从文化差异看广告翻译的原则

论文总字数：35752字

摘 要

本文主要研究文化差异下广告翻译的原则。在翻译实践活动中文化差异不可避免。而在商业广告中，这种差异所带来的影响尤为重要。由于全球化，越来越多的国际广告进入中国，广告翻译也变得非常重要。广告翻译与文化之间息息相关，并在国际贸易中发挥着巨大的作用。广告翻译不仅是语言上的翻译，还包括文化上的信息传递，它承担着文化交流与产品宣传的作用。广告翻译是一门综合艺术，需要融合多方面的知识，要解读消费者的文化、语言与心理等方面。在广告翻译过程中，中西方的文化差异必须得到重视，对文化因素进行适当的处理，使得广告在译文中也有着与原文相当的宣传效果。本文主要从文化因素着手，探讨在广告翻译中适当的翻译原则。

关键词：文化差异；广告翻译；翻译原则

Contents

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………1
2. Literature Review…………………………………………………………2
3. Characteristics of Advertisement ……………………………………...2

3.1 Characteristics of Chinese advertisement………………………………….2

3.2 Characteristics of English advertisement ……………………………........4

1. Cultural Differences in Advertising Translation……………………….5

4.1 The cultural differences between Chinese and Western……………………5

4.2 The impact of cultural differences in translation………………………...9

5. Principles of Advertisement Translation………………………………..10

5.1 Respecting target language culture……………………………………10

5.2 Focusing on cultural psychology…………………………………………12

5.3 Innovating under different backgrounds…………………………………13

6. Conclusion………………………………………………………………..14

Works Cited…………………………………………………………………...15

1. Introduction

With the acceleration of economic globalization, enterprises all over the world are facing both opportunities and challenges. Enterprises are no longer limited to the development of their domestic markets. They are actively committed to the development of international markets. For enterprises, advertising is an important means which plays a crucial part in occupying the international frontier market. In recent years, with the development of commodity economy, the world economy has gradually become integrated. Import and export trades have become increasingly prosperous, and companies around the world have established trade relations with China. Large amounts of products have been exchanged among countries. Therefore, the translation of advertisements should be responsible for attracting consumers’ attention.

Advertising is a practical style with high commercial value. An advertisement must be memorable and convincing enough so that consumers are willing to buy them. Thus, advertising translation should enable readers to know the relevant information of the goods after reading the advertisement and to generate the desire and impulse to purchase the goods. Everyone who is engaged in translation knows that comprehending an article cannot be limited to the literal meaning but should consider its connotation. Similarly, when translating advertising works, the translator should grasp the specific cultural factors embodied in the original advertising works, and effectively pass such cultural factors to the target language readers.

This article will explore the impact of culture on the translation of advertisements and put forward translation principles from the cultural perspective. Advertising is a cross-cultural communication behavior. In advertising translation, translators should be conscious of the role of cultural factors in advertising. This article is divided into six chapters. The first chapter mainly introduces the background and importance of this article. The second chapter is a literature review on advertising translation. The third chapter explores the characteristic of advertisement. The fourth chapter mainly discusses the differences between Chinese and Western culture. The fifth chapter finds out some translation principles. The sixth chapter is a conclusion.

2. Literature Review

Commercial industry is booming as well as advertising. Many foreign products have been introduced into China. Thus, advertising translation attracts enormous research interest. More and more scholars study this subject from different perspectives. Jiang Lei discusses the translation equivalence from the perspective of pragmatics. Nie Aiming, Zhang Li and Guo Zhibin have made their efforts on the study of cultural conversion and compensation, concentrating on the similarities and differences of various cultures. Li Kexing and Han Xu explore the translation of commercial advertisements from a cross-cultural perspective and propose translation approaches that can be used for reference. Wan Liling and Wang Hao look at the creative principles in commercial advertising translation from both theoretical and practical aspects. Wan Tao analyzes the reasons for the lack of culture in the process of commercial advertisement translation from the opposite side.

The authors mentioned above have greatly contributed to the development of advertising translation, which is conducive to our analysis of advertising translation. This thesis will base on the works mentioned above to deepen the study in advertising translation, mainly discussing appropriate translation principles. It mainly focuses on cultural factors and their influences on advertisements. This thesis strives to find out some effective principles from the perspective of cultural differences.

1. Characteristics of Advertisement

Though advertisements have many kinds, the purpose of advertisement determines its unique style (Zhang 219). Advertisement language is clear and vivid, adopting a large number of compound words and abbreviation. Lots of positive adjectives and figures of speech have been used in the advertisements. The whole structure is simple, short and inclined to use assertive sentences.

3.1 Characteristics of Chinese advertisement

Chinese advertisement is rather particular about the choice of words. Most words are elegant and concise. Reduplication words and four-character phrases often appear in Chinese advertisements. They are short in structure and profound in meaning. Some are conventional such as idioms and poems and some are randomly combined. Both of them is to enhance the artistic appeal of advertisements. The polysemy in Chinese is also flexibly used in the slogans. The ingenious combination of literal meaning and connotation meaning makes people feel refreshed and impressed.

1. 传统工艺，制作精细，质地松脆，清香可口。——溪口千层饼
2. 一箭钟情，一箭如故。——箭牌口香糖
3. 40年风尘岁月，中华在我心中。——中华牙膏

In example 1), four-character phrases are used. A few sentences include a large number of information about the quality of goods. In example 2), the slogan repeatedly stresses the brand through two idioms. Both four-character phrases and polysemy are used to make this slogan interesting and impressive. Finally, in example 3), this slogan adopts the form of poetry. “中华” has its literal meaning and connotation meaning. This slogan cleverly links the brand to the nation, letting readers know the brand and touching people’s heart.

Advertisement emphasizes that sentences should be short and concise. Complex and lengthy expressions will make readers feel disgusted and bored (Li 88). In Chinese advertisements, there are some commonly used sentence patterns: 1. short sentences, such as: 爱的就是你！——娃哈哈 2. elliptical sentences, such as: 任劳任怨，只要还剩一口气。——轮胎广告; 我能！——中国移动 3. parallel construction, such as: 选择《读者》，也就选择了一类优秀的文化，一种新的视野，一位人生的挚友。——《读者》

Also the meaning of language is connected with the context. The famous sociologist E.T. Hall put forward high and low-context cultural theory in his book Beyond Culture (Hall 15-16). The high context culture emphasizes that the inner meaning conveyed by communication is largely indirect. The meaning of sentences is often euphemistic and sometimes only a small part of information can be conveyed. The rest must be understood by others. China is a typical high-context culture country. In the advertisements, this kind of high-context culture can be presented as examples below:

1. 盒中自有花满枝——富士彩色胶卷
2. 虽是毫末技艺，确是顶上功夫。——理发店
3. 喝精品小糊涂仙，想开心事，做快活人。——小糊涂仙酒

These advertisement are very implicit and indirect to demonstrate the functions of the products. In example 1), it not only means that you can capture the beauty of the flowers with Fuji film, but also implies the meaning of using Fuji film to record a good life. In example 2), the technique of haircut is related to the overall image of a person, though it only needs to cut one or two inches in length. The example 3) actually takes advantage of Chinese philosophy “Where ignorance is bliss, it’s folly to be wise”.

3.2 Characteristics of English advertisement

English advertisements are more objective and precise in expressions. They use simple and commonly used words to attract consumers’ attention. English advertisements often use some innovative vocabularies by means of word-making and misspelling. In English advertisements, words with strong emotional color are also used to attract attention.

1. The taste is great!——Nestle advertisement
2. The Orangemostest Drink in the world.——orange juice advertisement
3. Drinka Pinta Milk a Day.——milk advertisement
4. New colors, New formula, New Dial.——Dial soap advertisement
5. Let’s make things better.——Philips advertisement

In example 1), the whole sentence is short and simple but it can fully attract consumers’ psychology. In example 2), orangemostest is a new word, comprising orange, most and -est. The purpose of this word is to explain the high quality of this kind of orange juice, which is really impressive. In example 3), the correct sentence should be “Drink a pinta milk a day”. But it takes advantage of liaison in English and skillfully combines the advertising text, which is innovative and eye-catching. In example 4) and 5), those evaluative vocabularies clearly show the high and superior quality of the products.

There are also some commonly used sentence patterns in English advertisements: 1. imperative sentences, such as: Hold it and you’re hooked.——Ericsson; Add power to your will.——Habitrol 2. questions, such as: Tempted? Enjoy our quality responsibly?——Whiskey

These advertisements subtly incorporate product features into short, powerful slogans to achieve the best promotion effect. If the sentence structure is applied appropriately in an advertisement, it can highlight the features and advantages of the product to make it more competitive.

From the perspective of context, English belongs to low-context culture. Low-context culture stresses that communication is clear and direct. The meaning of sentences can be understood directly through the lines. Both parties can understand each other easily. For example:

1. “Hi, I’m Rusty Jones. I’m the new one car option you can buy that will actually

appreciate in value. I’ll stay with you...” ——Jones rust preventive

1. “So...You want to mail a strawberry sorbet?” ——COLOR DIRECT express

In example 1), this advertisement uses personification to draw closer to readers. It shows its functions and features in a colloquial way. It makes readers feel cute but clear. In example 2), it uses hyperbole to highlight the quick speed of COLOR DIRECT, which is very innovative and distinct.

The slogans in high-context culture often confuse and misunderstand readers in low-context culture due to its deep cultural connotation. On the contrary, sometimes the long slogans in low-context culture provide too much information, which makes readers in high-context culture feel bored towards these advertisements. Thus, the context can also greatly influence the effect of advertisements.

4. Cultural differences in Advertising Translation

4.1 The cultural differences between Chinese and Western

Cultural differences refer to the expressions shared by different countries but implying different connotation (Jiang 13). Cultural differences come from regional differences among people in different social backgrounds. The long history, environment and lifestyle have slowly affected people’s lives and formed a unique lifestyle and modes of thinking in each country. Most advertisements are from culture, which means that culture inspires the design of advertisement. Cultural differences between Chinese and Western have nurtured different ideas and thoughts at the same time. Advertisements for the same product can clearly show the different viewpoints from the perspective of cultural values, modes of thinking and so on. As a means of information dissemination, advertising needs to be in consideration of the public’s acceptance of information. It is the essence and key to the success of advertising to grasp the cultural differences among countries.

4.1.1 In terms of values

Values are cognition, understanding or choice based on a certain sense of mind (Claire 153). Values have a guiding role in motivation and reflect people’s perceptions and needs.

In the long history, the Chinese are deeply influenced by the Confucian culture. It requires the unity of the collective and the individual, so that the Chinese have a strong sense of responsibility towards the home and the country. The traditional Chinese thought is more focused on the collective consciousness, which is reflected in the advertisement to highlight the importance of the family and the group. Such as:

1. 温暖，亲情，金龙鱼的大家庭。——金龙鱼

2）好迪真好，大家好才是真的好。——好迪洗发水

The West has nurtured individualism, which pursues self-development and emphasizes individual freedom. English advertisements focus on “I” and promote the pursuit of freedom and personal realization. They place personal interests above collective interests.

1. It makes you feel like the man you are. ——BUICK
2. You’re worth it! ——L’Oreal

There is a tendency towards authority in Chinese consumers’ psychology. There are often commentary discourses such as “introducing foreign advanced technology” and “using scientific methods and core technology” . E.g:

1. 酒是陈年好，百年老字号，枝江大曲。——枝江大曲
2. 格力，掌握核心科技。——格力空调

In stark contrast to Chinese advertisements, English advertisements pay more attention to truth or scientific evidence.

1. Selected by James Bond. The sign of excellence. ——OMEGA
2. Sonicare is break-through product that combines up-to-date information on

dentistry with sonic technology developed by a team of dentists and bioengineers. ——Sonicare

4.1.2 In terms of modes of thinking

Chinese are accustomed to image thought and association. For the sake of making the article lively and visual, they often use rich adjectives and metaphors. At the same time, they often have to prepare a lot for coming to the point. Chinese advertising language often contains some emotional factors, using roundabout and associative expressions to arouse the resonance of the readers.

1. 天上彩虹，人间长虹。——长虹牌电视机
2. 袅袅升起的，是铁观音的茶香。——茶楼

For Westerners, this approach is often hollow and exaggerated, only weakening the effect of information dissemination. The writing style of English focuses more on the logic and facts. Generally speaking, the expression of English advertisements is rational and straight. Confident emotions are vividly expressed in the slogans. E.g:

1. We lead, others copy. ——Ricoh copier
2. Easier dusting by a stre-e-etch. ——Stretch dust cloth

Chinese pay more attention to the word “harmony”, preferring harmony and pursuing stable results.

1. 高高兴兴上班，平平安安回家。——交通安全广告
2. 惊世之美，天地共造化。——帕萨特

However, the Western nations have a strong sense of competition. They attach great importance to contending. In the eyes of Westerners, people have to overcome nature in order to survive and develop. They prefer to explore and strive for higher goals.

1. Unlike me, my Rolex never needs a rest. ——Rolex watch
2. To me, the past is black and white, but the future is always color. ——Hennessy
3. Your world should know no boundaries. ——Merill Lynch

4.1.3 In terms of language use

Chinese and English belong to two different language families. Obviously, they have some differences due to their different social backgrounds, cultural backgrounds and modes of thinking.

Chinese has its own unique figures of speech, such as anadiplosis and plalindrome. As we all know, though Chinese sentences can look similar at first sight, the function and effect of sentences can be completely different. Chinese word order and grammatical rules have greater flexibility. Therefore, Chinese advertisement designers use this flexibility to make phrases and sentences and strive to achieve perfection. These types of advertisements are often catchy and impressive. For example:

1. 车到山前必有路，有路就有丰田车。——丰田

2) 万家乐，乐万家。——万家乐

Also, there are many homophonic phenomena in Chinese. Homophony is to use the same sound but imply different meaning, which only appears in Chinese to transform concepts. Such as:

1. “衣”见如故。——衣服
2. 上天猫，就购了。——天猫商城

Reduplication is another unique phenomenon in Chinese advertising language. It combines two identical syllables to enhance the sound impression and express certain emotions. Especially, some trademarks are inclined to use reduplication, such as “滴滴”, “人人” and “探探”. Because they are easy to be remember for consumers.

1. 小别意酸酸，欢聚心甜甜。——酸汁饮料
2. 恒源祥，羊羊羊。——恒源祥

Chinese advertising is using end rhyme more than English advertising. For example:

1. 钻石恒久远，一颗永流传。——迪比尔斯钻石
2. 红棉保温瓶，温暖你家庭。——红棉牌保温瓶

English language is quite different. Homonyms are seldom used. Advertising is more about alliteration.

1. Make your every hello a real good-buy. ——telephone
2. OIC ——OIC eye glasses
3. Hi -Fi, Hi -Fun, Hi -Fashion, only from Sony. ——Sony

English is an inflectional language with rich morphological changes. Therefore, in English advertisements, some advertisers intentionally misspell some words, or add some special meaningful forms. Although the morphology of new word is different from that of the original word, the meaning still exists. It not only achieves the purposes of vividness, amusement and catching consumers’ eyes, but also effectively disseminates commodity information. For example:

The orangemostest Drink in the world

Because of the flexible word-formation of English compound words and few restrictions on their combination, advertisers can almost compose all kinds of new words at will to achieve the purpose of attracting attention. For example:

Fresh up with Seven-up. ——七喜

4.2 The impact of cultural differences in advertising translation

The emergence of advertisement is the result of human intelligence innovation. Every excellent advertisement greatly shows social, economic and cultural development under current conditions. As a cultural form, advertising is bound to be influenced by the cultural background and social thought it depends on. Cultural differences among countries influence advertisements most in the process of transnational communication. It decides whether advertisements can be accepted and recognized by local readers. Due to cultural differences, the literal translation can not make the target readers get the same information as the original readers, which will influence the effect of advertisements. This requires that advertisement translation should grasp the essence of products and translators should ensure the accurate transmission of products’ image and information. For example, our country exports a kind of instant noodles whose trademark is “白象”. However, if the product is translated literally into “white elephant” and pushed abroad, no one will pay attention to it. Because “White Elephant” is a common saying in English, meaning something big and useless. In order to avoid the influence of cultural differences between China and the West in advertising, we must first face up to and respect the cultural differences and then deeply understand their values, thinking patterns and expressions. Only under such circumstance can consumers refrain from misunderstandings as much as possible from the beginning of advertising translation. The advertisement translation can truly meet the tastes and needs of the local or national people without doubt.

1. Principles of Advertisement Translation

Commercial advertising translation is not only one of image strategies in corporation culture, but also a means of foreign exchanges. If the translation complies with the target culture, it is easier to be accepted and recognized. Thus, some principles below should be considered.

5.1 Respecting target language culture

5.1.1 Respecting target language culture’s values

Advertising translation must cater to consumers’ values in the target language countries. Thousands of years of farming civilization have led to Chinese emphasizing moral norms. However, Westerners are extroverted and individualized. The Chinese people emphasize group concepts and focus on collective interests. Westerners believe in and promote individualism. Nike’s slogan “just do it!” is translated as “想做就去做” when it first appears in China. In the United States, this advertising slogan which promotes individual liberation has been popular since its launch. However, in China, people are generally self-disciplined. Therefore, many locals believe that the advertisement has the meaning of tempting young people to do bad things, and they have expressed dissatisfaction. Later, Nike changes the advertising slogan to “应做就去做”. Therefore, when translated into Chinese advertisements, English advertisements can add some phrases such as “we are all using” or “everyone says good” to convince consumers to buy products. In Western countries, people pay more attention to individuals. Similarly, Chinese to English advertisements are mostly targeted at individuals, adding some phrases such as “especially for you” or “meet your special needs”. For example, WATERMAN pen’s slogan is “Each owns a different WATERMAN pen. For while style is key, individual is everything”. It is translated into “每个人都拥有一只与众不同的沃特曼半球钢笔，风格很重要，但个性也同样重要”. In this advertisement, the purpose of the source language advertisement is to highlight the individual personality and conform to the English-speaking countries’ psychology of self-pursuit. However, when translated into “而个性最重要”, such advertisements may not be accepted or even rejected by the readers in China which pays attention to the collective concept. Therefore, in the process of translation, the translator translates it into “但个性也同样重要”, which adapts to the cultural concepts of Chinese readers.

5.1.2 Respecting target language culture’s modes of thinking

Chinese and Western people have different modes of thinking in different natural and social environments. It is necessary to meet the modes of thinking of the target consumers. Such advertisements can arouse the consumers’ sense of identity and inspire the impulse to buy the products. Then, the premise of successful advertising translation is to understand the differences between Chinese and Western modes of thinking. Westerners pay attention to analytical thinking while Chinese are good at comprehensive thinking. Westerners are keen to collect specific facts and data while Chinese people have a greater preference for authority. English advertising words are accurate and specific to convince consumers. Chinese advertising words are more abstract and general to leave a good impression on consumers. Therefore, translators should fully consider the differences between Chinese and Western modes of thinking. When translating English advertisements into Chinese, translators can add some overall evaluations such as “higher cost performances”, “advanced and core technology” and so on, thereby making Chinese consumers to be interested in the products. Similarly, when translating Chinese advertisements into English, it is necessary to translate the general evaluation into specific words as much as possible to accurately convey the relevant information.

5.1.3 Respecting target language culture’s language use

The success of advertising translation is also closely related to the expression. Different languages have different expressive habits. In the process of translation, the translator should choose right advertising expressions that are suitable for the target language. For example, “The Globe brings you the world in a single copy.” is The Globe’s slogan. The translator translates it into “一册在手，纵览全球”. The advertising language is concise and clear, expressing the functions and advantages of the magazine. If the translator does not consider the Chinese expression habits and translates it directly into “一个小册子就能带你游览全球”, although the expression is correct, it can not produce the same effect as the source language. Four-character expressions are used to adapt to the Chinese expression habits so that Chinese readers can better understand advertisements.

5.2 Focusing on cultural psychology

Focusing on cultural psychology includes two aspects. One is catering to what consumers’ likes and one is avoiding their taboos. The original advertising language has lost its due effect in the new cultural environment. Facing two distinct linguistic expressions and cultural backgrounds, translators should not pursue the highest degree of coincidence with the meaning of the original text, but should cater to what they like. Advertising translation is successful as long as it adapts to the social culture, modes of thinking and consumption psychology of consumers in the target language countries. Even in some cases, the translator can discard part or all of the text. However, the translator should always insist on producing the vivid effect as much as the original advertising language to achieve the purpose of selling goods. Translators can translate successful slogans by understanding the cultural values and consumers’ psychology, analyzing the characteristics of the products to find the expression that is closest to the local culture. For example, people love red very much in Chinese culture, because red represents enthusiasm and auspiciousness. Red is often used in trademarks or advertising designs. However, in Western culture, red represents danger and violence. So, the trademark “红心牌电熨斗” can not be literally translated into “Red Heart Electric Iron”. Translating it into “Bright Heart Electric Iron” is much better. The famous German brand Mercedes-Benz is a successful example of brand translation. “奔驰” shows the artistic conception of the car moving forward. Cultural differences lead to distinct cultural connotations of the same words in Chinese and Western cultures. If translators lack correct understanding of these words and misuse them, it will cause serious consequences. In advertising translation, translators must avoid ambiguous and unpleasant words. Translators should use words with good meanings in the translation. For example, affected by Confucian culture, Chinese people like the words such as “仁”, “义”, “和” and so on. Also, Chinese people pursue long life and happiness, so words like “寿”, “喜” and “乐” are welcomed.

5.3 Innovating under different cultural backgrounds

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