商标名的英汉互译

商标名的英汉互译English-Chinese Translations of TrademarksOutlineAbstractⅠ IntroductionⅡ General Survey of brand names1. Functions of brand names1) Distinctive function2) Informative function3) Stimulating consumption2. Linguistic features of trademark1) Characteristics of humanity and region on linguistic morphology of trademarka. Name trademarkb. Place of origin trademarkc. Foreign word trademarkd. Frabricated trademarke. Acronym trademark2) Psychological orientation on linguistic morphology of trademark3) Psychological method on linguistic rhetorical devices of trademarka. Rich associationb. Imaginative metaphorc. Suggestive meaningⅢ. Word issue in trademark translation owing to cultural connotationⅣ. Translation method1.Transliteration2. Literal translation3. Paraphrase4. Mixed translation5. Complementary translation6. Adaption7. Adjustment1) Acronym2) Additions or deletions3) Blending4) Purposive misspelling5) RenamingⅤ. ConclusionBibliography摘要：随着世界经济全球化进程的加快和中国加入世界贸易组织（WTO），我们与世界各国的商品交流也更加广泛。

国内外厂家无一不在积极调整各自的经营战略和市场方向，以便在国际市场竞争中胜出，得到较大的市场份额。

在参与国际竞争时，大家都面对一个问题，即如何将自己的商品更好地介绍给目标市场的消费者。

商标作为促销商品和开拓市场的利刃，日益显示出其恰当得体的译名的重要性。

所以，探究商标翻译是一个具有现实意义的问题。

商标翻译，既要扼守常规的忠实、通顺，又要有意识地采取灵活多样的翻译方法，尽量使翻译出来的商标具有令人耳目一新的超前性和突破性的迷人风采，这便是当今翻译商标的原则与标准。

本文从文化的角度，结合商品的社会功能，语言文化特征，应用奈达“功能对等”的相关理论对此专题进行系统全面的研究，并据此总结一些基本的翻译方法及应注意的问题。

关键词：商标，语言特征，文化内涵，翻译方法Abstract: Along with the increasing process of economic globalization and China entering World Trade Organization (WTO),we get in touch with other countries on commodity exchange. All the manufacturers, foreign or domestic, are adjusting their management strategy and market orientation so actively that they could defeat others in international competition and get a bigger market share. A major problem facing us in international market is how to introduce our products to the customers of target market successfully? As the blade of promoting sales and cultivating market, the importance of a proper translation of trademark becomes more and more apparent day by day. Every trademark is culture loaded. While translating a trademark, we have to take cultural difference into consideration. An a dequate and appropriate version of cultural connotation can’t only accurately reflect the product quality but also arouse the customers’interest so as to create the expected advertising effect and help publicize that particular culture. This thesis attempts to concern the cultural aspect of the trademark translation systematically and profoundly combining with its social function and linguistic character based on Eugene A. Nida’s “functional equivalence” theory. Guided by this principle, this thesis summari zes some techniques for trademark translation and word issue which we should pay attention to.Key words: trademark, linguistic features, cultural connotation, translation methodEnglish-Chinese Translations of TrademarksⅠIntroductionTrademark is “a name given by a producer to a particular product, by which it may be recognized from among like products made by other producers”.(Longman English-Chinese Dictionary of Contemporary English, New Edition, 1640). With the manufactory expansion and economic development, more and more foreign commodities land at China and so do Chinese commodities. To survive in the keenly competitive market, a product needs not only good quality and an exquisite package, but also a resounding bra nd name. “A product is something that is made in a factory; a brand is something that is brought by a customer. A product can be copied by a competitor; a brand is unique. A product can be quickly outdated; a successful brand is timeless.”(He Chuansheng 1997:1) For a product, a good translation of a brand name is a key factor to enter target market successfully.After exploring more than 10,000 brand names including the domestic and the foreign by synthesis, which have touched upon every aspect in the market, such as clothing, beverage, foods, cosmetics, house appliances and vehicles. This thesis integrates and systematizes other translators’ investigation, and pierces into the rich cultural connotation of brand names. As a special form of social cultural phenomenon, brand name shows its unique cultural characteristics, while communication barriers cause cultural dissimilarities to a certain extent. These cultural differences turn out to be the major barriers in translation of brand names. This thesis is devoted to the translation of brand names. The structure of this thesis is as follows: Chapter Ⅰserves as an introduction to this thesis. ChapterⅡoffers an general survey to brand names. In this part, the definition, functions of brand names, linguistic features are discussed. ChapterⅢis the word issue in trademark translation owing to cultural connotation. Chapter Ⅳ,the most important part, discusses the translation of trademarks, taking the Eugene A. Nida’s “functional equivalence” as the principle for the translation of trademarks. Guided by this principle, I also summarize some techniques to achieve the “functional equivalence”. ChapterⅤis the conclusion.ⅡGeneral Survey of brand namesA trade name can be defined as a name, term, sign, symbol, design or combination of any of these that identifies the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and differentiates them from those of competitors (He Chuancheng, 1997:2) 1 Functions of brand namesIt’s true that brand names differ from each other although they have the same purposes, that is, promoting selling and expanding market. In this sense, they should all have some common functions such as distinctive, informative and stimulating.1 )Distinctive functionDistinctive function is one of the basic functions of brand names. There are millions of products in the market. Though some belong to the same type, they have different characteristics and are manufactured by different producers. Brand names can help consumers to distinct the difference between a certain product and other products of the same kind. On the other hand, the producers employ brand names to distinguish their products from others’. Take beverage for example, there are many kinds of soft- drinks--Coca-Cola, Pepsi-cola, Robust, President, etc--which will you choose? Take cigarettes for another example--there are different brand names of the same commodity--Yunyan, 555, Marlboro, Kent, Parliament, etc. It’s clear to see that brand names are used to differentiate one from the other.2) Informative functionInformative function means that the brand names must be informative. It is the most important function of them. Without information, a brand name will be meaningless. Thus brand names usually provide the information about the products such as the characteristics, the functions, the place of production and even the target consumers.Firstly, brand names often provide the information about the characteristics of products. For example: “Clean&Clear” (cosmetic) indicates that it can make your skin clean and clear ---- thus you will look much more beautiful. The similar examples are “Natural”(dye liquor), “Harmony”(shampoo) and etc.Secondly, most brand names inform the customers of the characteristics ofproducts. “金鸡”(clock), the brand name of a certain kind of clock, is an appropriate example here. The clock is compared to a rooster because the two share the common function of waking people up. “Jaguar” (car) can be another example, it is a good brand name because “Jaguar” is the name of an animal which is famous for its agility. So it obviously indicates that both of them share the common characteristics, such as fast, quick in movement.Thirdly, some trademarks tell consumer the place of production. For instance: “鄂而多斯”(woolen sweater) indicates that these products are made in “E ER DUO SI”(a name of a city). “Columbia”(disc) shows that the place of production is Columbia.Lastly, some brand names indicate the target consumers. For example: “好孩子”（children’s clothing）tells the customers that the products are suitable for children.“俏佳人”(Lady’s clothing) indicates that the products are special for women but not for men.3) Stimulating consumptionStimulating function is an important function of brand names. Because they can arouse people's interest and persuade them into making a purchase. It’s universally acknowledged that good brand names have an active influence on the stimulation of the consumption. A good brand name often persuades people into buying products by catering for their needs. According to the investigation, most consumers choose the articles only on account of the brands. For example, “娃哈哈”（beverage）will catch the psychology of those parents whoever wish their children to be happy and healthy. In Chinese “娃”means children, “哈哈”is the sound of laughter. Both “娃”（/wa/）and “哈”（/ha/）sound sweet because of the vowel /a/ in Chinese Pinyin. Therefore the brand name can quickly draw one's attention and can be remembered easily. Clearly, the use of this brand name makes this product prevail among customers, especially children and their parents. Most brand names of cosmetics have romantic conno tation because the designers of them have understood young ladies’ romantic-pursuing psychology. For example, “Avon” (cosmetics) is the name of the river which is located in Shakespeare’s hometown. The name will arouse people’s interest. The articles named after famous persons can also stimulate the consumption because customers worship them and want to imitate them. For example, “LI-NING”(sport wear) is welcomed by Li Ning’s fans. “Yue-Sai”(cosmetic) will attract people by making full use of the fame of the celebrity----靳羽西.2Linguistic features of trademarkTrademark is a symbol of commodities in the form of word, the representation of commodity’s image, the guarantee of quality. The effect of trademark usually comes from the ingenious design of the commo dity’s name. Famous trademarks are all with high quality. In 1993, World Newspaper in Germany published the top ten trademarks in the world, they are: U.S. Coca-cola(可口可乐) beverage, Japan Sony(索尼) home appliances, German Benz(奔驰) automobile, U.S. Kodak(柯达) film, U.S. Disneyland(迪斯尼乐园), Switzerland Nestle(雀巢) coffee, Japan Toyota(丰田) automobile, U.S. McDonald’s(麦当劳) fast food, U.S. IBM(国际商用机器), U.S. Pepsi-Cola(百事可乐)beverage. These trademarks are world famous and known to everyone, of course, the first importance is quality, but the linguistic and cultural connotation also play an important part.1)Characteristics of humanity and region on linguistic morphology of trademarkCommodities are always related with their creator and place of origin. Different places have different cultural connotation. Trademark, as the symbol of commodity, should have the characteristics.a Name trademarkIt is a common way in international trademark according to the creator, inventor or keeper of property. For example, U.S. ultra-sound airplane Boeing(波音) is created in order to memorize the creator William Edward Boeing. The German trademark Mercedes-Benz(奔驰)，a luxurious automobile, Mercedes is the name of the daughter of Emir Yellinic, a rich man and the diplomat of Austria. In 1899, Yellinic bought an automobile from Benz company. He used his daughter’s given name, called this car Herl Mercedes. This car won in Niss Car Race in France. The Benz company agreed to name the car Mercedes-Benz by Mercedes(梅塞得斯，meaning “恩赐”), Benz for short.b Place of origin trademarkTrademark is also often named by place of origin. In Japan, a well-sold beer Sapporo is named after Sapporo, a city of Hokkaido.Champagne(香槟酒)comes from the place of origin in France. Luxurious Hotel Shangri-la(香格里拉)derives from the imaginary place in the literary work The Losing Ground, written by an English writer James.Hilton. Its original place lies in YunNan province, China. Spring stays all the year, the scenery is splendid. This is the charm why Shangri-la exists all over the world.c Foreign word trademarkTrademark from foreign word is the mixed result of different cultures. They are named according to their own cultural pattern. This means foreign word trademark which enters into another culture has to go through the procedure of assimilation, absorption and renovation. For example, Valderma is one kind of medicated soap of Britain. It is made up by value(有益)plus derma(希腊语，皮肤)，meaning “be good for skin”, translated as “益肤”. Shampoo(香波) which comes from India, meaning “massage”, refers you rub lightly with your hands when you clean your hair, and massage your dandruff. The English shampoo is written after the English colonists invaded India in 18th century.d Fabricated trademarkIt is a common method that the trademark designer creates some new words with the help of word-formation or completely fabricated. For example, Timex(天时美) watch is blended by time plus excellent, emphasizing the exact characteristic of the watch. There are trademarks of this kind in English, such as Kleenex(纸巾), Windex(门窗玻璃清洁剂),etc. U.S. Kodak(柯达) film is also a fabricated trademark of its founder George Eastman. K is the letter which he preferred, used in the beginning and the end, matched with letters oda, creates the sound effects of pressing shutter. It is just to the point, live and impressive, and can’t be expressed with words.e Acronym trademarkThis kind trademark is mostly formed with the acronyms of factory, product, ingredient or manufacturing craft. For example, Japan NEC(日电) TV set is the acronym of Nippon Electric Company, Ltd.(日本电气株式会社) JVC(胜利牌) is the acronym of Victor Company of Japan, Limited.(日本胜利株式会社) Similarly, U.S.IBM is the acronym of International Business Machine(美国国际商用机器公司).2) Psychological orientation on linguistic morphology of trademarkThe psychological characteristic is formed in the long process of culture. Because of the cultural background differences on geographical environment, race origin, religious belief and economic development, there are many differences on knowing, aesthetic judgment, consuming concept and psychological imagination of the product. For example, Japan mini-automobile DAT—SUN(达特逊) made by Nissan company. DAT is the three main share—holders’—the first letter of 田(Da), 青山(Aoyama), 竹内(Takeuhi). Sun is originally son(儿子), meaning “product” in English, so the trademark means “product of DAT”. However, the pronunciation of Son is lik e “deficiency, loss” in Japanese, it is unlucky. So instead of Son, they use Sun (太阳) meaning “brilliant, splendid prospects”. An American Ambulance company which aimed at “honest attitude, reliable service” printed A.I.D.S as the symbol of company and received a warm—welcome. Since the widespread of AIDS, because of the same acronym, “In a disturbance innocent bystanders get into trouble.” This company suffered a lot since then. The trademark of “三九胃泰” is “999”, 9 is a lucky number in Chinese culture, because 9 is the totem word of dragon, 9 is a odd number. The heaven contains 9 layers, the ninth layer is the highest point and holy. Chinese prefer 9: there are 9 doors in Beijing city, the width of Tian’anmen is 9, 999 rooms in Forbidden City. All these originate this kind of national psychology. Chinese also use “福，万，发，寿，康” etc, the lucky words as the name of a certain commodity. When translating trademark, the consonants [b, f, l ] are translated as “宝，富，力”, [si], [le], [fa:n] are translated as “喜，乐，芳” etc. It is typical that American famous beer Budweiser is tra nslated as “百威”, cigarette Marlboro is translated into “万宝路”3) Psychological method on linguistic rhetorical devices of trademarkThe design of trademark lies in the splendid unity of form and content, linguistic rhetorical devices of vividness and image, expresses the performance and characteristic of commodities, embodies the national characteristic and individual pecularity, caters to the cultural psychology and conception of the consumer group.a Rich associationThe designer of trademark always uses many ways to name the product, embodies the product several layers of meaning, that is, it is not only informative but also transferable to arouse rich association and purchasing desire. For example, the Lux(力士) soap of English Unilever(龙尼莱佛公司) comes from Latin, meaning “sunshine”, with association of “healthy color of skin”. It’s form and pronunciation arouse the association of luck(幸运、吉祥) and luxury(精美、富贵) naturally. The trademark of the famous sports shoe Nike(耐克) dates from 1950s, U.S. once used the word on a missile, embodies Nike speed and strength. Wearing this kind of sports shoe means strong pace and quick speed.b Imaginative metaphorTrademark with both good pronunciation and meaning could provide customers fine imaginative room, arouse the satisfaction of its characteristic, performance and usage. Imaginative metaphor is a common rhetoric device of naming a product, it caters to the need of customer in order to promote selling. For example, the acronym of milligram, mg(毫克)is a tiny weight unit, used in the trademark of a minicar, MG means the car has the characteristic of light, small and fast, its rhetorical effect can’t be expressed. Wild Turkey(野火鸡) is the trademark of the best whisky in American native products. Wild Turkey is a special American native bird, also an indispensable food to celebrate Thanksgiving-day every year in U.S. It is also regarded as the symbol of U.S. by Benjamin Franklin. It is better to use Turkey rather than Vulture. The producer chooses wild Turkey as the mark of American whisky. It means that just like the indispensable food, wild Turkey takes a particular position in the American people’s mind. The German high grade automobile Santana(桑塔纳) names after a valley in California, America. A strong whirlwind often appears in the valley, the local people call it “Santana”. This place is also famous for its rare grape wine. Its rhetorical meaning expresses that the automobile is famous all over the world just like the Santana Valley and the Santana Whirlwind.c Suggestive meaningThe designer of trademark uses the suggestive meaning of the product name to survey the performance and effect, aiming at promoting selling. For example, thebeverage trademark Pepsi-cola(百事可乐), Pepsi is the transformation of special terminology Pepsine(胃蛋白酶), suggesting this kind beverage has the function of “helpful in digestion”. American property pill Contac(康泰克) which we have known already is blended by the first syllable of the two wo rds “continuous action”, suggesting its effect lasts long.Ⅲ. Word issue in trademark translation owing to cultural connotationAs Samovar said “we define culture as the deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values, actions, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and artifacts acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving.”(Samovar 2000:36)As has been discussed, brands have cultural characteristics that are often unique in nature. The cultural dissimilarities prove to be the most important hindrance in brand name translation. Clearly, different countries have different cultures. As Samovar points out: Japanese, Chinese, Korean are high-context cultures while German, Swiss and American are low-context cultures. In high-context cultures, people are very homogeneous with regard to experiences, information net works and the like. High-context cultures, because of tradition and history, change very little over time. These are cultures in which consistent messages have produced consistent responses to the environment…In low-context cultures, the population is less homogeneous and therefore tends to compartmentalize interpersonal contact s…In low-context cultures, the verbal message contains most of the information and very little is embedded in the context or the participants. As the east and the west belong to different cultural styles, the cultural barrier is the most important thing we should pay attention to in the translation. ( Ibid. 2000: 79)Trademark has rich cultural connotation, the implied meaning of some trademarks are elegant, honorable, deep affection. As a special language, it reflects the culture, custom, economy, politics, religion and humanity related with the country and nation. Trademark could express different development stages of the country andnation, and the value of the society. For example, 东方红tractor, 大无畏battery bear the strong revolutionary flavor of 1950s and 1960s in China. However, now the inner customers worship foreign things and toady to foreign powers, the producers tend to give their product a foreign name, for example, 查理王man’s shoe, 花花公子man’s purse, 金字塔bicycle, etc. when we translate such trademarks, we usually take it for granted that we share the same culture and understanding with the foreign consumers, so special connotation should be expressed clearly in the translation. If the translation fails to express the original meaning, it is a failure. The work of trademark translation needs not only enough knowledge of commodity but also solid linguistic knowledge, including word-formation, etymology, slang, taboo, rhetoric and extended meaning. The examples of poor trademark translation because of word issue are countless.The extended and associative meaning are the factors we must consider in translation. Some words themselves haven’t the meaning of derogrative, but once extended or associated, they have bad connotations, so word choosing is a cautious thing in translation, it needs the translator to consider carefully again and again with his wide knowledge. The following 3 examples belongs to this case.五羊牌自行车original translation Five Rams Bicycle帆船牌皮鞋original translation Junk Leather Shoes紫罗兰男衬衫original translation Violet Men’s Shirt“五羊“is the symbol of Guangzhou city. There is a legend that an immortal sends Guangzhou five goats. They carry rice and provide the city enough food. Many products made in Guangzhou are named after five goats, such as “五羊”watch, “五羊”soap, “五羊”gourmet powder, etc. If the “羊”of “五羊”is translated into “ram”, there must be some problem. “Ram” in English is “adult mal e sheep which like fighting”, extended “crude and impetuous”. For example, “His car rammed into my car.” What association could the bicycle trademark “Five Ram” bring to the customer? Does this mean “Crash”? Customers of English society can’t buy this kind bicycle naturally. If translated into “Five Goats” (广州越秀公园内的五羊石雕的英文是the Stature of Five Goats), the poor extended meaning problem is readily solved.“帆船”symbolizes “plain sailing” in China. There is no problem used as atrademark. Its English version “Junk” is not suitable because junk means “old or unwant ed things, usu. of low quality or little use or value”, such as junk jewelry (假珠宝), junk shop(旧货店). “Junk Leather Shoes” associates with low quality leather shoes. It is better to use “yatch” instead of “junk” to translate “帆船”. Yatch Leather Shoes . In in ternational sailing race, the English version of “帆船”is “yatch”, so this trademark is perfectably justifiable.In Chinese, “紫罗兰”means “honorable, elegant”. In English violet is more suitable to describe female’s things, for example, violet cream(紫罗兰面霜)，violet perfume( 紫罗兰香水)。