刘名飞

Abstract:Brand name is an important part of the advertisement of a commodity. It is the symbol of the quality, characteristic and specification of the commod-ity. Brand names play an important part in the sales promotion of commodities. As a special intercultural activity, the translahon of Brand names plays a more andmore important part in international market competition. Yet it is no easy thing to transform brand names from one language to another one keeping the originalstyle, chann and connotation. The translation of brand names is not only a process to find a counterpart in the target language, but also a process of re - creation,because different countries and nations have different cultural background. Based on many convincing examples, this paper introduces the characteristics and func-tions of brand names, states the principles of the translation of brand names and offers the available and useful methods for the translation of brand names.

Key Words: brand name ; tianslation ; principles ; methods

中圖分类号 :1207. 5

文献标识码:A

文章编号 :1672 -1578 ( 2019 ) 08 - 0299 - 02

1. Introduction

In the development of human society, the emergence of commodities givesrise to the birth of brand names. Brand names are the result of highly developedcommodity economy. They form an important aspect ofmodem economic life. Abrand name is the most prominent mark of the commodity, a good brand namecan leave deep impression upon the mind of shoppers and can arouse their de-sires to buy the related commodity. The import and export of commodities givesrise to the bhth of translation of brand names. Nowadays, because of the glo-balization national boundaries are being surmounted, intemational cooperationand communication, especially business cooperation, import and export of com-modities are strengthened. Whether the commodities can have a firm footing inthe foreifp market and be accepted by the consumers, thus building up goodbrand image lies in the qualified translation of brand names.

In a sense, we can say that brand name means reputation. Because thetranslation of brand names is the re - entitlement of the commodity, it is veryimpmtant for the sales of the goods. Due to the acceleration of economy global-ization and china' s WTO membership, the interchanging of goods between Chi-na and other countries is becoming extensive. Companies, both domestic and a-broad are busying adjusting their management strategy and market orientation inorder to win the competition and occupy more international market. If a com-modity has a wonderful translation of brand name, then customers would be well - disposed towards it and consequently have a desire to buy it. While an un-successful translated brand name would not only bring economic loss to the com-pany, but also damage the image of the company. Thus, it is valuable to have aresearch on how to tTanslate brand names properly. In this paper, following theintroduction of the characteristics and functions of brand names, methods andprinciples that should be followed in the translation of brand names will be of-fered. Besides, problems arising in the process of translation of brand nameswill be analyzed and the solutions will he provided.

2. The Characteristics of Brand Names

Firstly, Brand name is the symbol of a product, so it usually suggests theattributes of a product or a commodity. For example, When we see the brandname —巧手Ⅱ(literally means - deft hand Ⅱ) , we guess it might be relatedto washing powder, —五糧液 Ⅱ(literally means the - essence of five grains Ⅱ ) makes people think of the wine that is brewed from grain; while ——蒙牛 Ⅱ( literally means - Mongolian cows Ⅱ ) can be associated with the milk from In-ner Mongolia. Secondly, as commodities are to be sold to consumers, theirbrand names should be common, popular, concise and easy to understand andremember. Thirdly, Brand names are usually attractive in meaning so that whenpeople read them beautiful images would come into their minds ( Wei, 1997 ) .For example, the well - known beverage' brand name ——可口可乐 Ⅱ ( CocaCola) , ——百事可乐 Ⅱ( Pepsi Cola) , ——雪碧Ⅱ( Sprite) ; Cars' brand names——奔驰 Ⅱ ( Benz) , ——皇冠 Ⅱ ( Crown).

3. The Functions of Brand Names

Brand Name is used to identify and distinguish a company' s goods fromthose produced by others, so it has the feature of exclusiveness ( Arnold,1979). It belongs to the company s patent. When seeing the brand name,consumers can think of the producer. The goods that bears the same brandname are customarily regtuded as coming from the same company. Identificationis the basic function of brand name ( Chen, 2000). The second function ofbrand name is to guarantee and supervise the quality of products. It is easier foradministrative department and consumers to supervise the quality of the goodsby means of checking the brand names. In order to maintain their own creditstanding, producers would supervise each other through brand names, avoidingcounterfeit products' turrung up. Promoting sales is the third function of brandnames.

Brand name can give publicity to products' quality, function and reputa-tion. Consumers get used to identifying goods by seeing brand names. The firstimpression of brand name has tempting effect or function. Brand name also hasthe function of legal protection. Usually brand names should be registered intrademark administrative department. Then the concerned company has the pro-prietary of the brand name. Any individual or company usurping the brandname without the permission of the proprietor will be charged with tort. Conclu-sively, using Brand names lawfully can avoid counterfeit products' tuming up,protect corporations' rights, and promote the development of commodity econo-my( Chen, 2002).

4.Principles and strategies on the translation of company names

The purpose of brand names is to give publicity to commodities, stimulateconsumption and boost the celebrity of the brand of the goods. In order to pro-mote the sales of commodities, the translation of brand names should abide bythe following principles.

Firstly, since all brand names have the common purpose of advising peopleto buy the goods through the intioduction of them, the translation of brandnames should be adequate in diction for the representation of the commodity'scharacteristics and functions( Tang, 2002). For example, the Germanic auto- Benz Ⅱwas translated as——朋驰Ⅱor ——本茨Ⅱ in Taiwan, although thisversion is homophonic to the original name II Benz 0,it sounds dull and lackof implied meaning. The present version of it in the mainland is ——奔驰Ⅱ,which is not only similar to the original pronunciation, but also suggestive of theheroic flavor of this brand, thus impressing the buyers with the excellent per-formance of such cars. Secondly, brand names translation should imply the useof the product. Whether the translated name can imply the use of the goods hasan influence on the sales of the goods. The word "Tide"(a brand name forwashing powder) literally means - trend 0.However, translators translate“to——汰渍Ⅱ

creatively according to the use of the product, being consistent to itsadvertising slogan ——汚渍汗渍不留痕迹Ⅱ(using—Tide Ⅱcan ensure thecomplete disappearance of dirt and sweat stain). The translation skillfully im-plies the use of the product, and publicizes it successfully.

Thirdly, brand names translation should keep the original aesthetic value.A successful translated brand name can put a reader into a splendid artisticrealm to arouse his/her interest( Wang, 2003).When translating brandnames, translators should try their best to ensure the reappearance of the grace-ful artistic image of the original names. The original and the version are re-quired to be not only similar in sound, but also similar in spirit.

Diamond Ⅱ(a brand name of jewelry) has a Chinese name ——戴夢得Ⅱ.This name istransliterated from - Diamond，and bears the meaning of ——您梦寐以求的珠宝从这儿就可得到Ⅱ( Here you can get the jewelry you have dreamedof.) Fourthly, the translation of brand names should accord with the target con-sumers' cultural habit, including fashion, community psychology, public con-sciousness, moral criterion, religious tradition and so on. Different countriesand areas have great differences in culture. Translators should pay more atten-tion to cultural differences, avoiding misapprehension and antipathy. Manybrand names have certain cultural connotations. People with different culturalbackgrounds have different ideas about the same things because of the differentmoral criteria, religions, beliefs, and modes of thinking. As for the same col-or, plant, animal, maybe some countries prefer, while some not. If we leavethis factor out of consideration, it would produce unexpected negative reaction.Shanghai ——大白兔Ⅱ milk candy is popular in China, but if it is literallytranslated as White Rabbit Ⅱ and sold to Australia, then it would receivenegative reaction.

5.METHODS FOR THE TRANSLATION OF BRAND NAMES

5.1

Transliteration

Transliteration Just as its name implies, transliteration means to find thetranslated name that has the nearest similar pronunciation to that of the originalone in the target language( Huang, 2003). This method is used mostly in thetranslation of the brand names named after the names of people and places, be-cause it is hard to find the denotative counterparts for these names in the targetlanguage, or the seemingly denotative counterpars are farless popular than theoriginal ones. Transliteration method can be divided into three types: Firstly,sound to sound o pattem. In this case the original name is only regarded as thesymbol of sound and shape and has no more deeper mearung, and the translatedname just takes after the pronunciation of the original name and has no deepermeaning either, and usually the simulation of the original pronunciation is toimpress the consumers with exotic flavor so as to arouse their curiosity and inter-est, thus stimulating their purchasing desire. For example, "Christian Dior" istranslated as ——克里斯第安迪奥Ⅱ(brand name for woman toiletry)， Mc-Donald's Ⅱ is translated as ——麦当劳Ⅱ(brand name for snack bar).Second-ly, sound to the combination of sound and meaning|l pattem. In this case, thetranslator would choose the words for the kanslated name carefully to make itcreative and attractive. But the pronunciation should have a similar pronuncia-tion to the original one. If you are mindful, you may have noticed the Chineseversion of the shampoo "Top". Top means 顶|j,but if it is translated assuch Chinese consumers will feel strange. Then it is changed to ——脱普Ⅱ，which means transcendence. Tjoy( brand name for face washing lotion) istranslated as ——丁家宜Ⅱ.Johnson (brand name for baby lotion) as强生(healthy life),Tylenole( brand name for a Western medicine) as泰诺(ensu-ring your health) and so on. The above translated brand names have the similar-ity both in pronunciation and meaning to the original ones. Thirdly, meaning tosound o pattern. In this case, the original brand names are words or phraseswith actual meaning, but the translation just imitate the original sound in an ac-ceptable way and discard the original meaning. "Triumph" (women under-wear) and "Sportsman"(sports wear) are hanslated as ——戴安芬Ⅱ and ——斯波兹曼Ⅱ in the market.

5.2 Meaning - based Translation

Meaning - based translation means to find the appropriate and naturalcounterpart in the target language for the translation according to the mearung ofthe oriOnal name to deliver the information to the consumers. This method ispreferably used in the translation of brand names named after common words.Take the brands name "Pioneer”（先鋒）as an example. The company uses itto show that it is the forerunner in the field of stereo instruments. And ——先锋Ⅱin Chinese means a military official that leads others in march or fight. Theoriginal and the version have the same meaning, and give readers the same feel-ing. Meaning - based translation is also used when transliteration would bringmisunderstanding.E.g.,If ——芳草Ⅱis transliterated as“Fangcao", it wouldbring antipathy to target readers. because "fang" in English means venomoustooth of a snake and“cao" sounds like“chaos．”，so ——Fragrance Grass Ⅱshould be a better translation for this brand name. Some brand names can betranslated both by transliteration method and free translation method, but we u-sually choose free translation method if it can bring consumers wonderful im-pression。——天使Ⅱ can be translated as “Angel” rather than “Tianshi”, as angel o is a familiar laudatory term in western countries, so do ——凯歌Ⅱ牌( Triumphant) and ——光明Ⅱ牌(Bright).In addition, the translation of manybrand names named after flowers, animals or precious articles usually adoptsfree translation method, for instance， ——葵花Ⅱ(Sunflower)， ——百灵Ⅱ( Lark)， ——海鸥Ⅱ(Seagull)，——熊猫Ⅱ(Panda)，—— 凤凰Ⅱ(Phoenix)，——钻石Ⅱ( Diamond) and ——小鸭Ⅱ(Little - swan) (Wang, 1997).

5.3

Combination of Transliteration and Free Translation

This method is a bit more difficult for translators to master and challengestheir creative ability.hrequires that the pronunciation of the translated nameshould be the same or close to the original one and its meaning can indicate thecharacteristic and function of the product( Dai, 2000). Consumers can havenice association from the pronunciation and meaning of the translated brandname. Combination of transliteration and free translation can display transla-tors' skill most. For example, “Coca - Cola”is translated as ——可口可乐Ⅱ．According to its pronunciation - Coca Ⅱ can be translated to ——口科Ⅱ，——口可Ⅱand so on. While as for beverage, people would attach importance to thefeeling of the taste. So the translator grasped the characteristic of people's psy-chology, and by using free translation method translate it as ——可口Ⅱ whichmeans - very pleasant to people's taste 0.The second part is transliterated as——可乐Ⅱ. The version——可口可乐Ⅱ is very appropriate and natural. It suf-ficiently implies the characteristic and function of the beverage: it sure can giveyou ruce flavor and pleasure. The widely - known sports shoes of - Nike 0brand give the original native consumers the feeling of gracefulness and victory,because - Nike o is the goddess of victory in Greek mythology. While its Chi-nese version ——耐克Ⅱas the result of combination of transliteration and freetranslation not only simulate the original pronunciation but also endue the branda novel commendatory sense which implies that this brand shoes are wear -proof and durable. Other examples of this type are as follows: "KODAK”（柯達）( film)，“JSDA”（金时达）(timekeeper)，“XEROX”（施乐）（electricappliance），“RICOH（理光）(multi - functional digital camera)，“SAM-PO”（新宝）(washing machine)，it sounds like SHAMPOO（洗发水）(Xu,2002). There are plenty of such coined trademarks, and more often than notthey can not be found in bilingual dictionaries.

6．Conclusion

As the intemational competition is becoming more and more intense,whether a brand name can be accepted by consumers and occupy the intema-tional market decides the fate of a company. We can not deny that advertise-ments play an important part in the sales promotion of the goods. Brand name isan important part of advertisement. It will never be a easy mark to change brandnames from one language to another and keep the original style, charm and con-notation. The translation of brand names is not only a process to find a counter-part in the target language, but also a process of re - creation, because differentcountries and nations have different cultural backgrounds Translators should notonly understand the literal meanings of the original brand names precisely,sometimes they should also get rid of the hidebound conception of mechanical e-quivalence and translate the brand names creatively to attract more consumers.Therefore, the brand name translators should not only gain good command of theknowledge of the two languages and translation techruques, but should also im-prove their cultural awareness such as enterprises' cultural awareness and na-tional cultural awareness, and master the relevant laws to do the work better.

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