商标名英译中的翻译技巧和原则-开题报告

Problem Introduction and Research Significance

In recent years China has becoming more and more opening to the outside world and integration with the world economy. China as a big emerging market, the rapid growth of the consumer market attracts foreign companies. China provides opportunities for the foreign companies to develop and extend adequately. This hopeful growth has led to many foreign companies to establish themselves business in China. Nevertheless, when foreign companies enter China market with different language and cultures some issues are certain to arise. One important things is that the foreign companies are faced with the decision of whether to keep their foreign brand name or translate it into Chinese brand name when they enter into China market. If keep to their foreign brand name, the linguistic and cultural barriers are challenge, and they may not adapt their China market; on the other hand, the convey message of foreign brand name may not according to their objectives this can potentially led to unwanted implications. From my opinion that for the China market, the foreign companies are probably important that translate the foreign brand name into Chinese brand name. 

For example: the brand name Coca-Cola translated into Chinese meant “bite the wax tadpole” while the first enter into China market in 1927. Because Coca-Cola keep their foreign brand name, the Chinese brand name was translated by their China shopkeeper using English pronunciation, but one character usually used gave the uncomplimentary implication of “wax”. After that, Coca-Cola proactively used the Chinese phonetic translation with positive meanings. Therefore, the foreign companies should be completely understand all the additional meanings of the translated brand names; and also should be focus on how the translated brand name is perceived by consumers; even though, translate the English brand name into Chinese brand name which might also difficult to know accurately that the messages are being understood by the Chinese consumers because of the language basic differences between English and Chinese. 

Brand name deliveries cultural sign. It represents not only cross-cultural language but also cross-cultural communication. Excellent brand name can bring big commercial effectiveness to brand strategically development and guidance to brand spreading implementation. With both of two advantages, the foreign companies will be win commercial benefit and culture transmission. Thus, we are eager to find best translation theories and techniques. 

Research Actuality and Achievement

Base on the rapid development of linguistics, and translation studies, the brand name translation study began to get rid of a simple literal translation, liberal translation and transliteration system, and many scholars began to take into account the elements of culture differences and national psychological differences, and they put forward a lot of brand name translation principles, methods and techniques, which mainly include: Nida’s ‘functional equivalence’, Vermeer’s Skopos-theory, Nord’s theory of function plus loyalty, and YanFu’s faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance…etc.  

Nida points out that “the relation-ship between receptor and message should be substantially the same as that which existed between the original receptors and the message’ (Nida: 1969, 159).” The scholar Xiao Yan points out that “the Skopos theory delimits the act of translation from the traditionally defined notion of equivalence. The Skopos theory answers why an equivalent fits in a particular time and in a particular situation. In the framework of the Skopos theory, there are not such things as right or wrong, faithfulness or unfaithfulness, and the Skopos decides the translation process. (XiaoYan Du, 2012).” In theory there are three clear ways of translating; strictly semantic, strictly phonetic and phonosemantic (Chow et al., 2007). The Chinese characters in a semantic translation only represent meanings and as thus do not follow the pronunciation of the original English brand name. In a phonetic translation they strictly imitate the pronunciation of the English brand name and as thus carry no actual meaning (Chow et al., 2007). A purely phonetic name is composed by putting characters together in such a way that their combined meanings make no sense (Francis et al., 2002; Zhang and Schmitt, 2001).Yet to translate the brand name from English into Chinese rarely results in the exact same pronunciation being attained. There is also the alternative of translating in a phonosemantic way which compromises between the meanings and pronunciation of characters so that both are represented to different degrees in the brand name (Zhang and Schmitt, 2001).The scholar Quan-Hong Yang points out that the brand translation work in China has following shortcomings: be apt to parrot (repeat word for word what others say), be short of create something new and original, be apt to act blindly, be short of export-oriented cooperation, be apt to subjective assumption, be short of practical investigation, be apt to self-approbation, be short of objective-oriented, be apt to one-dimensional thinking, be short of multiway thinking (Quan-Hong Yang, 2003:56). Up to now, the brand name translation research has been developed for several decades worldwide, it’s from less people to research to becoming a hot field, and now is an integral part of the subject style in translation studies. Although significant success has been gained in brand name translation field, there still some shortcomings that need this generation even next generation to improve and perfect.

Main Contents and Research Method

Main contents:

The American scholar Al Ries points out that we know the importance of a good brand name for a successful product a brand can get the customers’ satisfaction, acceptance, approval, and even loyalty on just premise that it has a good brand name. Brand names, to a large extent, have a direct impact on product sales. As the core element of a brand, its brand name even has a direct impact on its rise and fall, the economic benefits of an enterprise, and even the survival of the enterprise. (Al Ries and Laura Trout, 2002: 44). In order to solve the international company faced brand name translation problem when they enter China market, this article mainly aims to discuss and analyze on English-Chinese translation of brand name, including: formation and characteristics of brand name, cultural difference, analyze and summarize the brand name translation technique and methods based on domestic and overseas translation theory. This article also lists a lot of case for further instructions. 

Research method: Analytical method, Enumeration method, Literature research method and Inductive method.

II．Outline

Title: On English-Chinese Translation Techniques and Principles of Brand Names

English Abstract

Introduction

Background of Study

Layout of Thesis

Whether to Translate Foreign Brand Name into Chinese Brand Name

Keeping Western Name

Translating into Chinese Name

Linguistic Features

Chinese Linguistic Features

English Linguistic Features

Expression Differences between Chinese and English

Characteristics of Brand Name Translation

Proper Nouns Brand Name

Common Nouns Brand Name

Inventing words Brand Name 

Three Common Techniques and SWOT Method in Brand Name Translation 

Phonetic Translation

Semantic Translation

Phonosemantic Translation

SWOT Method Application in Brand Name Translation

Principles of Brand Name Translation

Compliance with the laws

Follow the Principle of Functional Equivalence

Follow the Principle of Skopos theory

Easy to Pronounce and Remember

Indicative Product Characteristic

Follow the Principle of Esthetical Principle

Cross-Cultural Integration

Conclusion

Ⅲ、References:

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