Translation of Infant Product Brand Names from
the Perspective of Skopostheorie

By Zhang Yali

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement

For the B.A. Degree

Department of English
School of Languages and Cultures

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology
May, 2016Translation of Infant Product Brand Names

from the Perspective of Skopostheorie

Zhang Yali

Department of English

School of Languages and Cultures

Nanjing University of Information Science amp; Technology

Abstract: Globalization has not only allowed China to sell its wares throughout the world, but has also allowed many foreign goods, such as infant products, to flood its markets. To maximize their market share, foreign infant product companies often focus not only on the quality of their products, but also on the packaging, and, more specifically, on the translation of their brand names. Research into the translation of brand names of baby care products is however currently lacking. This thesis investigates infant commodity brand name translation from the perspective of Vermeer’s Skopostheorie. It explores the principles upon which it is based and looks at how Skopos Theory strategies are used in the marketing of infant products. Based on the analysis, the author presents four principles that determine the criteria used in the brand name translation of infant commodities; target consumer preferences, target consumer culture adaptation, material product information dissemination, and brand name imposition. To explore how Skopos Theory principles work in the real world, the author uses actual case studies of successful marketing and identifies five common translation strategies — transliteration, literal translation, free translation, the mix of transliteration and free translation and zero translation. It is hoped that the results of this research will shed light on both the marketing strategy of companies and the methods used by translators.

Key words: brand names, infant product, Skopostheorie, translation strategies

摘要：经济全球化不仅使中国能够在全世界出售其产品，而且还让许多外国商品，如婴幼儿产品，入驻了国内市场。为了使市场份额最大化，外国婴幼儿用品公司关注的不仅是产品的质量，还有产品的包装，更具体地来说，是其品牌名称的翻译。但是目前关于婴幼儿产品品牌名称的翻译的研究甚少。本文从弗米尔的翻译理论目的论的角度出发，研究婴幼儿产品品牌名称的翻译，探讨它的基础原则和如何将目的论策略应用于婴幼儿产品的营销。在分析的基础上，作者提出了决定婴幼儿产品品牌名称翻译中使用的标准的四项原则：目标消费者的偏好，目标消费者的文化适应，物质产品信息传播和品牌实施。为了探讨如何在实践中运用目的论原则，作者研究了实际的成功营销案例并总结出五个常见的翻译策略——音译、直译、意译、音意结合和零翻译。希望本研究的结果能够为公司和译者提供营销和翻译的方法。
关键词：品牌名；婴幼儿用品；目的论；翻译策略

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Background of the Study 1

1.2 Significance of the Study 2

2. Literature Review 2

2.1 Foreign Studies on Brand Name Translation 2

2.2 Domestic Studies on Brand Name Translation 3

3. Introduction of Skopostheorie and Principles of Brand Name Translation 4

3.1 Introduction of Skopostheorie 4

3.1.1 Basic Concepts of Skopostherie 4

3.1.2 Three Basic Rules 6

3.2 Principles of Brand Name Translation 8

3.2.1 Target Consumer Preference 8

3.2.2 Target Culture Adaptation 9

3.2.3 Material Product Information Dissemination 9

3.2.4 Brand Name Imposition 10

4. Strategies of Infant Commodity Brand Name Translation 10

4.1 Transliteration 10

4.2 Literal Translation 12

4.3 Free Translation 12

4.4 The Mix of Transliteration and Free Translation 13

4.5 Zero Translation 14

5. Conclusion 15

5.1 Major Findings 15

5.2 Research Limitations 16

References 17

Acknowledgements 18

1. Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

A considerable number of imported infant products such as baby formula have flooded into the Chinese market of late. This is confirmed by the Beijing YuBozhiye Market Consulting Company data indicating that the market share of imported milk powder increased from about 30% in 2008 to more than 50% in 2012. High-end milk powder imports now surpass 70%. But why has imported milk powder been so dominant in the local market and why have profit expectations been regularly exceeded? What drives consumers to accept imported goods over local products? It goes without saying that good quality is paramount in the minds of Chinese consumers who are worried about the recent food safety scares.

An identifiable, elegant and unique brand name is usually regarded by Chinese consumers as important in both their choice of a particular product and a company. A good brand name can be recognized by target consumers. This ensures future company sales and explains why companies spare no effort in both promoting their products and services and establishing their worldwide brand image. Today, marketing strategies must include successful brand name translation and an increasing number of researchers and scholars have turned their attention to just this.

Modern linguistics, which encompasses such fields as semantics, pragmatics, and social semiotics, has, since the 1950s, greatly expanded the role of translation theory in both scope and depth. For some time, scholars employed traditional translation models such as “equivalent” and “faithful”, but as time went by, many scholars found that it was neither appropriate nor practical to apply these theories for translation. An example of this was in the brand name translation of infant products as more attention was paid to “faith” and “equivalence” with the source text and ignored the special needs of the actual translation of the infant product itself. A major breakthrough was Skopos Theory which complemented traditional translation theories and provided a new perspective for infant product translation. According to Skopostheorie, the principal rule of translation is the Skopos rule. That is choosing a translation method guided by the purpose for which the translation is done. The ultimate purpose of infant product companies is to stimulate consumers into buying their products and for the companies to make profits. It follows that the infant product translations should satisfy this special purpose to persuade the target readers to buy the products, thus conforming to the Skopos rule. In this thesis, Skopostheorie is applied to investigate and analyze the translation of infant product brand names.

1.2 Significance of the Study

With the infant product industry booming in China, the translation of infant product brand names is becoming ever more important. This thesis is intended to make a survey of the translation of infant product brand names, and trying to provide some translation principles and strategies to serve as a guide for translation in this field.

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