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On Translation of Foreign Brand Names
Abstract: This paper, in the first part, introduces briefly the general knowledge of commodity brand names and its impact on products. As stated in the title, this paper then mainly deals with the translation of foreign brand names in the second part. In the final part, on the basis of the analysis, this paper naturally draws a conclusion concerning the cross-cultural differences in the translation of foreign brand names.
Keywords: brand, translation, cross-culture
I. Introduction -- Brand Name and Its Translation
Brand names are just like people’s names, serving as the symbol of the commodity. “Branding makes a product distinctive in the marketplace, just as your name makes you unique in the society in which you live.” (Wells, Burnett and Moriarty 89)
For one specific product, its brand name is of great importance. When various kinds of commodities go global, their names travel with them as well. As the trade of commodities expands, brand names of certain products have become very famous and some successful ones gradually get recognized by the whole world. For China, nowadays, development of its economy in recent years further stimulated the trade between China and other countries, which brings the growth of imported foreign commodities. Foreign brand names, no matter how much fame they enjoy globally, will be difficult for Chinese consumers to accept if they don’t have impressive translations into Chinese. As stated by an American scholar, “…a good translation of a brand name can bring millions of dollars’ difference in the product’s sells record.” (qtd. in Bao Huinan, 273) It cannot be denied that sells records and profits are important for the manufacturer. However, a more important significance for a good brand name translation lies in the fact that the name of the product is conducive to the promoting of the product, the enhancing of its fame and competitiveness as well as the cracking down of the counterfeits.
Summing up, it is obvious that translation of foreign brand names worth further studying for it is not only the original brand name that matters but also its translation.
II. Translation of Foreign Brand Names -- Problem and Solution
This part of the paper will first explore the reason why we need to pay attention to the translation of brand names. Then, discussion on preconditions and methods to deal with the translation, combined with specific and representative examples will be followed.
A. The Need for the Translation of Foreign Brand Name
Attention must be paid to the translation of foreign brand names for the following two reasons:
1. Translation of a brand is as important as its original name.
On one hand, the original brand name is part of the value of the product itself. A strong brand name wins the reputation for the product, keeping the product alive. On the other hand, the translation of the brand name is also crucial to the survival of the commodity in a foreign market. Suppose one product became well-known in its domestic market with its original brand, which rooted deep in the local costumers’ mind. However, when this product goes to a foreign market, the original brand becomes so unfamiliar that few or even no people recognize it. To regain the popularity it ever had, this product, without doubts, needs to have a good translation of its brand.
2. Translation servers as a medium of communication, making the translation of brand names significant in the commodity trade. 論文網在線
“Language is the carrier of culture…Translation serves as the bridge of cross-cultural communication.” (Bao Huinan 5, my translation) At present, a product’s brand name has become an approach for communication.
Besides the original brand name, its translation also serves as a medium of communication as translation itself, dealing with different languages, is considered to be a way to communicate. In addition, translation is believed to be a way to exchange ideas and culture, to promote understanding among different countries and nations. (Xu Chongxin 83) From all these we can see that because translation serves as a medium of communication, translation of brand names plays a very significant role in commodity trade.
Therefore, from the two above-mentioned standpoints, it can be seen that attention should also be paid to brand name translations but not only the original ones. Hereto, the reason why translation of brand names worth discussing has already been justified. In the following parts, the preconditions and methods for foreign brand name translation will be explained.
B. The Preconditions and Methods for Foreign Brand Name Translation
1. Preconditions for Foreign Brand Name Translation
Brand names of import commodities are created by foreign manufacturers and advertising designers, thus they inevitably contain different cultures characteristics. When they enter the Chinese market, they will mainly face Chinese consumers. Whether they can win the market share and the favor of Chinese customers depends greatly on their brand name translation. A good translation will have enormous impact, though invisible, on consumers’ mentality. (Bao Huinan 281) To work out a good translation, the following preconditions should be considered in the first place:
a. The semantics association of the translation should cater to the mentality of Chinese consumers.
Differences in different countries’ social systems, natural environments, religious beliefs, customs, thoughts and languages bring various semantic associations to people, creating all kinds of obstacles and difficulties for translation. (Bao Huinan 22) As Chinese people prefer those characters that contain favorable meanings like luck, happiness, success, beauty, elegance, preciousness, beneficial, healthy, energetic and those can express propitious, good and promising ideas, characters like “吉” (luck), “樂”, “喜” (happiness, joy), “佳” (fine, good), “寶” (preciousness), “美” (beauty), “雅” (elegance), “益” (beneficial), “健” (healthy), “能” (capability, energetic), “富” (rich, abundant) are usually used.
“Coca-cola”, a famous beverage brand, is one typical example that cannot be neglected when talking about brand name translation. Its Chinese translation “可口可樂” is so prevailing that everybody in China knows it nowadays. “可口” means “tasty” in Chinese and “樂” means happiness, which seemingly tells the customers that drinking it brings happiness. “百事可樂”, the translation of another famous coke drink, “Pepsi-Cola” is another good example similar to “Coca-cola”. “Extra”, a chewing gum brand, is translated as “益達”, of which “益” implies that it is beneficial to people, reflecting the designer’s idea that chewing this gum will be beneficial to people’s teeth. “Hershey’s” and “Cadbury”, two chocolate brands, are translated into “好時” and “吉百利”, making use of the characters like “好”, “吉” and “利” to link customers’ thoughts with luck and good fortune. “Heineken”, a brand for beer, is translated as “喜力”, with a character “喜” meaning “happiness”. “Avon”, “Maybelline” and “Nivea”, three cosmetic brands, have very beautiful Chinese translation: “雅芳”, “美寶蓮” and “妮維雅” respectively, which make use of characters like “雅”, “美” to emphasize their potential ability to beautify people.
What’s more, sometimes Chinese customers like the character “龍” (dragon) very much because the image of dragon has already been embedded in their mind. Dragon, for the Chinese nation, is the symbol of power and heavenliness so they will have a special preference for this animal which does not exist. As Chen Dezhang from Beijing Foreign Studies University points out that the dragon in English and 龍 in Chinese are both imaginary animals but have very different connotations. To Chinese 龍 is something sacred and has been referred to as the ancestor of the Chinese nation. Therefore, “Denon”, a brand for Hi-Fi products, is translated as “天龍” and “Citroen”, a French-made car brand, is translated as “雪鐵龍”. 論文網在線
b. The translation of the brand name should try to reflect what the product is and its features.
Before customers see the product with their own eyes, they will guess what the product is from its brand name. As soon as the product enters a market, the designed brand name should immediately indicate its target customers, therefore, the translation of the brand should also has the same effect of the original one, thus it can play an inevitable role in promoting the product in the new market. (Bao Huinan 282) To gain popularity in the Chinese market, it is essential for an import commodity to have a translated brand name that can reflect its feature so Chinese consumers can easily recognize it.
“Enfagrow”, translated as “安兒寶”, is a milk powder brand. “兒”, meaning “baby”, “children” and “寶”, meaning “treasure” imply that this product is good for babies and children. “Safeguard”, a brand for soap and bathing lotion, is translated as “舒膚佳”. Here “舒” means “comfort” and “膚” means “skin”. So this translation will leave the impression to people that this soap or lotion can bring comfort to the skin. “Colgate”, a brand for toothpaste, is translated as “高露潔” with the character “潔” meaning “clean”, indicating that it can make people’s teeth clean and tidy. “Saridon”, a painkiller, translated into Chinese as “散利痛”, utilizes the character “散” (ease, dispel), “利” (be good for) and “痛” (pain) to indicate that it can ease people’s pain. “Benz” and “Porche”, two famous automobile brands, are translated as “奔馳” and “保時捷” with “奔”, “馳” and “捷” all meaning going very fast. “Reebok”, a brand for running shoes, is translated as “銳步”. “銳” (sharp, vigor) and “步” (foot) all serve to convey the features of the product.
However, there are also translated brand names that cannot arouse customers’ association with the products. For example, “Mentos”, translated as “曼妥思”, “Dove”, translated as “德芙”, cannot directly reflect what they are. Actually, “Mentos” is a kind of candy and “Dove” is a famous brand for chocolate.
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