our Chinese brand names contain colorful meaning and good impression. Usually, those brand names apply many rhetoric skills such as alliteration, personification and onomatopoeia. Regretfully, at present, most of the brand names are just translated into the pinyin of those characters. For example, “爱妻牌洗衣机”-Aiqi Washing Machine,“一滴香牌麻油”-Yidixiang Sesame Oil and “太太乐鸡精”-Taitaile Granulated Chicken Bouillon. From these three examples, nothing could be known but what brands they are. I do not think the foreign customers could understand the Pinyin Aiqi, Yidixiang and Taitaile. In fact, Aiqi to the foreigner is much different from “爱妻”to the Chinese natives. The brand name should raise the associative meaning. In this case, the brand name shows that the washing machine is very useful in helping the hard-working wife. Of course, the husband, who loves his wife deeply and is willing to share the chores of washing, and will be glad to buy such washing machine.Fortunately, there are still several successful relevant translation cases. A famous sun cream named “小护士”, when translated into Minnurse, it flexibly follows the principle of equivalence. It vividly create a good image of a considerate nurse to bothnatives and foreigners. There is another delicately translated instance: If飞龙, a brand name of a drug company, is translated into Flying Dragon, the western buyers would not be able to accept it as their medicine. Though flying dragon is something thought to be kind, good and powerful to Chinese natives, it is thought to be a kind of evil, cruel and destructive monster in English-speaking culture. With the method of homophonic translation, the translator caught up with a good translated name-Pharon. Pharon sounds similar to the original brand name-飞龙. What’s more, the prefix Phar- originates from the English word Pharmaceutical, which means medicine. And the other part –on is often the suffix of the brand name of medicine(彭春艳，2001:100). Thus, such a good translated name Pharon, the customers could easily identify this product as a kind of medicine. Since this name is neat, readable and catchy, the product could be more easily distinguished from the other products and favored by the buyers.5 General criteria of successful casesWith the above mentioned trademark translation principles and methods, yet, it is still not easy for the author to put out only one criterion of the successful cases. Traditionally, the translation should follow the principle of equivalence, just as what was pointed by the famous translator Eugene A．Nida, According to Nida(1993：118), maximal，ideal definition could be “the readers of a translated text should be able t o understand and appreciate it in essentially the same manner as the original readers did. Whereas the Chinese celebrated translator Yan Fu pointed out the three-character guide, namely, the principle of faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance (Xu Jianping，2007: 6）. However, different from general translation, the brand name translation has its own characteristics. A brand name should be: (1) simple and easy to pronounce and remember, (2) indicative of the product's or service's features, (3) distinctive, so as to differ from the similar commodity, (4) able to arouse favorable associations（Li Xuqing& Ye Hangyu，2010: 163-165）. Above all, be it the original or the translated, any brand name is supposed to promote the sale. 2003, the Lenovo Group changed its original English trademark Legend into Lenovo, with the Lekeeping the original spirit of Legend and with the Novo in Latin means new and represents the essence of the Group-creativity. Since the change of the English trademark, the sales volume of the Group in the third season of 2004 has increased 17% compared with that of 2003.Thus, to a certain degree, a well-translated brand name will greatly promote the sales. As to how to achieve that purpose, the translator might just as well focus on the instinctive characteristics of each category and make some subtle conversion. All in all, from the general characteristics of successful cases, such as Coca-cola(可口可乐)，Goldlion(金利来) and Palarold(拍立得), the translation must be easily identifiable, catchy, readable.6 ConclusionTrademark translation itself is a kind of advertisement on the way to international market．In this sense，the successful translation of trademark will help enterprises establish good images，so that their products will be easier to be accepted by consumers．However, there are still some problems in the translation of the trademark．In this thesis，some ways of trademark translation and most important principle are illustrated，such as using the pinyin of the characters, transliteration, free translation and homophonic translation．But the translation of trademarks, to some degree, is a cross-cultural activity. When doing the translation work, we must pay much attention to this．As trademark translators, their basic purpose is to make a good translation which can be accepted by most customers. With a well-translated brand name, the Chinese products are sure to win the foreigners’ hearts.Bibliography[1] Guo Guilong.& Zhang Hongbo. English Advertisement Style and Translation [M].Shanghai：East China Normal University Press，2008:100.[2] Hehui. The Problems in Trademark Translation and Their Solutions [J]. Sino-USEnglish Teaching2007(4):71-76.[3] Li Xuqing& Ye Hangyu. Inherent Criteria of Brand Name Translation[J].Overseas English2010(5):163-165.[4] Liyi. On the Problems of Strategies in Trademark Translation[J].Science andTechnology Information2009(7):232-234.[5]Nida Euene. Language, Culture and Translating[M]．Shanghai：Foreign LanguageEducation Press,1993:118.[6] Xu Jianping. A Practical Course of English-Chinese and Chinese-EnglishTranslation [M]. Beijing:Tsinghua University Press, 2007:6.[7] 白光. 商标战略与策略[M]. 北京：企业管理出版社，1997:7.[8] 李克兴. 广告翻译理论与实践[M].北京：北京大学出版社，2010:303-305.[9] 戚晕方. 公广告与广告英语[M]. 浙江：浙江大学出版社，2003:50.[10] 彭春艳. 谐音取意翻译法简论[J]. 湛江师范学院学报，2001(10):100-101.[11] 徐荟. 商标词翻译的互动性与跨文化差异[J]. 上海：上海科技翻译出社,2004:55-56.[12] 谢文怡刘云腾. 广告英语[M]. 上海：上海交通大学出版社，1997：55.AcknowledgementsI would like to express my gratitude to all those who helped me during the writing of this thesis. A special acknowledgement should be shown to Professor Xu, from whose lectures I benefited greatly in learning and accumulating a great deal of knowledge such as grammar, writing skill and useful language communication ability. Further more I am particularly indebted to Mr.Wu, who gave me kind encouragement and useful instructions all through my writing. His painstaking efforts in proofreadingand revising the manuscript have contributed immensely to the completion of the present thesis. Finally I would also like to record here my appreciation of the sterling help of my classmates for offering me valuable information and references. Thanks also go to them for their useful suggestions and metal support.。