英语论文Trade Mark Translation in the.docx
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英语论文TradeMarkTranslationinthe
TradeMarkTranslationinthe
PerspectiveofReceptionAesthetics
1.Introduction
Inmodernsociety,trademarkisnotonlyasymbolofenterprisesbutalsoaweaponforcorporationstocompetewithcounterparts.Hence,trademarkisoffirst-rateimportanceforcompaniestoselltheircommodities.Soistrademarktranslation.Withthetrendofglobalizationandthedevelopmentofinternationaltrade,trademarktranslationiscrucialforthesaleofcommoditiesinforeignmarkets.Excellenttranslatedtrademarksbringprestigeandprofittocompanies,whilepoortranslatedonesresultininestimabledamageanduncountableloss.Therefore,brandnametranslationdoesmakeabigdifferencetomanufacturersandsellers.
Asamatteroffact,westernscholarshavebeenstudyingtrademarktranslationforalongperiod.However,trademarktranslationwasrarelymentionedinChinesetranslationstudies.Fortunately,ithasdrawnChinesetranslators’attentioninrecentyears.EnormousamountsofarticlesontrademarktranslationarepublishedinChineseinfluentialacademicjournalslikeChineseTranslatorsJournal,ShanghaiJournalofTranslators,etc.Forinstance,ChenZhendongissued“OnE-CTranslationofTrademarks”(2005)inShanghaiJournalofTranslators.HuKaibaoandChenZaiquanpublished“AestheticPropertiesofCommodityNamesandE-CTranslationofTrademarks”(2000)inChineseTranslatorsJournal.
Inthepreviousstudiesoftrademarktranslation,mostexpertsconcentrateontranslationmethodsandskills.Nevertheless,therearestillsomeresearcherswhostudytrademarktranslationfromtheperspectivesofaestheticbeauty,culturalbackgroundandlinguisticrules.Asforthetheoriesappliedtotrademarktranslation,therearetheprincipleofthreecharactersbroughtforwardbyYanFu,theprincipleofequivalenceputforwardbyNida,etc.
Thesetraditionaltheoriesareusefulforsomebrandnames,butnotpracticalinanycase,fortheyignoretheviewersofbrandnames,whoarethejudgesofbrandnametranslation.Accordingly,contemporaryscholarsstarttoexploretrademarktranslationinnewangles.WangZuoliangpointedoutthattranslationshouldbestudiedinanewperspectiveinthenewperiod,andreadersshouldbetheprimaryconcernoftranslators(YangZijian,LiuXueyun,2003:
287).ItisafactthatsometranslatorshavestudiedtranslationfromtheperspectiveofReceptionAestheticsinwhichthecloseconnectionbetweenreadersandliteraryworksandtheactiveroleofreadersareemphasizedalot.Forexample,HouXiangquncreatedhis“OnReceptionTheoryandTranslation”(1994).HuKaibao,HuShirongtogetherproduced“ReceptionTheoryasanExplanatoryToolinTranslationStudies”(2006).
Consideringtheactiveroleofconsumersinbrandnametranslation,itisreasonabletoguidebrandnametranslationwithReceptionAesthetics.Withtheaimtocontributetotranslationtheoriesanddohelpintranslationpractice,thisthesisprobesintothesignificanceofReceptionAestheticsintrademarktranslationintermsofhorizonofexpectations,fusionofhorizonsandhorizontransmutation.
2.TrademarktranslationandReceptionAesthetics
2.1Trademarkandtrademarktranslation
Inthecommercialsocietyabundantwithvariedgoods,trademarkandtrademarktranslationdeservemoreattention,fortheyaremostlythefirstcontactofconsumerstoproductsanddohelpintherealizationofbrandpopularity.Thispartwillfirstdefinetrademark,thenillustratethefunctionsoftrademarkandtrademarktranslation,andfurtheranalyzethestatusofconsumersandconsumers’needsandmotiveswhichareimportanttotrademarktranslation.
2.1.1Definitionoftrademark
AccordingtoContemporaryChineseDictionary(1996:
1104),trademarkisamarkorasignthatisplacedonaproducttodistinguishitfromthelikessoldbyotherproducers.OxfordDictionaryofEconomicsdefinestrademarkasfollows,“asymbol,logo,ornameusedtoenablethepublictoidentifythesupplierofgoods”(Black,2002:
472).Anotherdefinitionoftrademarkis“aspecialname,sign,word,etc.,whichismarkedonaproducttoshowthatitismadebyaparticularproducer,andwhichmaylegallyonlybeusedbythatproducer”(LongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish,1993:
1126).
Judgingfromalltheabove,thereareseveralcharacteristicsoftrademark.Tobeginwith,trademarkisaspecialname,sign,orlogothatismarkedonaproduct.Secondly,itisusedtodifferentiatetheproductandtheproducerfromthelikes.Thirdly,itisanimportantformofcommercialpropertywhichislegallyusedonlybytheholder.
2.1.2Functionsoftrademarkandtrademarktranslation
Intoday’smarketingeconomy,trademarkisnotjustasimplesignplacedonaproduct.Withtheintensificationofcompetitioninthemarketplace,enterprisesstarttoattachmorefunctionstotheirtrademarks.Aparticularbrandnamecandistinguishthearticlefrompilesofsimilargoods.Thisaidsconsumersintherecognitionoftheirfavoriteproducts.Moreover,top-brandedcommoditiesareeasytoreachalargegroupofintendedcustomers.Itisafactthatenormousamountsofconsumersshowstronginclinationtobuythegoodsnamedexcellently,whichbringsagreatmanybenefitstosellers.Furthermore,awell-builttrademarkhelpstheestablishmentoftheimageofacompany.Acharacteristicbrandusuallyrepresentsthespiritofacorporation.Hence,thenameofabrandpublicizesnotjusttheproductbutalsothecompany.Inaddition,customers’brandloyaltycouldbebuiltupwithawell-designedbrandname.Consumersmaybeabsorbedbythepleasantnameandfavoritforalongtime.Lastbutnotleast,atrademarkwhichisregisteredlegallycanprohibittheinterestsofcompaniesfrombeingviolated.
Asisdiscussedabove,trademarkplaysacrucialroleinthepromotionofcommodities.Thesamegoesfortrademarktranslation.Thefirstimpressionofconsumerstoanativeproductisprobablygivenbyitstrademark,whilethefirstimpressiontoaforeignproductislikelyofferedbyitstrademarktranslation.Whetherornotgoodscanbesoldwellinforeignmarketsreliesontheirtrademarktranslationstoacertainextent.Anappropriaterenderinghelpstobuildaperfectbrandimageandcontributestothepromotionofgoods.Aqualitytranslationofbrandnameswilldrawconsumers’attention,arousetheircuriosity,stimulatetheirdesireandeventuallyeffecttheirpurchaseofthearticle.Ifthebrandnametranslationissatisfactoryenough,theso-calledbrandloyaltycouldbebuiltup.Thentheintentionofthetranslationcommissionerisrealized.Onthecontrary,apoorlytranslatedbrandresultsingreatlossforbothmanufacturersandsellers.Aninappropriatebrandrenderingcouldnotshowmuchpleasantnesstotheviewers.Naturally,itwillruintheimageoftheproducerandthesellerandcausetherejectionofconsumerstotheproduct.Finally,thetranslationinitiatorwhohopestoimprovesaleswiththehelpofabrandtranslationwillfeeldisappointed.
2.1.3Significanceofconsumersintrademarktranslation
2.1.3.1Statusofconsumersintrademarktranslation
Brandnametranslationisresponsibletosendthesourcemessagetotargetconsumersasaccurateaspossible.Translatedbrandsaresupposedtonotonlyremaintheessenceoftheoriginaltext,butalsogaintheappreciationofintendedcustomers.Consequently,consumers’receptionbecomesofprimaryimportanceandconsumersintheintendedmarketareputintoadecisivestatus.Itispotentialconsumerswhowillnotice,beengrossedin,andpayattentiontothetranslationsofbrandnames.Itisalsoprospectiveconsumerswhoplaytheroleasthereaders,theaddresseesandtherespondersofabrandtranslation.Itseemsthattheroleofconsumersshouldbegivenfullconsiderationintrademarktranslation.Hence,brandnametranslatorsshouldbearinmindtargetaudiencewheneverdoingtranslations.
2.1.3.2Consumers’needsandmotivesintrademarktranslation
“Aneedisthewishandrequirementofpeopletopossess,consume,orenjoysomethinginordertomaintaintheirlivingandbetterself-development”(Net.1).AccordingtotheAmericanpsychologistAbrahamH.Maslow,therearetwocategoriesofhumanneeds.Oneisbasicorphysicalneeds,theotherisadvancedorpsychologicalneeds(Net.1).Basicorphysicalneedsaretheoriginofconsumers’wantforthingslikefood,drinkandclothes.Whileadvancedorpsychologicalneedsarethesourceofconsumers’desireforthingsastoys,make-ups,digitalproducts,etc.AsChenFuyubelieves,consumers’needs,eitherthephysicalneedsorthepsychologicalneeds,stimulateconsumerstocarryouttheirconsumingactions(2004).Hence,trademarktranslatorsareobligedtogivefirstconcerntoconsumers’needs,especiallytothepsychologicalneeds.
“Amotiveisthepsychologicalcharacteristicofpeopleaimingatachievingsomething,whichproducesaparticularintentionandpower,andthereforestimulatespeopletocarryoutcertainactions”(Net.1).Inotherwords,amotiveisaninteriorstimulantofpeople’sconsumption.Itsroleasaguiderintheconsumptionprocessshouldnotbeignoredbybrandnametranslators.
Inthesocietyabundantwithvariedcommercialitems,itisconsumers’psychologythatencouragespeopletoselectaspecialproductfromthelikes.Hence,topromotethesaleofcommodities,consumers’psychologyshouldbegivenacertainpriority.Sinceconsumers’needsandmotivesarethemainconcernsofconsumers’psychology,tosatisfyconsumers’psychologymeanstocontentconsumers’needsandmotives.Naturally,topromotethesaleofcommodities,translatorsshouldenabletrademark