On Translation of Foreign Brand Names-国外品牌名称的翻译 [3]
论文作者:英语论文论文属性:课程作业 Coursework登出时间:2014-04-03编辑:caribany点击率:9401
论文字数:3578论文编号:org201404031131339030语种:英语 English地区:英国价格:免费论文
关键词:cross-culture跨文化Brand Name品牌名称translation
摘要:翻译国外品牌的名称,跨文化差异是其一个重要的影响因素。国外的品牌,不管在全球范围内享有多大的名气,如果没有翻译成很好的中文名称的话,也很难为中国消费者接受。
nbsp;“宝” (preciousness), “美” (beauty), “雅” (elegance), “益” (beneficial), “健” (healthy), “能” (capability, energetic), “富” (rich, abundant) are usually used.
“Coca-cola”, a famous beverage brand, is one typical example that cannot be neglected when talking about brand name translation. Its Chinese translation “可口可乐” is so prevailing that everybody in China knows it nowadays. “可口” means “tasty” in Chinese and “乐” means happiness, which seemingly tells the customers that drinking it brings happiness. “百事可乐”, the translation of another famous coke drink, “Pepsi-Cola” is another good example similar to “Coca-cola”. “Extra”, a chewing gum brand, is translated as “益达”, of which “益” implies that it is beneficial to people, reflecting the designer’s idea that chewing this gum will be beneficial to people’s teeth. “Hershey’s” and “Cadbury”, two chocolate brands, are translated into “好时” and “吉百利”, making use of the characters like “好”, “吉” and “利” to link customers’ thoughts with luck and good fortune. “Heineken”, a brand for beer, is translated as “喜力”, with a character “喜” meaning “happiness”. “Avon”, “Maybelline” and “Nivea”, three cosmetic brands, have very beautiful Chinese translation: “雅芳”, “美宝莲” and “妮维雅” respectively, which make use of characters like “雅”, “美” to emphasize their potential ability to beautify people.
What’s more, sometimes Chinese customers like the character “龙” (dragon) very much because the image of dragon has already been embedded in their mind. Dragon, for the Chinese nation, is the symbol of power and heavenliness so they will have a special preference for this animal which does not exist. As Chen Dezhang from Beijing Foreign Studies University points out that the dragon in English and 龙 in Chinese are both imaginary animals but have very different connotations. To Chinese 龙 is something sacred and has been referred to as the ancestor of the Chinese nation. Therefore, “Denon”, a brand for Hi-Fi products, is translated as “天龙” and “Citroen”, a French-made car brand, is translated as “雪铁龙”.
b. The translation of the brand name should try to reflect what the product is and its features.
Before customers see the product with their own eyes, they will guess what the product is from its brand name. As soon as the product enters a market, the designed brand name should immediately indicate its target customers, therefore, the translation of the brand should also has the same effect of the original one, thus it can play an inevitable role in promoting the product in the new market. (Bao Huinan 282) To gain popularity in the Chinese market, it is essential for an import commodity to have a translated brand name that can reflect its feature so Chinese consumers can easily recognize it.
“Enfagrow”, translated as “安儿宝”, is a milk powder brand. “儿”, meaning “baby”, “children” and “宝”, meaning “treasure” imply that this product is good for babies and children. “Safeguard”, a brand for soap and bathing lotion, is translated as “舒肤佳”. Here “舒” means “comfort” and “肤” means “skin”. So this translation will leave the impression to people that this soap or lotion can bring comfort to the skin. “Colgate”, a brand for toothpaste, is translated as “高露洁” with the character “洁” meaning “clean”, indicating that it can make people’s teeth clean and tidy. “Saridon”, a painkiller, translated into Chinese as “散利痛”, utilizes the character
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