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1、An Intercultural Approach to the Study of Brand NamesAbstract : With the acceleration of the globalization,the international economic communication becomes much more frequent.Brand names not only transfer the information concerning commodities,but also transfer the cultural information to the receiv
2、ers in the target culture as cultural messenger,In the course of selling for the products,some brand names promote the selling,because these brand names are recognized by the foreign culture,arouse the same sympathy from the foreign consumers,While on the other hand,some brand names received passive
3、 feedbacks because theses heavy culture-loaded brande names have proved to result in “cultural shock” in foreign market. This thesis has studied the cultural origin.cultural connotation of brand names from the intercultural approach and revealed their reflectiong in various aspects such as social cu
4、stoms,religion,morality and so on. with the application of Nidas“functional equivalence”and provide concrete techniques for the translation of brand names so as to provide some help to the translation of English and Chinese brand names.The author points out that the translation of brand names in for
5、eign market should gibe as much attention as possible to commodity information and cultural information contained in original brand names.But also be sure that the translation cannot arouse cultural confilict,arouse unfavorable association,thus result in the failure of the selling,So the designer an
6、d translator of brand names should try to avoid heavily culture-loaded brand namesappearing in the foreign market,since they are not easily accepted by the receivers,Key words: Brand names;Intercultural communication;Translation 从跨文化角度论商标的翻译摘 要 : 随着全球化进程的加速，国际经济交往的频繁。商标向异域消费者传递了商品信息；同时，作为文化使者也向外族传递了
7、本国的文化信息。在产品销售的过程中，一些商标名称促进了产品在国外市场的销售，是因为这些商标名称得到了异域文化的认可，引起了异域消费者的共鸣；而另一方面，某些商标名称却有消极的反馈，这是因为这些商标名称蕴含的浓厚的源语文化特色在异域文化中产生了“文化休克”。本文从跨文化的角度研究了商标的文化起源，商标的文化蕴涵，商标名称在风俗习惯、宗教、道德规范、地域文化等各方面的反映。以奈达的“功能对等”理论为原则，运用大量汉英牌名实例分析讨论品牌名称翻译的具体方法提出在国外市场中的商标词汇的翻译要尽量兼顾商标名称在源语中所蕴含的商品信息和文化特色，更要注意商标名称是否会产生文化冲突，引起消极联想，从而导致产
8、品滞销。关键词：商标名称；跨文化交流；翻译IntroductionBrand name is an essential part of advertisements.It is a name given by a producer to a certain product,by which it may be recongnied from among like products made by other producers,Along with the increasing international contact,brandnames have become more and more
9、 important,They are the carrier of culture and the medium of transferring certain culture to the consumers,Therefore,a properly translated brand name is essential for acompany to compete in the world market.But brand name translation has ever een ignored.Nowadays it has been drawing more and more at
10、tention from the translators because of the trend of economic globalization and rapid development of economy and society.Along with the increasing contact with foreign countries after Chinas entry into WTO,more and more products together with their brand names have been pouring into Chinas market.An
11、d manufacturers become aware of the importance of brand names for them to go into world market and cultivate foreign market to promote sales，which is basic to the success of acompany.And as we know brand name is the bridge which connects manufacturers with consumers.Therefore,properly translated bra
12、nd name is vital for a companys entry into world market.Generally speaking,studies of brand names have been largely conducted in Western countries on the products which are branded in Westenr European languages.Some studies have focused on the guidelines and criteria for developing effective brand n
13、ames.For example,John Murphy,a brand expert in Interbrand(global branding consultancy),has edited and published many guide books on branding.And Adrian Room has pubulished Dictionary of Trand Name Origins,which collects quite a lot fo famous brand names.American branding professors at University of
14、California at Berkeley have also contributed a lot to studies in this field.They make theoretic analyses on brand naming in their works,such as Kellers Strategic Brand Management and Aakers Strong Brands.However,though brand names are vital and brand name translation plays a critical role in establi
15、shing the international image of a company and cultivating foreign markets,the translation of brand names failed to attract translators in China until around 1994,when really inprotand studies began to be conducted in this field.In the past ten years,there are about thirty esays have been published
16、in three leaing translation journals in China,namely Chinese translatorsJoural,Chinese Science and Technology TranslatorsJournal,and Shanghai Science and Technology TranslatorsJournal.More than half of the precious studies have been dealing with the principles and methods of brand mae translation.An
17、other two essays have been dealing with the translation of brand names when used in different parts of speech.And about eight essays have touched upon the importance of culture in brand name translation.Tang Gende,Bao Huinan,Xiao Hui and Tao Yukang all agree tha culture plays an important role in br
18、and name translation.Hu Kaijie stresses the improtance of an appropriate conversion of cultural meaning and Jiang Lei clearly puts forward the opinion that ignoring cultural differences can cause pragmatic failures in brand name translation.Zhu Xiaoju also approaches brand name translation form the
19、angle of cultural difference，considering ti crucially important to know the western customersaesthetic conception and their reponse to the translated brand names.Cang Lanju considers its necessary to take into considerration consumerspsychology,product nature，conciseness of translations and target c
20、ulture in brand name translation.And finally,Liang Xiaodong is particularyly interested in the treat ment of national psychology in brand name translation.Most of them concern that the examples of translated brand names rather than the theoretical foundation.Inaddition,these essays are mostly confin
21、ed to one or several aspects and are for frome being holistic.And as for the application of theories,two essays are unique in applying socio-sematics to this field.And there are still two other essays commenting on the studies of brand name translation in China.All in all,this thesis widens the appl
22、ication scope of Nidas theory and provides a reasonable and rational guiding principle of brand name translation.And the concrete translation techniques may offer inspiration to Chinese tranlators,which will be beneficial not only to academic study of brand name translation but also to the companies
23、 and enterprises expecting their products to obtain word-wide reputation and popularity.1 Introduction to brand and brand names1. 1 Definition of brand and brand namesBrand,aeeording to certain Japanese seholar,is the face of the product,but there are several terms are easily confused in this field
24、so before we take up thisthesis,first of all,we should distinguish several terms used in it:Brand,TrademarkandBrandNames.Brand is a commereial term.According to the A Glossary of Marketing Terms:Marketing Definition,”Brand is a name,term,sign,symbol,design or some combination used to ideniify the pr
25、oduets of one firm and to dlfferentiate them from competitive offerings, And”A”trademark is a brand that has been given legal protection and has been granted solely to its owne.”These two definitions are widely used al lover the world.So,in the various media,for example,in the news paper,TV programs
26、 and the paekages,we find sueh signs as,R or TM. R is used to indieate Registered,and TM Trademark. Nowadays,“marketingmix，is frequently used to deseribe the proeess of developing a new band and it is apt.Especially a provider of a produetor service assembles a series of attributes and blends these
27、together in a unique way.It is a little like cooking part of the skill is in the seleetion of the elements in the mix,pert in the blending and cooking and partint he presentation. A good cook produees good and consistent results which are constantly in demand.The ingredlents in a brand constitute th
28、e produet itself,the paekaging,the brand name,the promotion,the advertising and the overall presentation.The brand is，therefore， a synthesis of all these elements,physical， aesthetle， rational and emotional.Essentially,the end result must be not only appropriate but also differentiated from the bran
29、ds of competitors-the consumer has to have a reason to choose one brand over all others.Brand name,the name of a certain brand,refers to the part of brand that can be expressed in words.Brand mark,the mark or sign of the brand,refers to the part of brand names and brand marks.From the living example
30、,we can see most of the brands consist of the combination of brand names and brand marks,and the brands constituted of brand marks only occupy a small proportion.1.2 Basic types of brand namesWith the expansion of manufactory,more and more commodities come into being. So do brand names.Wherever we g
31、o,whatever we do,we will meet brand names of different categories.They are various and can be classified from different angles.From the angle of the products themselves,they can be classified as brand names of clothing, beverage and food,cosmetics,home appliances and vehicles.“From the angle of thel
32、inguistic structures of brand names,they can be roughly classified into the proper name brand names,the common word brand names and the coined word brand names.”1And the following examples are employed to demonstrate Mr Hes theory. If we categorize brand names from the angle of the products themselv
33、es,they can be classified as: A.Brand names of clothes:Goldlion(clothes)，Pier Cardine(clothes)，LOUIS VUITTON(clothes), 红豆(clothes),达芙妮(shoes),黄金身段(underwear),and etc.B.Brand names of beverage and food:Nestle(beverage),Dove(chocolate);康师傅(instant noodle),旺旺(biscuit),徐福记(candy),娃哈哈(beverage),人民大会堂(cig
34、arette),and etc.C.Brand names of cosmetics:kiss me(lipstick),CHANEL(skin cream),Christian Dior(skin cream),VICHY(skin cream),玉兰油(skin cream),郑明明(skin cream),and etc.Moreover,on the basis of linguistic structures of band names,they can be classified into proper name brand names,the common word brand
35、names and the coined word brand names,as the following examples show. A.Common word brand names:Crocodile(clothes),boss(clothes),Pioneer(electric appliance);camel(cigarette),Apple(computer), and etc.B.Coined word brand names:雅戈尔(clothes),安踏(sport shoes),健力宝(drink),感康(medicine),快克(medicine),美尔雅(cloth
36、es),曼诗婷(underwear),and etc.1.3 Functions of brand namesAccording to Peter Newmark,“functions of languages mainly include expressive function,informative function,vocative function,aesthetic function,phanic function and metalingual function”.2And he put texts into different categories,and holds that
37、a certain text may have more than one function,but there is usually a dominant one.A brand name, as the symbol of the product,is part of language.It performs various functions,amongwhich vocative function is the most important one,because a brand name is not designed to express the originators feeli
38、ng but to experience effect on the market.In addition,to persuade the consumers to make a purchase,a brand name should provide some information about the products or contains favorable symbols,association or images, and the like to arouse the consumersaesthetic feelings.Hence,brand names also perfor
39、m informative and aesthetic functions.1.3.1 Vocative functionAccording to Newmark,“the core of the vocative function of language is the readership,the addressee,the originator,calling upon the readership to act,think or feel.”3For the brand name,it means that a brand name should arise peoples intere
40、st and persuade them to buy the product.Now people live in the ocean of various commodities.Wherever they go,they will meet different products.And what meets their eyes first is the brand name.What impression the brand name leaves on the consumers will definitely exert an influence on their purchasi
41、ng behavior.For example,“Uneeda”biscuit attracts you to have a taste;“Askit”cold care will remind you when you have a cold;and“Ultra-Brite”toothpaste makes you keen on a try.In China,there are brand names like“旺仔”(milk),“旺旺”(biscuit),“棒仔”(chewing gum),which cater the psychological need of the parent
42、s who want their children to be healthy and strong,because in Chinese, “旺”means vigorous and prosperous,and“棒”means healthy and excellent.They all demonstrate their advantages to a great extent,and well perform the vocative function.1.3.2 Informative functionThe core of informative function of langu
43、age is external situation,the facts of a topic,reality outside language,including reported ideas or theories.As to brand names,it means that a brand name may provide information about the product,such as the function of the product,its features,values and the target consumers.Firstly,many brand name
44、s indicate the function of the products.For example,“光明”,“新光”,“光华”are common Chinese brand names of lamps.They all indicate the basic function of the lamps,that is,the function to bring brightness.Another example“金嗓子”(medicine)for throat is a good demonstration of this informative function.“金嗓子”in C
45、hinese means”sweet and mellow voice”,and this brand name successfully shows the function of this medicine for throat.“Belform”underwear tells the consumers the product can help maintain a good figure,as“belle”means fine in French.so that consumers can get information about the function of these prod
46、ucts.Secondly,“保时捷”being a famous brand name of car,hints that whenever diving the car,people will save a lot of time and enjoy the high speed,because“捷”in Chinese means fast and high speed.Take the brand name“五粮液”as an example.“五粮液”alcohol indicates the feature of the product directly.It is made of
47、 five cerealsThirdly,many brand names provide information about the value of certain products.For example,“狮王”(toothpaste)shows the value of the toothpaste,for“王”means top and high level in Chinese.And“水晶”,as brand name for glass,indicates that the glass is as valuable as crystal.Lastly,brand names
48、provide information about the target consumers.That is for whom the product is produced.Generally speaking,brand names of products for women often suggest beauty,elegance,attraction and gentleness,and etc.For example, , Mebelline(美宝莲)cosmetics,“瘦儿”(slim)shoes,“淑女屋”(fair maiden)clothes,and etc.Howeve
49、r,“劲霸”(K-boxing), is brand name for mens clothes,which is quite different from those for womens.Brand names for men often suggest braveness，vigor,achievement,and power,which cater to mens psychology and are appealing to men.“劲霸”(K-boxing)symbolizes vigor and power; In addition,brand names such as“好孩子”(childrens underwear), “孩儿面”(kids skin cream), are all brand names of products for children,which employ suitable terms for children.In this way,the designers o