资源描述
Abstract
China government pursue a policy of opening to the outside world since 1978, in particular with China’s accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, more and more foreign cosmetics brands come to China. Facing the competitive market, the translation of trade mark and the product name become very important. Good translations have influence on the company’s culture and image in the customers’ mind. This study provides the translation principles and skills as a guide for the translators. The study showed that, with proper method, the translation will be accepted by both the company and the customers. Skopos theory also has been used in this thesis, which focuses on translating cosmetics into Chinese with its own purpose. The advantages and disadvantages of the principles, techniques and method will be showed in this thesis.
Key words: cosmetics name; skopos theory; principles; techniques
中文摘要
随着1978年中国的对外开放，特别是2001年加入世界贸易组织，越来越多的外国化妆品品牌进入中国市场。面对与日俱增的市场竞争，化妆品牌的中文翻译变得越来越重要。一个好的化妆品名翻译，它可直接影响到其公司的文化内涵和对消费者的影响。本课题将给翻译人员提供翻译方法进行参考，方便日后翻译工作。在正确的翻译方法指导下，化妆品名翻译将被绝大多数公司和消费者所接受。本课题将探讨在目的论的指导下，化妆品名翻译中翻译方法的重要性，化妆品名翻译的原则，技巧，和翻译方法的优缺点以及翻译过程中应注意的事项。
关键词：化妆品名，目的论，原则，技巧
Contents
ABSTRACT I
中文摘要 II
1. INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Relevant background 1
1.2 Significance of the study 1
1.3 innovative points of the Study 2
2. LITERATURE REVIEW 3
2.1 Domestic research situation 3
2.2 Foreign research situations 4
3. TRANSLATION PRINCIPLES OF THE NAMES OF COSMETICS 6
FROM ENGLISH INTO CHINESE 6
3.1 The purpose of translation 6
3.2 The coherence of translation 7
3.3 The fidelity of translation 7
4. TECHNIQUES IN COSMETICS TRANSLATION 9
4.1 Transliteration 9
4.2 Literal Translation 9
4.3 Free Translation 10
4.4 Meaning Implication 11
5. CONCLUSION 13
REFERENCES 14
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 15
1. Introduction
1.1 Relevant background
With the development of economic globalization, and further implementation of the reform and opening policy, plenty of foreign merchandises flood into Chinese markets, including foreign cosmetics. In order to receive a good reputation and attract more people to buy its products, the foreign companies not only make the products more catering for the habits of Chinese, but also have an idiomatic and attractive translation name of the brand, so do the cosmetics products. The love for attractiveness is native to humans. Owing to the severe competition among different cosmetic brands, every cosmetic company racks their brains to promote sales. Therefore, how to make the consumers know their products very well is the main issue. Foreign cosmetics products like Clinique, Lancôme, and Artistry, everybody in China knows its Chinese name. It is invisible that a charming translated name is half of a success and has the influence on the customers Successful translation can not only bring healthy benefits to the company, but also directly affect the image of the company in customers’ mind.
The Chinese name of foreign cosmetics is the most important thing when the products sale in China. The principles to translate the foreign cosmetics are to raise attention. Skopos theory is one of the principles in translating. “It focuses on translation as an activity with an aim or purpose, and on the intended addressee or audience of the translation” (Vermeer, 1987). Only when the original cosmetics name is adapted to the targeted culture, can the targeted customers easily understand and be likely to buy the products. Cosmetics have its main purpose as a product which is to attract more customers to buy. Therefore, Skopos theory plays a significant role in translating cosmetics which should be taken as the basic strategy in translation.
1.2 Significance of the study
The cosmetic industry is a profitable business for most manufacturers of cosmetic products. Many foreign cosmetic companies think that China is a potential market with a large amount of population. If everyone buys their products, they will occupy the main market. The most importance is to raise its reputation among the Chinese customer. Therefore, the language becomes a bridge for people to understand the products. Translating the names of the products has to follow the skopos theory. Because of the differences between languages and cultures, Chinese people may not know the product well when it is written in English. So we have to study the successful cases. Skopos theory provides a theoretical guidance for the translator to cope with the complex situation in cosmetics translation. As a purpose oriented process, cosmetics name translation has good grounds to take Skopos theory as the guiding theory for its purpose of promoting the commodity. The author will list some products of Artistry cosmetics on E-C translation. It can be a reference for the foreign companies when they sell the products in China.
1.3 Innovative points of the Study
When the economic globalization developed, many kinds of the foreign products are rushing into our domestic market. In order to gain most of the customers, the companies try every effort to sell their products well in China, and their selling modes are various. Some may has their own shop to sell their products. Some may sell the products in all the supermarkets. In this thesis, there is a new mode to sell products----Direct Selling. Amway Company is to use this mode to sell their products. Different from other selling modes, the translations can be different. The most important thing is to make the seller understand the products clearly. Then the translation techniques should be taken into deeper consideration.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Domestic research situation
Yanfu told us that translate the English into Chinese, it has to follow the principles that is “faithfulness, expressivity and elegance”, especially in literature text. But when we enter the commercial period, if a company tends to make a successful step or a big profit, it is significant to translate the trade mark into target language and some principles will have to be taken into account, when the translators are now facing some translation problems. Liyi(2009) wrote in his thesis that trademark translated into Chinese is better than into foreign languages in our country. Application of Pinyin Chinese trademarks, abuse of literal translation, disadvantages of abbreviation, these three problems we have to solve.
Three principles raised by Sun (2010) have been solved. Firstly, the original language and the translation should have similar meaning or the product function is almost the same. We should adopt the best method from various choices in various styles instead of the original internal vocabulary. With this method, the consumers could get the most similar feeling as the native language consumers. Secondly, the translators should pay attention to the difference among various cultures and make the translation domestic. The translator can never neglect the national traits and values which are exclusively possessed by the target consumers if a translated name is to be well accepted in the target market. Thirdly, it is easier to read and remember, brief and novel. Because of the purpose of the brand, the translation should reach the predict function of the skopos theory.
There is another solution to translate the trademark. Qin (2009) lists some translation for product name translation techniques. First, it is transliteration. Since not all the English words can be found in the dictionary, we have to use this method of transliteration, like the Mobil phone brand named MOTOLORA. The Chinese is 摩托罗拉. It shows a culture gap. Second, it is literal translation. According to the Faithfulness principle, if the translation can reach the result of attracting people to buy it, it can be translated in literal translation. Such as Royal Furniture, it translates 皇朝家私. Both Chinese and English have the same meaning which is the symbol of domination, and the taste of elegant. Third, it is free translation. Because of the differences in culture languages, free translation is a familiar way as well as the most ideal way for us to translate trademark. Only in this way, customers in different countries will have the same feeling towards a certain commodity. Fourth, it is flexible translation. Zhu(2005) said translators can translate product in a flexible way, just according to the distinguishable features of the products or the psychology of the consumers or the active association of the products. Fifth, it is zero translation. With the acceleration of international communication, more and more foreign brand names have been well acquainted before they are introduced in the domestic market. It may cost the customers more time to accept the translation. As a result, famous brand names composing of English letters which are easy to read and easy to remember that we are usually “translated” in a new way—zero translation.
Female, is another potential market, especially the cosmetics products which is well sale in women’s world. As an old saying goes, “Everyone admires beauty”. Particularly, cosmetics play a very important role in women’s mind. Guidance for cosmetics translation, Fulei’s principles of “spiritual conformity” which suggests the lowest standard for translation is the consistence in contend between after-translation version and the original version, and Qian zhong-shu’s opinion of sublimed adaptation which focuses on the translator’s smooth and idiomatic Chinese version for the sake of the Chinese reader (Jiang, 2009, cited). In cosmetics translation, it has to respect the consumers’ psychology and the local traditions and culture, flexibly use various translating methods, and illustrate the beautiful sound, the wonderful meaning and the beauty of context of situation (Chang, 2007). And it has these characteristics, following: Accord with commodity characteristics, According to the target language country or the culture of the target country, has the symbol, easy to remember and so on. Many translation skills and principles have to consider.
Lots of translation techniques have been studied by the scholars, which can provide us more material to think deeper and deeper.
2.2 Foreign research situations
Vermeer J. Hans, in his book Groundwork for a General Translation theory mentioned the Skopos theory. The word come from Greece, and means “target, purpose, intention and function”. In Skopos theory, it emphasizes the interaction of the translation and pragmatic features. He thought the function is the basic form of translation. The definition of translation is “produce a text at target setting for a target purpose and target addressee in target circumstance” (Nord, 1997). He explained this theory into two rules. First, the purpose of the translation is the function of the translation. The purpose of translation decides the interaction between the original text and translation text. Second, according to the target groups, the translation will be different. The translator should use the most appropriate translation techniques to achieve the purpose of translation. In a short word, all the conduction should come before the purpose principle .
According to Skopos theory, the prime principle determining any translation process is the purpose of the overall translation action (Nord, 1997). Vermeer J. Hans also has three translation principles “skopos rule, coherence rule and fidelity rule”. But the skopos rule come the first. It is said the purpose of translation deciding the whole process of translation. It can also be said the purpose deciding the method. When we come to the economics globalization period, all the products sell all over the world. The translation becomes more importance. The main criterion for this choice is the communicative purpose the client wants to achieve the translation (e.g. sell products, convince the audience of certain ideas, inform or instruct the readers how to use a particular machine, explain the use of a new technical term, and share an aesthetic or emotional experience). Therefore, the translator (like any other text producer) analyses the pragmatics of the target situation before deciding on what to say and how to say it (Nord.2001). Skopos theory provides a theoretical guidance for the translator to cope with the complex situations in production translation. As a purpose-oriented process, product name translation has good grounds to take skopo theory as the guiding theory for its purpose of promoting the commodity (Li &Ye, 2010). Language characteristics’ general directions are described as practical, scientific, consecutive, word-picture, co-existent concise, speculating and imperative, so does the cosmetics name translation. As a hypotactic language, English emphasizes more on the structure and precise expression, while less on the sound and rhythm. But Chinese versions are on the contrast as Chinese is a paratactic language (HU, 2005). In the cosmetics translation, we have to translate in the direction of the skopos theory. Vermeer J. Hans thought that language is a part of the culture, and it plays a very important role when people communicate or in the passage. But usually in the writings, it is seldom being considered that the culture massages. The translatum, it not only translates the passage, but also combines with the purpose of the culture massages. So in cosmetics translation, skopos is significant.
3. Translation principles of the names of cosmetics
from English into Chinese
Cosmetics name as a symbol of its company, it delivers the information of its culture. Therefore, the name has its own important meaning. In order to attract more customers to buy its products, the good impression comes the first to the customers is its name. Because of the two different cultures, in the translation, the translator has to know well in one’s culture and customs. It will influence the sales of the company. Skopos theory thought that translation has its purpose. If the foreign products sell well, it can directly affect the company. With this purpose, the translation can not be followed these kinds of principles, like faithfulness, equivalence. It can change the principles while translating. According to Skopos theory, the basic translation is its purpose. Under the specific culture or customers, the translators should put more attention to the situations. There must some principles as a guide to the translators that will help them to conquer the translation difficulties when they are on the way to the proper translation. There will have three principles under the skopos theory, which the translator should take it into consideration.
3.1 The purpose of translation
Nord.Christiane said that what methods should be used in translation is depends on the purpose of translation. In other words, the
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