品牌意识

品牌意识
品牌常被认为是西方广告业发展的产物，然而，最早的“品牌”可追溯到中国和埃及的早期文明。

数千年前中国制造的陶器上面就有陶器艺人留下的符号或印记，古埃及的壁画上也有身上印有标记的牲畜，这些可能就是历史上最初的“品牌”。

时过境迁，如今美国人有“卡迪拉克”，日本人有“丰田”，德国人有“奔驰”，他们都以自己拥有的优质名牌而骄傲。

中国的民族品牌与世界级品牌相比相形失色，这就是我们不可否认、必须面对的现实。

随着品牌全球化的到来，国际竞争国内化，洋品牌不断向中国的市场发起攻击。

在这种情况下，我们必须回答的一个问题便是：中国品牌如何才能迎战洋品牌呢？
我国的许多企业一心只想抢滩国际市场，只顾迈向大都市，看似风光无限，其实很不明智。

我们应该看到，中国已成为全球最大的开发市场，中国有13亿人口，占世界人口的20%，消费支出的增长速度比任何一个发达国家都快。

我国的本土市场才是民族品牌发展的真正机会，尤其是拥有9亿人口的农村市场。

也正因为如此，许多国外强势品牌都在千方百计围绕中国农村市场大做文章。

品质是品牌的生命，消费者总是以良好质量的产品为选择对象。

中国企业的产品质量忽上忽下，国人难以建立信心，严重影响了品牌的塑造。

因此，对于立志迎战洋品牌的民族品牌来说，当务之急就是提升自己的产品品质。

企业必须清楚地认识到，产品1％的缺陷，对于买到产品的消费者来说，就是100％的损失。

只有创造出超越洋品牌的产品品质，民族品牌才能在竞争中立于不败之地。

获奖译文中译英
Brand
作者：apostle
Brand is often regarded as the offspring of western advertisement industry. However, the earliest “brand” could be traced back to the early civilization in China and Egypt. Earthenware made in China thousands of years ago had signs or symbols of pottery craftsmen, and domestic animals branded with marks could also be seen on mural paintings of ancient Egypt. These might be the first “brand” in history.
Time passes and the situation has changed. Nowadays Americans have “Cadillac“, Japanese “Toyota”, German “Mercedes-Benz”, and they are all proud of the mega-brands they own. Chinese national brands are pale in comparison to their global counterparts. It is a reality which we cannot deny and have to face. With the globalization of brands and the internalization of global competition, foreign brands are making unceasing effort in attacking the China market. Under the circumstances, the question that we must ask is: how can Chinese brands be ready for the challenge posed by foreign brands?
Many Chinese enterprises are stubbornly single-minded in grabbing international market and going into metropolises. Successful though they seem, they act ill-advisedly. We should be aware that China, which has 1.3 billion people, accounting for 20% of the world population, and whose consumption expenditure is increasing faster than any developed countries, has become the largest emerging market in the world. It is the domestic market, especially the rural market with a population of 900 million people, that provides the real development opportunity for Chinese national brands. That is why many powerful foreign brands are trying, with every possible means, to develop the Chinese rural market.
Quality is the life of a brand and consumers always choose products with premium quality. The quality of Chinese products is too unstable to have credibility, so that it seriously affects the establishment of Chinese brands. Therefore, for those national brands determined to challenge foreign brands, the task of top priority is to improve product quality. It must be clearly understood that, for a consumer who has bought a product, defects in 1% of your products mean 100% loss. Only if we can create products with quality better than that of foreign brands, can national brands be successful in competition.
Brand awareness
作者：lwbjcn
Brands are often considered a product of Western advertisi ng, but the earliest “brands” can be traced back to the early Chinese and Egyptian civilizations. The symbols and marks on the pottery made by Chinese thousands of years ago, and the emblems on the domestic animals in the ancient Egyptian murals were proba bly the earliest “brands” in history.
Now it is a different picture. People take pride in their premium brands—Americans, “Cadillac”, Japanese, “Toyota”, and Germans, “Benz”. The Chinese homegrown brands pale in comparison with the international brands, and this is an undeniable fact which we have to grapple with. With the globalization of brands, international competition has been extended to domestic market as foreign brands keep launching attacks on the Chinese market. In such a circumstance, we are confronted with one question—how should Chinese brands rise to the challenge of foreign brands?
Many Chinese enterprises are preoccupied with gaining a foothold in international market and entering big cities, which may seem glamorous but is unwise. We must realize that China has become the biggest developing market in the world with 1.3 billion people, or 20% of the total world population, where consumption expenses increase more rapidly than any developed country. The real opportunity for homegrown brands lies in the local market, particularly the rural market with 900 million people. This is why many foreign leading brands have gone out of their way to tap China‟s rural market.
Quality is the lifeblood of brands, and quality products are always the choice of consumers. The quality fluctuation of the products made by Chinese enterprises shakes consumer confidence and seriously undermines the brand building. Therefore, it is imperative that the homegrown brands resolved to compete with foreign competitors upgrade the quality of their products. Enterprises must bear in mind that 1% deficiency in product is 100% loss for the consumers purchasing the product. Only when national brands surpass foreign brands in product quality, can they find themselves on the winning side of the competition.
参考译文中译英
Brand Awareness
Brand names are often thought of as a creation of the western advertising industry. The earliest “brands” may date back to the early days of China and Egypt. Chinese pottery made thousand s of years ago bore symbols or other signs of the pottery maker, and wall paintings from ancient Egypt depict cattle being branded. These are possibly the earliest “brands” in history.
How time flies. “Cadillac”, “Toyota” and “Mercedes-Benz” are all curre ntly premium brands owned respectively by the Americans, the Japanese and the Germans, and they all take pride in what they have owned. Chinese national brands pale in comparison with those world-class brands, which is a fact we can not deny and a reality we have to face. With the advent of brands being globalized and international competition being brought to our domestic market, foreign brands are making constant efforts to penetrate into the Chinese market. Under such circumstances, a question we have to answer is: How can Chinese brands give foreign brands a run for their money?
Many of our enterprises are obsessed with the idea of nudging into the international market and metropolitan areas. They are swollen-headedly stealing the limelight. We have to realize that China has become the world‟s largest market yet to be fully developed. China has a population of 1.3 billion, accounting for 20% of the world‟s population and the growth of its consumer expenditure is faster than anywhere else in the world. It is in our domestic market, particularly in our rural market of 900 million farmers that the odds are in favor of the development of our national brands. This may account for some of the well-established international brands racking their brains over China‟s rural market.
Quality is the lifeblood of a brand, and customers always prefer goods of fine quality. With product quality being wildly inconsistent, Chinese enterprises can hardly build brands in which people have faith, thus creating obstacles to the establishment of China‟s international brands. It is currently urgent for some of our national brands, those who have made up their minds to compete against foreign brands, to improve the quality of their products. Enterprises have to realize that 1% defe ction of a product equals 100% loss for the customer. The domination of China‟s national brands in the world can never be achieved until goods made in China are better in quality than
those made abroad.
（陈小全译）
专家点评中译英
学习翻译理论，提高翻译质量
本期擂台赛原文是笔者两年前为翻译课学生准备的一次练习，由网上找到的一篇文章改写而成，时间久远再也找不到那篇文章了，因此不能向大家提供文章的出处。

在本次讲解中，我想谈一点儿“理论”，然后结合本期擂台赛的例子谈一谈自己的体会，希望对大家有所帮助。

约翰•辛克莱（John Sinclair）在《语料库，语词索引与搭配》（Corpus, concordance, collocation, J Sinclair - 1991 - Oxford University Press Oxford）一书中提出两个概念，一个是“成语原则”（idiom principle），另一个是“开放选择原则”（open-choice principle）。

请看辛克莱对这两个概念的解释：
The idiom principle treats language as a combination of specific words into large prefabricated chunks, and can be seen in the apparently simultaneous choice of words.
The open-choice pri nciple sees language as a result of many complex choices. …At each point where a unit is completed (a word, phrase, clause), a large range of choice opens up and the only restraint is grammaticalness.‟ (Sinclair 1991:109)
汉语“成语原则”的译法容易引起人们的误解，因此，我们有必要看一看辛克莱对idiom一词的定义：
“An idiom is a group of two or more words which are chosen together in order to produce a specific meaning or effect in speech or writing The individual words which constitute idioms are not reliably meaningful in themselves．Because the whole idiom is required to produce the meaning.”
由此我们知道，所谓“成语原则”（idiom principle）是指语言中业已存在的表达方式；而所谓“开放选择原则”（open-choice principle）则指根据语法规则创造出的新的表达方式。

研究结果表明，当人们找不到现有的表达方式时，才按照语法规则造出新的句子。

也就是说，人们无论在讲话或者写文章的时候，首先运用的是“成语原则”，然后才是“开放选择原则”，因此，也有人把“成语原则”翻译成“成语优先原则”。

辛克莱的发现无论对于英语学习还是翻译都具有重要意义，在笔者看来，他一语道破了译入语为非母语译者在翻译过程中出现诸多问题的根本原因。

又有研究表明，中国学生（其实也包括教师和教授们）在使用英语时，能够熟练掌握的词块（prefabricated chunks）“数目较少、长度偏短、缺乏应有的变体”（卫乃兴,《中国学习者英语口语语料库初始研究》，《现代外语》2004年02期），因此他们的话语输出主要依赖“开放选择原则”，而将词块链接为话语的技能较低。

我们在从事英文写作或汉译英时出现许多“不地道”的根本原因就在这里，正如英国翻译理论家彼得•纽马克(Peter Newmark) 所说：“That is why you cannot translate properly if the TL is not your language of habitual usage.”然而我们大家都知道，我们所从事的汉译英工作恰恰是无法做好的工作，我们的问题不仅仅是语言不地道的问题，更包括在使用“开放选择原则”时由于基础英语不
过关而导致的大量错误。

综上所述我们有理由相信，英语水平的高低是决定能否做好汉译英的关键。

本次擂台赛中，原文中的一些表达方式其实在英语中有着相同或相近的表达，请看下面笔者给出的例子和误译分析：
【原文一】最早的“品牌”可追溯到中国和埃及的早期文明。

【译文一】The earliest brands may date back to the early days of China and Egypt.
【译文二】The earliest brands can be traced back to the early days of China and Egypt.
【例句一】The earliest known glass mirrors date back to Greco-Roman times, and were found in the tombs at Arsinoe in Egypt.
【例句二】Presumably such militias date back to the last years of the Roman period, although there is no evidence for them in the fifth century.
【例句三】The idea of a primeval golden age can be traced back to the Sumerians (c.2000 BC). 【例句四】The origin of democracy can be traced back to Greece.
【误译一】However, the earliest “brand”can be dated back to the early civilizations in China and Egypt.
【误译二】However, the earliest “brand”might trace back to early civilization of Chinese and Egypt.
【误译分析】误译一中的can be dated back to应改为can date back to或者date back to；误译二中的might trace back to应改为can be traced back to。

【原文二】中国的民族品牌与世界级品牌相比相形失色……
【译文二】Chinese national brands pale in comparison with those world-class brands……
【例句一】In 1993 Burgundy's white wines pale in comparison with its reds.
【例句二】The benefits pale in comparison with the side effects.
【例句三】The best hearing aids pale in comparison with natural gift of hearing.
【误译一】Chinese national brands are greatly tarnished compared with the world ones.
【误译二】Comparing with international leading brands Chinese ones are inevitably outclassed. 【误译三】Compared with those world top brands, Chinese national brands are outshone.
【误译四】Compared with these world-class brands, China’s native brands look pale.
【误译五】Chinese national brand names are in an inferior state when compared with that of the world.
【误译分析】根据Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 的解释，作为动词的tarnish 的意义是：[intransitive and transitive] if metals such as silver, copper, or brass tarnish, or if something tarnishes them, they become dull and lose their colour；搭配后引申出的意义是：[transitive] if an event or fact tarnishes someone's reputation, record, image etc, it makes it worse。

两个相关的例句：1）The brass is nice, but it will tarnish really easily. 2）Neighbors' testimony tarnished Wilson's image as a loving mother. 因此，【误译一】Chinese national brands are greatly tarnished compared with the world ones.不成立。

其他四个误译例子都有这样或那样的问题，这里不再详述。

【原文三】中国品牌如何才能迎战洋品牌呢？
【译文三】How can Chinese brands give foreign brands a run for their money?
【例句一】I think only Liverpool will be able to give Manchester United a run for their money
next season.
【例句二】Automakers in China have come a long way from their humble beginnings and are starting to give their foreign competitors a run for their money
【误译一】How can China brands challenge with foreign brands?
【误译二】How can Chinese brands confront imported brands’challenges head-on?
【误译分析】误译一中的challenge为及物动词，因此challenge with的说法是错误的；误译二中imported brands的说法不妥。

就本句而言，来稿中的一些译法都可接受，如How can Chinese brands be ready for the challenge posed by foreign brands? 以及to meet the challenges head-on，to rise to the challenges of foreign brands等说法。

根据Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms（Cambridge University Press 1998）的释义，give someone a run for their money的意思是to compete very strongly against someone who is expected to win a competition. 因此，笔者认为译文三比较好。

【原文四】我国的许多企业一心只想抢滩国际市场，只顾迈向大都市……
【译文四】Many of our enterprises（businesses）are obsessed with the idea of nudging into the international market and metropolitan areas.
【误译一】Many businesses in our country are wholeheartedly fighting beachhead for the share of the international market
【误译分析】汉语中“抢滩国际市场”的意思是“打入或挤进国际市场”，与英语中to nudge into the international market 的说法非常接近，不一定把beachhead一词用上，beachhead的意思是an area of shore that has been taken from an enemy by force, and from which the army can prepare to attack a country。

当然，英语中也有to establish a beachhead的说法，也可以表示在别国市场占有一席之地的意思，如1）The deals give HP a solid beachhead in the market for large-scale outsourcing deals；2）LONDON: India's Biocon is soon to establish a beachhead in the UK, and is setting up an office in London. 但是，误译一中fighting beachhead for的说法是错误的。

大家来稿中此句译文五花八门，大多都有问题，此处不再赘述。

【原文五】看似风光无限，其实很不明智。

【译文五】They are swollen-headedly stealing the limelight.
英语中to steal the limelight的意思是to do something that makes people pay more attention to you than to other people；而have a swollen head/be swollen-headed的意思是to be too proud and think you are very clever or important。

因此，译文五基本上表达了原文的意思。

总体上看，大家对此句的翻译都不够理想。

【原文六】许多国外强势品牌都在千方百计围绕中国农村市场大做文章。

【译文六】Some well-established（strong）international brands are constantly racking their brains over China’s rural market.
【误译一】Many powerful foreign brands are trying a thousand ways to make a fuss about the Chinese rural market.
【误译二】Many foreign strong brands had racked their brains to make a big fuss on China’s rural market.
【误译分析】上面的两例误译均出在对make a fuss的错误理解上，实际上还有许多人也采用了to make a fuss来表示“大做文章”，在笔者看来这很奇怪。

根据Longman Dictionary
of Contemporary English的解释，make a fuss about something的意思是to complain or become
angry about something, especially when this is not necessary；虽然make a fuss of somebody/something有to pay a lot of attention to someone or something, to show that you are pleased with them or like them的意思，但在这里也不合适。

有一位参赛者的译文是That is why many foreign strong brands are trying every means to get as much mileage from Chinese rural market as they can. 如果把句中的every means去掉，整体上译文也很好。

以上评述仅提供参考，欢迎大家批评指正。

（陈小全）。