从目的论看英汉商标翻译.docx
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从目的论看英汉商标翻译
成绩
研究生
张姝
评卷人
学号
201010901028
三峡大学外国语学院
研究生课程论文
论文题目StudyonE-CtranslationofBrandnamesfromtheperspectiveofSkopostheory
完成时间2011-08-03
课程名称英汉对比与翻译
专业英语语言文学
年级2010级
StudyonE-CtranslationofBrandnamesfromtheperspectiveofSkopostheorie
Abstract:
Withthedevelopmentoftheeconomicglobalizationandincreasinginternationalcontact,brandnamesbecomemoreandmoreimportant.BasedontheprinciplesofSkopostheory,thispapermainlydiscussestheE-Ctranslationonbrandnamesinaccordancewithitsuniquefeaturesandpointsoutthattheculturaldifferencesbetweenthesourceandtargettextsaresupposedtobegivenmuchattention.Meanwhile,someusefultranslationtechniquesareusedtoachievethebestbusinesseffect.
摘要:
经济全球化以及日益增张的国际贸易往来使得商标的翻译日趋重要。
本文以翻译目的论为理论框架,从商标特征的独特角度探讨英汉商标翻译,指出英汉商标翻译应注重原语与目的语之间的文化差异,并灵活运用各种翻译技巧以达到最佳商业效果。
KeyWords:
skopostheory;theuniquefeaturesofbrandnames;translationtechniques
关键词:
目的论;商标特征;翻译的技巧
1.Introduction
WithChina'sentryintoWTOandthefrequentinternationalcommunicationswiththeoutsideworld,agreatdealofChineseproductssurgeintoforeignmarketwhichleadstofiercecompetitionintheprocessofinternationaltrade.Inthiscompetition,moreandmoreenterpriseshavereachedtothecommonsensethatoneoftheirmostvaluableassetsisthebrandnamesassociatedwithrelativeproducts.Agoodbrandnamecanensuregreatproductqualityfordifferentcustomers,differentiatetheproductfrommillionsofcompetitivebrands,orstimulusthepurchaseofvariouscustomers.Thebrandnameisofvitalimportancetoacompany,whichrepresentstheimageandreputationoftheenterpriseitself.Therefore,muchattentionhasbeenpaidtothestudyofthebrandnametranslation.
Asaspecialtypeofpracticalwritingandculture,brandnameshavetheirownfeatures,whicharemainlymanifestedintofouraspects:
principles,functions,motivationsandculturalcharacteristics.Thefunctionsareinformative,aestheticandvocativeinnature.Theinventionofbrandnamesisbasedonthreebasicprinciples:
brevity,noveltyandreadability.Toperformthesefunctionsandobservethebasicprinciples,brandnamesareculturallymotivatedandproducedpsychologically,commercially,andsociologically.
AsforthebrandnamestranslationfromforeignlanguagesintoChinese,thefollowingdistinctiveproblemsshouldnotbeignoredoroverlooked.
1.1ApplicationofmonosyllabicpronunciationsinChinesecharacters.
Becauseofthelimitationnumberinmonosyllables,manyChinesecharactershavetosharethesamepronunciationwhichcauseduncertaintyfortranslatorstochooseChinesecharacters.Psoralesisacaseinpoint,itisthebrandnameforadrug,whichwasrenderedinto“破故纸”whenitwasfirstlybroughttoChina.Obviously,fewChinesepeoplearewillingtobuysuchuselessthingandthusthisdrugsoldratherslowlyinChina.
1.2Differentculturefromdifferentcountries
Somebrandnamesareloadedwithculturalinformation,itisanissueofhowtoconveypropermeaningsandexpressforeignculturesintranslatingsuchbrandnames.Forexample,thebrandnameofalipstick,Kissme,whichshouldbetranslatedas“吻我”literally.ButsuchliteraltranslationwillnotbeacceptedgenerallybymostChinesewhoareinclinedtobeimplicitortraditionalbynature.
1.3Differentpsychologicaldemandsindifferentcountries
ThetranslationofforeignbrandnamesshouldsatisfyormeetpsychologicalneedforChinesepeople.Forinstance,CaterpillarTractorCompanyinAmericachooses“Caterpillar”asitsbrandname.IfitisputdirectlyintoChinese,itwillbe“毛毛虫”,whichwoulddefinitelycauseconfusionforChinesepeopleatthefirstsightofthename.
2.BasicRulesofSkopostheory
Skopostheoryholdsthattranslationistoproduceatextinatargetsettingforatargetpurpose.Itholdsthattranslationisaformoftranslationalactionbasedonasourcetext,andtheprimeprincipledetermininganytranslationprocessisthepurpose(orskopos)oftheoveralltranslationalaction.ThistheoryisputforwardbyHansJ.VermeerwhooncestatedhisgeneralpositioninhisFrameworkforaGeneralTranslationTheoryin1978,andexplainedSkopostheoryindetailinthebookGroundworkforaGeneralTheoryofTranslationco-authoredwithhisteacherReissin1984.
Asthesuperficialmeaningoffunctionalismindicates,functionisthefoundationonwhichtheoveralltheoryisstructured.Infunctionalisttheory,themostimportantruleforanytranslationisthe“functionrule”,orthe"Skoposrule"determinedbyVermeer,whichcanbeexplainedinthefollowingway.
Eachtextisproducedforagivenpurposeandshouldservethispurposeaswell.Theskoposrulethuscanberegardedas:
theperfecttargettextshouldbetranslatedinawaythatenablesthetexttofunctionsinthespecificsituationandwiththepeoplewhowanttouseitandpreciselyinthewaytheywantittofunction.(Vermeer,1989:
20;Nord,2001:
29)
Thisruleispartlyintendedtosolvethecontroversybetweenfreeandfaithfultranslationwhichhasbeendebatedforalongtime.Inthetranslationprocess,thetranslatorhastomakehischoicefromatleasttwoaspects,thepurposeforwhichthetranslationisindicatedandskopostobeapplied.AccordingtotheSkoposrule,thetranslatormusttranslateinaccordancewithsomeprinciplesrelatedtothetargettext.Thisdoesnotmeanthatthetranslatorsshouldalwaysreproducethefunctionalelementssolelyfromthesourcetextortargettext,buttoadapttheaddressee'sprofessionalknowledge,responsibilities,andcommunicativeneedstothetranslation,becauseitisthereaderortheaddressee,thattakesthetoprankanddeterminetheSkopos.
Skopostheoryisrelativelyanewapproachfortranslationstudiesthatconsiderstranslationasapurposefulactivity,andemphasizesthesignificanceofpredictedresultsoftranslating.Therefore,itprovidesuswithanewperspectivefortranslationresearch.
3.IntroductionofBrandName
3.1DefinitionofBrandName
Brandnameisapartofthebrandthatcanbevocalizedforthecompany.Itisthemostimportantelementofbrandbecauseitoftencapturesthekeyassociationsofproductsinaverycompactandeconomicalfashion.
AnauthoritativepublicationbytheTrademarkAdministrationBureauofChinagivesadefinitionthatabrandcombinationisamarkoftypicalfeatures,consistingofcharacters,words,ordesignsofproductsadoptedbytheparticulargoodsmanufacturerproduced,selected,sold,orbytheproviderofcertainservices,todifferentiatethesourceofthegoodsorservices.(LiangJianhua,2002:
2)
3.2Generalfeatures
Asaspecialkindoftext,brandnamehassomegeneralfeaturessuchasbrevity,sonorityandnoveltywhichwillbediscussedinthefollowingpart.Consumers,infact,arenotfullyinformedofthequalityofthegoodstheybought,therefore,theiraimlesslyvalueofbrandnames,whichstandforcompanyreputation,willleadtouncertaintyofthegoods.What’smore,theyevenpaymoretothoseproductswhoseproducerhasabetterreputationforconsistentquality.
3.2.1BrevityandSonority
Firstofall,brevityisthemostimportantfactorforagoodbrandname.Brevityismanifestedinmanyaspectssuchasspellingsandpronunciations,becausebrandnameswillshowadeepimpressiontoconsumersanditmakesthemmucheasiertoberemembered.Generallyspeaking,Englishbrandnamescontainlessthanthreewords.Therearesomeclothingbrandnameswhichcouldperfectlyillustratethisfeature,suchas“渔”,“播”,whicharebrief,striking,andeasytobecarvedinthememoryofconsumers.
Secondly,sonorityisanotherimportantfeatureofbrandnames.Sonorityreferstothedistinctsyllablesandpleasingpoeticsyllablesofwords,whichmayaddtothememorabilityforbrandname.Therefore,oddandcomplexwordsshouldbetotallyavoidedinthetranslationofbrandnames.Moreover,wordswhichremindpeopleofgoodmemoriesandfeelingsthatshouldbeusedmorefrequently.Forinstance,"CocaCola"(可口可乐),“Contac”(康泰克),etc.
3.2.2NoveltyandMemorability
Asuccessfulbrandnameshouldenableconsumerstodifferentiatetheproducteasilybyitsnamefromtheirdreamingoneinmind.Asuccessfulcommercialnameoritstranslationshouldbeinstantlyrecognized,andpossessthepowertocommandadmirations.Intheprocessoftranslatingabrandname,weshouldmakesurethatitiseasytoberecognized,spelled,read,memorized,andorallyspread.Anexcellentbrandnameshouldbeattractiveandeasytoberememberedinspelling,pronunciationandmeaning.Usually,thebrandnameshouldhaveacreativestructure,whichcanbeachievedbydifferentways,suchasacronym,abbreviations,initials,numbers,andparallelism.
4.StrategiesandexamplesundertheGuidanceofSkopostheory
Thispaperbrieflygoesoverskopostheoryandthefeaturesofbrandnames.ThenitanalysesthecharacteristicsandfunctionsofEnglishandChinesebrandnames.Inthischapter,itwilldiscussesfourapproachestothetranslationofbrandnames:
non-translation,transliteration,literaltranslation,combinationoftransliteration,literaltranslationandcreativetranslation.
4.1Non-translation
Accordingtoskopostheory,thetranslationmethodisdeterminedbythepurposeofthetargettext.Inotherwords,thismightbeunderstoodas“theendjustifiesthemeans”.Sothejudgmentofatranslatedbrandnameistheeffectinthetargetmarketthatachieved.Iftheproductssellwellafterusingthetranslatedbrandnames,thenthetranslationhasmadeagreatcommunicativeeffect.
Asforthetranslationstrategies,itisclear