On English Translation of Trademarks

In recent years, the importance of trademarks has aroused great interest in the field of trademark translation, so the research on trademark translation has also been promoted. By understanding trademarks and learning the theoretical research and translation methods of trademark translation, we can further explore the importance and necessity of trademark translation.

A trademark is a symbol of a product. It defines the core theme of the product and causes the correlation of key products. In addition, trademarks are a bridge between consumers and products, which helps products to be recognized by customers and help customers remember products. A good trademark can bring huge benefits, while a failed trademark may lead to product crisis. The trademark of the product is directly related to the future of the enterprise, so it attracts great attention and interest from people from different fields, such as businessmen, scholars and customers.

The importance of trademarks has aroused great interest in the field of trademark translation. With the economic globalization and close contacts and exchanges between countries, more and more foreign products, enterprises and services are introduced to China, and at the same time, more and more China products, enterprises and services are spread to foreign countries. Therefore, these trademarks need to be translated into the language of the corresponding country in order to be recognized by potential customers in that country. In that country, trademark translation is mainly used for promotion, so they perform the same function and are as important as their status in China. Good trademark translation can greatly promote the image and sales of products. However, poor translation may damage their credibility and reputation.

Due to the importance of trademark translation, many scholars have studied trademark translation from different angles. Under the guidance of these studies and the efforts of trademark translation, many foreign trademark have been translated into Chinese. In addition, many Chinese trademarks have been introduced to other countries through classic translation. These trademarks are very successful at home and abroad. They are very popular with customers, easily recognized by everyone and bring huge profits to producers or enterprises.

Although great achievements have been made in trademark translation, there are still some problems in trademark translation in China. These problems have affected the popularity of some trademarks and further affected the economic interests of enterprises. This paper aims to discuss trademark translation and put forward some suggestions to solve these problems.

I. Trademarks and Trademark Translation

"A trademark is a special name, symbol, text, etc. , indicating that a product is produced by a specific company. " According to the definition of the third edition of Webster's New International Dictionary, a trademark is a word, a letter, a pattern, a sound, a symbol or some combination of them, which is used together with the commodity * * * *, indicating the owner's application to legally retain other users through special terms, and the name or symbol used by the manufacturer or seller determines the uniqueness of the product. The above definition of trademark clearly informs the relationship between trademark and obligee, explains the basic functions and functions of trademark, and puts forward the constituent elements of trademark.

The legal composition of a trademark is the name, common words and expressions. Such as: Ford-Henry Ford, Goodyear-Charles Goodyear, etc. Some brand names come from fairy tales, literary works and movies. These familiar names can remind consumers of cultural and historical images, so that consumers who are familiar with these can easily accept product trademarks. Such as: Nike, the goddess with two wings in Greek mythology, Daphne, the perfume of the goddess in Greek mythology, etc. Commonly used words in trademarks are usually adjectives, verbs and nouns. Common adjectives can convey the function of information and the quality of products. Such as: delicious, beautiful, Chunlan and so on. Common nouns, especially the names of animals and plants, are usually used as trademarks. Because the names of animals and plants are familiar to consumers, these trademarks are not only easy to remember, but also full of metaphorical associations. Such as: bluebird, peacock, panda, etc. Neologisms are also called coined words. According to various lexical methods, such as mixing, shortening, compounding, attaching, attaching, etc. In fact, many famous trademarks are created by English vocabulary. Therefore, the combination of trademarks derived from new words and trademarks of product functions, characteristics or quality can effectively influence consumers. Such as avia, Mobil, Pepsi, etc.

Trademark is a special language symbol and a distinctive feature of goods. It is the core part of commodity culture and a powerful weapon for enterprises to participate in international market competition. Trademark is a sign and bait to attract customers and sell. Trademark translation is a translation theory that conforms to semiotics. It is the process of decoding and coding, and it is the transplantation of two cultures. Good trademark translation can bring great wealth to enterprises. On the contrary, poor trademark translation will lead to the failure of enterprises, so the survival of enterprises is closely related to trademark translation. At the same time, trademark translation can broaden the research space of linguistics, enrich the connotation of linguistics and promote the combination of theoretical research and practical application of linguistics.

Second, the theoretical research and translation methods of trademark translation

Different Research Perspectives of Trademark Translation

1. A semiotic approach to trademark translation.

Semiotic method is an important method to analyze trademarks and related phenomena. Semiotics is of great significance for understanding the process of trademark concept, the function of trademark and the development of trademark essence. Trademark is the basic concept of trademark law, which seems simple, but people have different understandings of this legal dispute, reflecting that our brand concept cannot stand scrutiny. A short trademark is a symbol of a commodity. The twelfth agreement holds that "a trademark is a sign or a combination of signs, which can distinguish the goods or services of an enterprise". In essence, a trademark is a sign or symbol, so semiotics can help to understand the concept of trademark, trademark law and its theoretical basis.

2. Study trademark translation from the perspective of cross-cultural communication.

The rise and deepening of global brands has accelerated cross-cultural communication. In the process of communication, it will inevitably face the problem of cultural conflict, that is, the corporate culture of China will collide with the target market culture. This is an obstacle to cross-border communication. Trademark is the expression of commodity quality and corporate reputation, and more importantly, it is the carrier of corporate identity and spiritual symbol, which naturally becomes the core of cross-cultural brand communication. Trademark translation is very important, which directly affects the awareness of products among consumers and pays more attention to corporate image.

For example, the trademark "Red Bean" of China shirt is a typical culture-loaded word. "Red beans" comes from the family poem "Acacia" written by Wang Wei, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty: When those red berries come in spring, they flush on your southern branches as a symbol of our love. The "red bean" in the poem became a symbol of love. At the beginning of 1990, "Red Bean" clothing was exported to Japan, which was quickly welcomed by Japanese consumers, because many Japanese were also familiar with this poem.

3. Study trademark translation from the perspective of functional equivalence.

With the development of international trade, trademark translation has become a bridge between foreign producers and consumers. According to Eugene? Nida's "functional equivalence" theory studies trademark translation and takes it as a translation standard. The theory of "functional equivalence" points out that translation uses the most appropriate and natural language to reproduce the information of the source language from semantics to style. Nida's "functional equivalence" theory is very suitable for the expression of trademark connotation in translation. From one language to another, Nida divides the main functions of language into nine categories: language expression, information technology, cognition, interpersonal relationship, command, behavior expression, emotion, aesthetics and functional primitive. Trademark translation should realize the equivalence and remodeling function of connotation and cultural idealization. Translation methods of trademark translation

1, literal translation

Literal translation directly transforms the pronunciation of the mother tongue, and the pronunciation of the target language and the source language is similar, thus conveying the source language and the source culture. When feasible, translation can show the exoticism and endow the product with unique attraction. For example, Konka-Konka, Meijiajing-maxam and Haier-Haier are all literal translations. Literal translation can be divided into pure literal translation and partial literal translation.

Pure literal translation is also called literal translation. It is often meaningless to choose words with the same pronunciation as the original trademark and translate these phrases directly from the target language. Just the pursuit of harmonious voice, so pure literal translation can retain the aesthetic feeling of the original trademarks, such as Casio, Sony and Philips. Partial literal translation is usually based on modifying one or two words, and then using the original pronunciation of the trademark. Trademark translation has changed a word or two, but it has the characteristics of goods. For example, Archie is translated into Yaqian, and Pan Ting is translated into Pan Ting. Both of them not only retain the characteristics of the mother tongue, but also emphasize the uniqueness of the selected Chinese characters.

2. Free translation method

Free translation is another important means of trademark translation. It is necessary to change the original trademark name into a translation with the same meaning as the target language. Free translation can better reflect the intention of the original trademark. Different from literal translation, free translation depends on cultural producers and pays attention to culture. For example, Microsoft-Microsoft, Playboy-Playboy, Great Wall, Double Star, Hero, etc. Free translation can better express the intention of trademark symbols and represent the interests of trademark graphics, so it is an important trademark translation method.

3. Combination of literal translation and free translation

When literal translation is combined with free translation, the translated name should have the same pronunciation as the original name. More importantly, the change of trademark meaning reflects some characteristics of the product. For example, Nike, a sports brand, is the goddess of victory in Greek mythology. It doesn't make any sense to translate it into "Naji". For example, BMW, the original three letters mean the abbreviation of Bavarian Automobile Company. In China, "BMW" means a car with excellent quality, but if translated into the company name, it is obviously not as good as "BMW".

Third, the application of trademark translation

Application in international trade

Trademark translation in import trade.

With the increasing international commodity trade, trademarks are becoming more and more international. From one language to another, trademark translation must retain the essence of origin and satisfy consumers' psychology. Different from other translations, the above goal is to realize that the translation of a word needs to use comprehensive knowledge such as language, marketing and aesthetics. In the process of translation, literal translation and free translation can be combined, and attention should be paid to the selection of phonological words, which are closely related to the source language, so as to achieve satisfactory results. People are familiar with the American Nike sports series products, and the pronunciation is that its original intention is the name of the goddess of victory in Greek mythology, but if it is literally translated as "Nigel" or "Naki", many consumers in China will find it difficult to understand and do not know its meaning. The translator imitated its syllables when translating. Considering that sportswear should be durable and wear-resistant, translating it into "Nike" means durability and victory, which makes it just suitable for the goddess of victory.

2. Trademark translation in export trade

When translating Chinese trademarks into foreign languages, cultural customs and the aesthetic psychology of foreign consumers should also be taken into account, and people cannot simply translate them literally or freely. A few years ago, when domestic translators translated the trademarks of export products, they did not take these into account and translated "whiteelephant" into a white elephant battery. As a result, no one is interested in it in the American market. In English, white elephants are useless and boring. In addition, "Du Kang" makes people feel good, and the name of Bacchus, the Greek god of wine, also makes westerners feel good, so translating "Du Kang" into Bacchus helps to bridge the cultural gap between the East and the West.

Application in daily life

Fan has a brand named "Bat", because "Bat" and "Fu" are homophonic, so "Bat" is considered as "Fu". In Japan and Korea, bats are a symbol of happiness. However, if it is translated into bat, it will arouse resentment in the west, because they hate this animal. Another example is the dragon and phoenix. China and the West have different metaphorical meanings. Dragon is a totem image in the history of China. Usually in western culture, the dragon represents evil, and evil is terrible. It has long been used as a flag of war. In English, if a dragon is used to describe a person, it means that this person is arrogant and annoying. In the legend of China, the phoenix is a magical animal. In ancient times, people thought that the phoenix heralded peace and harmony. Later, people always compared the dragon to the emperor and the phoenix to the queen. However, in western culture, the phoenix is a bird that represents "rebirth" and "resurrection". Magpie is an auspicious bird in China, but in English, it is used to describe a talkative and annoying person. Swedes associate it with witchcraft, while Scots think that if magpies come, it means death.

Muslim countries usually hate pandas because they look like pigs. Elephants are very popular in Southeast Asian countries, but in Europe and America, they represent boredom. Peacock is our favorite animal trademark. We think it symbolizes good luck and happiness, but in France, it is considered a bad bird, which means pride and complacency. Crane is also a symbol of luck and happiness in China, but it is considered as a "prostitute" in France. So if China products are sold to France, they will not use the above trademarks or animal designs.

Conclusion: The current research is based on the previous research in the same research field, and draws on many ideas, such as trademark knowledge, trademark translation methods, problems existing in trademark translation and so on. However, this study also attempts to explore its existing problems.

First, some new efforts have been made. For example, by enumerating and comparing the definitions of other trademarks, a new definition with more complete meaning and simpler form is put forward. There are other examples about the function of trademarks and the translation methods of trademarks. Secondly, this paper introduces and compares the previous studies, introduces the methods or principles of trademark translation by analyzing the characteristics, functions and forms of trademarks, and draws lessons from other studies. Thirdly, most previous studies have provided similar principles for trademark translation, such as readability, conciseness and novelty. However, this study puts forward a new list principle. This list principle is more complete, realistic and comprehensive. By comparing and analyzing different theories and methods, we can find problems and solve the problems in English-Chinese trademark translation.