2008年3月17日星期一
The translation of the brand name should be simple
The translation of the brand name should be simple, concise, easy to remember and have fair-sounding pronunciations.Besides the above-mentioned two prerequisites, a successful translation of brand name should also be very simple, concise and easy for customers to remember. Also, a fair-sounding pronunciation is essential. Bao Huinan, again in his paper suggests that “…another essential principle for the translation of import commodity brand name is that the translation should be concise and easy to memorize.” If the translation sounds too complicated and awkward, people can hardly remember it. Successful translation of brand name will be on everyone’s lips. “Sprite” and “Fanta”, two soft-drink brands, are translated as “雪碧” and “芬达”, both of which are very easy to remember. “理光” and “柯达”, translations of “Ricoh” and “Kodak”, are two brands that Chinese consumers are very familiar with. Examples of such translations are plentiful, like: “Samsung” as “三星”, “Sanyo” as “三洋”, “Toshiba” as “东芝”, “Hitachi” as “日立”, “Audi” as “奥迪”, “Buick” as “别克”, “Nike” as “耐克”, “Puma” as “彪马”, “Casio” as “卡西欧”, “Siemens” as “西门子”, “Nokia” as “诺基亚” , “Mag” as “美格”, “Epson” as “爱普生” and “Cannon” as “佳能”. All such translations use very simple characters that are easy to pronounce and have very fair-sounding pronunciations. To conclude, these three preconditions are vital to the success of the translation. Although it is impossible to achieve all three roles at the same time, efforts should be tried to gain the best result. Sometimes, a good translation holds all these advantages. “Nike” ‘s Chinese translation “耐克” is very short and easy to remember while “耐” means “wearable”, which is just the right word to describe clothes. That’s probably one of the reasons why “Nike” is so popular in China nowadays. 2. Methods for Foreign Brand Name Translation Speaking of methods of translation, literal translation, free translation and transliteration are always mentioned. In brand name translation, they are also in common use. According to William Wells’ advertising book, he argues that it is particularly difficult for international companies to adapt to names and product slogans in Chinese. It can be seen then, translating foreign brand names is really a hard nut to crack. To achieve the best effect, sometimes some special methods are also needed. a. Literal translation;Literal translation of brand names, Bao Huinan explains, is to directly translate the literal meanings of the brand. The advantage is that it conveys the original information of the product. Although it is not feasible for every brand name to be translated literally, literal translation is still put to use by some foreign brands. In order to be able to apply this method to the translation, the original brand name should be notional words. www.lunwenwang.com 论文网在线For example, the translation of “Mr. Juicy” into “果汁先生” can give customers a very clear idea that it is a fruit juice brand while at the same time it forms a cartoon image in people’s mind. “Pioneer”, an electronic appliance brand, translated as “先锋”, can convey to the customers the message that it is the pioneer of the electronic appliance industry. “Microsoft”, the American software giant company, also adopts literal translation method to register its Chinese brand. Translating “Micro” as “微” and “soft” as “软” successfully transmit the implied meaning: a basic, tiny and delicate software. Two paper towel brands, “Soft&Clean” and “Breeze” are translated as “洁柔” and “清风” literally. “洁柔” conveys the original meaning of the brand entirely and caters to people’s requirements for paper towel while “清风” arouses people’s association of the comfort brought by a breeze.
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