（20 届）英语商标名称的翻译与策略On Brand Name Translation Studies and its TranslationStrategies全球经济一体化的今天，行业间的商业竞争日趋激烈，在这样的环境下，商标之于产品和企业的作用就更不可忽略。
产品的商标恰如人的名字，赏心悦目的商标名让人过目难忘，能够促进产品的销售，而不恰当的商标名将给产品甚至其企业带来厄运。
随着国际经济的发展，越来越多的企业走出国门进军世界市场。
为了成功地让产品在国际市场上夺得一席之地，好的译名商标必不可少。
鉴于此，本文结合商标的特点以及中英语言文化等方面的差异提出了适用于商标翻译的策略：音译、直译、音译直译和意译策略，同时结合大量品牌翻译实例加以论证。
相信木研究对于商标译员和企业都将起到一定的指导性作用。
关键词：商标；中英语言文化；商标翻译策略AbstractAs one of the best strategies of marketing，brand name is of vital importance in the keen competition of businesses in the global economy. Brand name to product is like name to people.A good brand name contributes to the good reputation of a company and can help to propel sales of products while a poor brand name could be disastrous to a company. With the fast development of the international economy, more and more companies are cultivating their markets outside their own nations. To successfully promote products in the global market，a good translation of the brand name is of utmost importance.Based on the characteristics of brand names and linguistic and cultural differences between Chinese and English, the thesis puts forward brand name translation strategies: transliteration, literal translation, combination of transliteration and literal translation and liberal or free translation，which is illustrated with numerous concrete examples. It is hoped that the present study can play facilitating roles for brand name translators and enterprises as well.Key words: brand name; linguistic and cultural differences; brand name translation strategiesContents蚊■ (i)Abstract ........................................................................................................................ I I Introduction . (1)Research Background (1)Research Purposes and Significance (1)Literature Review (2)Definitions of BrandNames (2)Characteristics of Brand Names (2)The Studies on Brand Names Translation Home and Abroad (5)Studies on Brand Names from the Economic Perspective (5)Studies on Brand Name Translation from Cultural Perspective (6)Studies on Brand Name Translation from Linguistic Perspective (7)Brand Name Translation Strategies (10)Introduction (10)Transliteration (10)Literal Translation (11)3.4. Combination of Transliteration and Literal Translation (12)3.5 Liberal or Free Translation (13)Conclusion (17)Bibliography (18)1Introduction1.1Research BackgroundIn a world of rapid economic development, commercial exchange takes an even more important role than before. China, in such a developing condition is strengthening its communication with the outside world in terms of commercials. On the one hand, China，together with all the top brands it boasts is going global, on the other hand，the rest of the world is stepping into China，looking for chances to introduce and sell their top brands in the large potential market. A popular brand name is a must for the products promotion work, and it is also of vital importance to make sure that a good brand name maintains as a popular one when it is introduced to a new market. And this is the arduous task that a translator shoulders.However, in real life, we often encounter numerous lousy translations of brand names. A case in point is Chinese product 较身减月巴片，which is rendered into Obesity Reducing Tablets. When such product was exported to America，for a long period, the tablet was a slow seller. Through market research, it shows that brand name did not meet the people‟s psychological demand because this product was regarded as the medicine for obese people. Based on the above considerations, the author carries out a study on the brand name translation and its strategies，and hopefully the proposed strategies can shed light on brand name translation and guide translators in the translation practice.1.2Research Purposes and SignificanceTranslation is defined as “a complex action designed to achieve a particular purpose” (Newmark，2001: 6). When it comes to brand name translation, the ultimate purpose is to make target consumers know the products and further invite them to buy the products.According to this special purpose of brand name translation，we find it is necessary and significant that appropriate translation strategies of brand name must be develop to cope with this important branch of practical translation—brand name translation. Thus，this thesis makes an in-depth analysis of brand name translation and appropriate translation strategies.The purpose of the study is twofold. First, to arouse general awareness that brand name translation is significantly essential especially in the age of the globalization. Second, to put forward translation strategies which are highly amenable to the translation of brand names.2Literature Review2.1Definitions of Brand NamesThis thesis focuses on brand name translation，so it is important for us to have an overall understanding of what brand name is.“Branding makes a product distinctive in the marketplace，just as your name makes youunique in the society in which you live.”(Wells，Burnett and Moriarty, 1999: 89)It is “a name given by a producer to a particular product，by which it may be recognized from among alike products made by other producers.” (Longman Contemporary English-Chinese Dictionary English, 1988)“A trademark is any word，name, phrase，symbol，sign, design，or packaging that is distinctive and that identifies and distinguishes the source of a particular product. A trademark typically appears on the product or on its packaging•”((Lubliner，1993:16)Actually, people are confused in its conception even in Europe and America where commerce developed. A successful brand is defined，by Chernatony and McDonald (1994)，as “an identifiable product，service, person or place, augmented in such a way that the buyer or user perceives relevant unique added values which match their needs most closely”. In the British, consumers have been shown, by de Chernatony and McWilliam (1989)，to hold typically one of four complementary and overlapping views of brands:1 • A visual identifier.2.A guarantee of consistent quality.3.A shorthand device.4.An expression of self-concept. (Chernatony and Me William, 1989: 29-32)The above-mentioned definitions prove the brand is a concept of compounding, it is formed by the brand outside mark (including name, term, pattern etc.)，brand discerning, brand legend brand image，etc. While in this thesis, brand names mainly refer to the part of a brand that can be expressed in words.2.2Characteristics of Brand NamesAiming to build, reinforce, and reposition consumers‟ perceptions and understandings of a certain brand, brand names have the following four functions, that is, distinguishing products, providing information, ensuring guarantee and stimulating consumption desires.In order to build a positive image in the market and arouse favorable associations as well as purchasing desires in the mind of consumers, brand names are required to have the following major characteristics: brevity, sonority and memorability，significance，elegance and appropriateness，originality and novelty.Because of the peculiarity of the brand name that it carries the main and final purpose of achieving sales，the first and foremost characteristics of brand names are brevity，sonority and memorability. Only those brief，easy-to-understand and memorable brand names will win the approval of consumers.For example，Uha (悠哈)，a candy brand name, is short and sweet. In pronouncing Uha，lovely，cute, adorabe feelings emerge in people‟s mind, which appeal to its target consumers. Apart from that，the translated brand name keeps the syllabus of the original name. ‚雅客’’(Yake)，in the same way，the pronunciation is crispy，sonorous and agile. The Chinese version also gives us elegant and cultivated feelings. What‟s more，‚雅客‛ is the alternative name of the flower Narcissus. From above examples，the characteristics of brevity, sonority and memorability make brand names impressive，which are helpful to reach the purpose of sales of products.In most cases，brand names have rich meanings and associations. Apart from being brief，sonorous and memorable, another important characteristic of brand names is significance, in other words, brand names usually carry rich connotations. A case in point is the brand name ‚彩虹’’ (Irico)，whose English version is composed of “Irix” and “Corporation”. Irix is a Goddess in Greek Mythology whose responsibility is to spread good news. This happens to be in li ne with this Group‟s purpose: to be the creator of a sweet life for human beings. If it was literally translated it into rainbow, the effect would be discounted.Goodyear, a tire brand name, means an auspicious and harvest year; the translated version ‚固特异‛ not only is similar to Goodyear in pronunciation but shows attributes of the product of being solid，special and unique.‚丙冷，’ (Serene) is an air-conditioning brand name. The meaning of “丙冷‟‟，in Chinese people‟s mind，is cold and dry; for the translated version Serene，though it contains more meanings as being clam, quiet and composed，the original meaning of coldness is reduced.Elegance and appropriateness refer to the meanings of brand names or the ideas they conveyed. Since the purpose of brand names is to be recognized and accepted by consumers，the information transferred by the brand name is required to be correct and appropriate, that is, in accordance with characteristics of the commodity. For instance:Band-aid----- 邦迪(bandage for first aid)Goldlion——金利来(shirt)Marlboro ---- 万宝路(cigarette)Giant ---- 捷安特(bicycle)Paloma ----- 白乐满(gas-burning appliance)Contac-----康泰克(cold medicine)天翼--- E-su对ing (net sdevice)‚天翼’’(E-surfing)，a new brand released by China Telecom to fulfill the mass customers‟ need for information services. ‚天翼‛ means flying freely in the sky;accordingly，“e-surfing” means surfing the web to one‟s heart's content. With e-surfing, cell phones or laptops are like having wings flying freely in the online world. The translated brand name well transfers the meaning of the original brand name and thus can be regarded as an elegant and appropriate translated brand name.Giant is the brand name of a bicycle，whose original meanings are huge，great，or people of vision; the translated version furthers the original meanings and shows that the product is swift, safe and special. Besides, the pronunciation of ‚捷安特‛ is similar to the original brand name Giant. So, ‚捷安特‛ embodies the characteristics and meanings of the original brand name.To be unique and distinctive in the market，brand names of products are required to be original, novel and creative. The first impression of the brand name left in consumers‟ minds is very important and it constitutes a reason for the product to be selected among numerous products of the same type. So, a successful brand name and its translation are required to be instantly recognizable. Therefore, an excellent brand name holds attributes of novelty，attractiveness and originality.Take the wall clock brand EMIT as an example. The brand EMIT is said to be novel and original because it is the back-to-front spelling of the word “TIME”，meaning breaking through the traditions. What‟s more, EMIT is rendered into ‚情有独钟‟‟，in which, ‚钟’’ is endowed with the meanings of both the clock (referring to EMIT) and its original meaning in the set phrase. Both EMIT and ‚情有独钟’’ are interesting and impressive and can be said to be original and novel.The Chinese version of B.CHOW—‘‘比倘’’ is also an outstanding example because it vividly describes the mood of “want to be more charming and pretty than others”. This thought makes the brand name distinctive and impressive.The candy brand Fujiya is rendered into ‚不二家‛ which is interesting and fresh in the market. The Chinese version shows uniqueness，originality and individuality of the product.2.3The Studies on Brand Names Translation Home and AbroadVarious researchers have endeavored to study brand names. The previous studies on brand names can be categorized into three groups: 1) economic perspective; 2) cultural perspective; and 3) linguistic perspective.2.3.1Studies on Brand Names from the Economic PerspectiveBrand name is a product of economic development, so economic and market research on it plays an important role in our society. Based on the research findings, what the experts study mostly are how to create，design，market，develop，and manage brands. Aaker (a businessprofessor at University of California at Berkeley) and Kevin Keller are two American branding experts, who make theoretical and scientific analyses on brand names in their works. They contribute a lot to the research in this field. Aaker (1991) brilliantly examines how to create, market，develop, and manage brands strategically in the 1990s.Keller (1998) provides a comprehensive treatment of the subject of brands，brand equity，and strategic brand management, concerning the design and implementation of marketing programs and activities to build. John Murphy，a branding expert in Interbrand (global branding consultancy)，has edited and published many guidebooks on brands. In addition，most researches on naming primarily focus on characteristics and functions of English names. For example，Peterson & Ross (1972) find that it is important to select names that build on familiar words，because consumers may already have positive notions about such words. Other researches demonstrate that the favorability of a brand name is used as a heuristic cue when consumers make product judgments (Maheswaran，Mackie & Chaiken，1992). The brand‟s role in the field of marketing has changed dramatically during the past decade. In the past, we used to name already existing products or companies in order to make them more attractive to consumers. In contrast recently, developing a brand means devising and implementing a way by which to deliver a benefit to consumers. Such concepts direct the development of products and services designed to supply the benefit，and even shape entire organizations for this purpose. Trade Mark English，ritten by He Chuansheng (1997)，illustrates the motivation of brand formation from the perspectives of psychology，marketing，sociology and culture，meanwhile，he analyzes the effects of brand used as verbs and adjectives in modern English. His article, New Industry Survey of American Language report: brand name，is a survey of a flourishing language industry in the US (贺川生，2003). Psychology is closely related to brand naming when we want to create a successful brand. Hou Ruilong (1997: 260) explores the psychological strategies of brand naming and indicates what a trap is when strategies of single brand name are used.2.3.2Studies on Brand Name Translation from Cultural PerspectiveAnalysis on brand names translation covers the majority of language research of this field in China. Zhu Fan (2002) makes a comment on brand names translation in her article, a most representative study based on more than 120 articles from 1994-2001. According to the principles and features of brand names, Guo Shangxing (1995) divides brand names into five categories and indicates problems of brand name translation in China. Chen Quanming (1996) introduces four methods for English-Chinese import brand name translation. Peng Shiyu (2001)proposes four methods for C-E brand name translation: homophonic translation，literal translation, direct translation and blending translation，in which blending translation is the best way to internationalize Chinese brand names. Bao Huinan (2001) analyzes principles of translation from Chinese brand name to English from the perspective of language and culture. She considers most Chinese brand names are in the form of Chinese characters or Pinyin, so the products with such brand names are sold well in domestic market but not in foreign market. Teng Yanjiang(2004) attempts to point out the phenomenon of cultural aphasia in C-E trademark translation and shows the way of dealing with such problems in C-E trademark translation and how to avoid such mistakes in practice.Verbification of brand names originates in 1940s，which is a fresh language phenomenon. In China, translation on verbification of brand names is from Zhang Dinxing(1997) who makes a preliminary study on its word source, history background, meaning and translation. He also stresses that “verbification of vehicle‟s brand names is a new trend in modern English vocabular y and verbification of automobile brand names is the most popular”(张定兴，1998). The article is limited in describing brand names examples，which is a conclusion of rules or language features on verbification. So Zhang Dinxing (1999) studies it from the view of stylistics and pragmatics on the basis of his further research on English brand names. He considers, in order to translate verbification of brand names very well，translators must constantly learn new knowledge and read foreign newspapers and journals as much as possible.Ever since brands come into being, they are blessed with cultural meaning and closely connected with culture. Ethical cultural meaning is contained in a small brand name, in which lexical meaning is added with emotion，cultural symbol or cultural association.Brand names can express their special meanings and be understood only under the specific cultural background. Companies pay attention to both the form of brand and its culture, so there are many cultural studies on brand names.Cao Zhiyun (1992: 165) analyzes the culture phenomena of Chinese brand naming, and illustrates the characteristics of brand language such as distinction, art and social function. Peng Shiyu (2001) holds that the design of Chinese brand and brand names should not only absorb other culture‟s virtue but also work out how they will be accepted easily，which makes Chinese brand and brand names international Zhang Xiangyang(2005) probes the cultural implication and object of automobile brand names. Because of different cultures，English and Chinese brand names are different from each other. Geuens & Pelsmacker (1999) make a comparison between brand naming in English and Chinese, “there are some common points in naming brand names in English and brand names in Chinese. Brand names are relatively short， so generallyspeaking，such devices as symbolism and association are used in naming so as to convey the information about the products as much as possible. But there are some obvious differences in the brand names in English and the brand names in Chinese because of the differences between the cultural psychology，the linguistic characteristics and the way of thinking.” Hu Kaibao (1999) conducts a research on some differences between English and Chinese brand names from the perspectives of the sources of brand names, syllables, relations between quality of product and its brand name.233 Studies on Brand Name Translation from Linguistic Perspective Scholars in US attach much importance to linguistic research on brand names. The most famous representative is Vanden (1987) who analyzes language features of 200 brand names from 1971 to 1985 in US. Aronoff (1981) published his Automobile Semantics in the journal Linguistic Inquiry. Ingrid Filler‟s PhD dissertation American Automobile Names (1996) can be reckoned as one of the best literatures on brand naming available at present. By studying the place names of automobile in general language, she thoroughly investigates the nature of American automobile names which are collected from a corpus of more than 2000 such names. Robertson, K. (1987)，a psychologist，puts efforts into the study of proper names， including brand names and published Dictionary of Trade Name Origins, which collects quite a lot of famous brand names.In China，the study of brand names can be traced back to Zhuang Hecheng (1988) and Sun Dequan (1988) who are the first Chinese scholars in this field studying simple features of brand names and problems of translation. Zhu Yajun(2003) studies brand names from the perspective of some branches of linguistics，which include phonetics, grammar，semantics，pragmatics，semiotics，translation, and indicates relevant factors of brand naming. He takes the functional equivalence theory to describe brand name translation and provides three principles: accordant，relevant, brief，and three translation methods: equivalent method，complementary method and homophonic method. It has mentioned that a brand name with favorable (positive) associations to consumer psychology will contribute to the success of this brand.The literatures about lexical analysis for brand name are limited. Liang Guotao (1992) divides trademarks into three categories: name trademark words, such as Cadillac.，word trademark words, such as Apple; arbitrary trademark words, in which word-formation is applied, such as Kodak.Liang Guotao(1998) adds the fourth category of brand names—shortening trademark word, such as IBM and says brand names are different from common words, because they are industry property right. Hou Ruilong(1997: 260) explores the psychological strategiesof brand naming, and figured there is a trap of brand naming in using the strategy of single brand name, which would lead to failure of enterprises. Wu Hanjiang & Cao Wei(2005) introduces brand names，words, letters and numbers in brands, gives classification of Chinese brands, analyzes phonetic，lexical and syntactic features of brand language. As brand names cannot be arbitrarily created, Zhu Wangzhong & Su Gailian (2006) briefly analyze the motivation of pronunciation, word-formation and meaning of coined English brand names and gives some cases of brand names of export product.The previous literature shows us a lot of successful achievements on the research of brand names，yet there are still some problems left. Many linguists focus their research on proper names but pay little attention to brand names. According to the previous literature which is mostly about economics, translation，culture and linguistics, we can find the previous studies do not elaborate on the translation strategies that are appropriate to translation of brand names. Under this backdrop，the present study conduct research in this field with the hope of arousing the public‟s awareness of brand name translation and at the same time, offering app ropriate translation strategies that can render a well-translated brand name.3Brand Name Translation Strategies3.1IntroductionThe translation of brand names is not a simple transfer from one language to another; instead，it is a recreation process. The same brand name may have different translations to stand for different types of products. For example, the baby‟s daily use cosmetic Johnson & Johnson is translated into 虽生”，while an enterprise named as Johnson is translated into ‚庄臣As an underwear brand name, Triumph is rendered into ‚黛安芬”，but as a car brand name, it is translated into ‚凯旋As a chocolate brand name, Dove is translated into ‚德芙‟‟， while as a body wash，it is rendered into‚多芬Apart from this，Dove can also be translated into ‚多福’’ or ‚得福‟‟，which are meaningful and fortunate in Chinese people‟s eyes.Different from common language translations, brand name translations consider more on the nonlinguistic factors，such as products and consumers, esp. cultural factors infiltrated in language. Some translation strategies for the translation of brand names are listed as follows.3.2TransliterationIn translating English brand names, transliteration is a strategy that cannot be ignored. The advantage of this strategy is that it is easy and feasible; meanwhile，the strategy of transliteration endows translated brand names with exotic tints and feelings. This strategy is widely used in the translation of brand names because it not only keeps the consistency of product images globally，but also remains the rhythmic beauty and sonorous beauty of original brand names. For example:Motorola ----- •摩托罗拉(cell phone)Swatch ---- 斯沃琪(观tches)Pocky-----百奇(decorating biscuit)Subway----- 赛白味(fast food)Eucerin ----- 优色林(cosmetic)Reebok ---- 锐步(shoe)Sharp ----- 夏徵electronic home appliance)Kelon ----- 科龙(electronic home appliance)Galanz ---- 格兰仕(electronic home appliance)Ericsso ---- 爱立信(cell phone)Virjoy ——唯洁雅(tissue)Nepia -----妮飘(tissue)In the translation of Pocky and Subway, the translated brand names ‚ 白奇‛ and ‚赛白味‛ not only are similar to the original pronunciations，but expend the meanings of the original names. Pocky shows a magical pocket that produces various wonders，which is in accordance with Chinese people‟s psychology of being fond of surprises and expectations; while Subway mean to show that their service speed is faster even than a subway and their food taste better than any others.To sum up, the transliteration strategy emphasizes phonological forms of brand names, going after phonological similarities between brand names in the source language and the target language. It tries to find out the same or similar words or morphemes to the original brand names. This strategy confines translators to the phonological forms of brand names in source languages but gives translators wide flexibilities in conferring meanings to translated brand names.3.3Literal TranslationLiteral translation means to translate brand names directly on the basis of its literal meanings. This strategy is adopted when the translated brand names have the same cultural images as in the source language. As the major strategy for the translation of brand names，the literal translation strategy maintains characteristics of original brand names and conveys accurate original information and feelings directly and precisely. For example: Tiger ----- 虎(beer)Crown ---- 皇冠(automobile)Playboy ----- 花花子(clothing)Cover girl --- 封面女郎(cosmetic)Fair Lady ---- 贵夫人(cosmetic、Good Companion ----- 良友(cigarette)Naughty Monkey ---- 顽皮猴(clothing)Blue Ribbon ---- 蓝带(beer)May flower--- :五花(tissue)营养快线--- Nutri-express( beverage)Among these examples, the original brand name Tiger gives people the feelings of bravery and fierceness，which are liked by most male consumers. The literally translated brand name ‚虎‛ well conveys the information of the source language; at the same time, it attracts the attention of target consumers. Thus the brand names in both the source language and the targetlanguage well perform the function of promotion.Blue Ribbon is rendered into ‚蓝带Blue Ribbon,in English，has connotations of masterpiece, the highest honor，top-ranking，etc.; however，these meanings are not loaded on the correspondingly translated brand name ‚蓝带”，which just means ribbons of the blue color. The same situation happens to transliteration in some cases. Thus there are some limitations for both the transliteration and the literal translation strategies.3.4. Combination of Transliteration and Literal TranslationThe strategy of the combination of transliteration and literal translation makes translated version of brand names close to the original brand names both in meanings and in pronunciations. For example:沧沧--- C hacheer (melon seeds)回力--- W arrior( shoe)Xtep ---- 特步(shoe)Seven up ----- 匕喜(bevercige)Pampers ------帮宝适(diaper)Polaroid ---- 拍立得(camera)Hygienix ----- 洁云(tissue)Kleene ----- 舍了，洁(tissue)Signal ---- 洁诺(toothpaste)Colgate ---- 高露'洁(toothpaste、Walex ---- 威洁丄.(washing powder)HiSense ---- 海信｛TN set)Povos ---- 奔職electrical home appliance)相宜木亨-- Si noway Herb (cosmetic)The translated version of …‘洽洽’’ (Chacheer) combines the pronunciation of ‘‘洽’’ and its meaning of being happy or cheerful. The sneaker brand name “[H|力‛ is translated into Warrior，which is similar not only to ‚回力’’ in pronunciation, but also in meaning. Semantically, ‚回力‛ means tremendous power to overcome difficulties，corresponding with the meaning of the word “Warrior”. So it is thought that people who wear the Warrior sneaker would be like a warrior who had tremendous powers.‚相3T•木草‟‟，literally means to maintain skins with herbs; its translated version Sin 側ay Herb, means the Chinese way of protecting skins with herbs. The translated version helps foreign customers to know more about the product.。
