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AStudyofBrandNameTranslationinChina1.IntroductionWiththeaccelerationofeconomicglobalizationandChina’sentryintoWTO,moreandmoreChineseproductsarebeinglaunchedintotheinternationalmarket.Consequently,translatingChinesebrandnamessuccessfullyintoEnglishhasneverbeenmoreimperativeandvitalthantoday.ThetranslationofChinesebrandnamesisakindofinterculturalcommunication.Itinvolvessuchfactorsaslinguisticlaws,culturalpsychology,andaestheticvalues.Asuccessfultranslationofthebrandnameshouldnotonlytransfertheinformationconcerningthecommodityorservice,butalsotransferitsculturalsignificancetotheaudienceinthetargetculture.Thisappliesparticularlytoculture-loadedbrandnamesthathavedifferentmentalassociationsindifferentcultures.Accordingtotheprincipleoffunctionalequivalence,thetranslatedbrandnamesshouldachieveaperfectlinguisticunityamongsound,formandmeaning.Thispaper,takingNida'sfunctionalequivalenceasitsframework,attemptstostudytheproblemsthatareoftenencounteredintranslatingbrandnamesintoEnglishandsuggestwaystosolvethem.2.BrandnamesandthetranslationBrandname,anessentialcomponentofadvertising,isthepartofabrandthatcanbevocalized.Itis“anamegivenbyaproducertoaparticularproduct,bywhichitmayberecognizedfromamongalikeproductsmadebyotherproducers.”(LongmanContemporaryEnglish-ChineseDictionaryEnglish,1988)Aimingtobuild,reinforce,and/orrepositionconsumers’perceptionofacertainbrand,brandnameshavethefollowingfourfunctions:distinguishingproducts,providinginformation,ensuringguaranteeandstimulatingconsumption.Inordertobuildupagoodimageinthemarketandarousefavorableassociationsaswellaspurchasingdesireinthemindsoftheconsumers,brandnamesshouldhavethefollowingmajorcharacteristics:shortinlengthandsweetness,sonorousanddistinct,elegantandapt,originalandnovel.Translationisamorecomplexcommunicationthanthatwithinasinglelanguagebecauseitinvolvestwolanguages.(Jin&Nida,1984:31)Giventheuniquenessofbrandnamestranslation,thetranslatormustbefullyawareoftheculturalawareness,aestheticstandards,andconsumptionmodesofbothSLandTLreaders,andshouldkeepinthemindtheintentionoftheoriginalsoastotransferitsmessage(bothlinguisticandcultural)maximally,otherwise,“afailuretoreflectthespiritanddynamicsofthesourcedocumentisa‘mortalsin’”(Nida, 1993)Thetranslatorofbrandnamesshouldstriveforthefollowingtwoeffects:(a)thetranslatedbrandnameshouldreflectthesemanticfeaturesoftheoriginalone;(b)thetranslatedbrandnameshouldhavethesameorsimilarfunctionastheoriginalone.Thetranslatedbrandnameshouldbedelightfultotheeye,pleasanttotheear,easytoremember,aswellasbeaperfectunityofsound,form,andmeaning.Thatistoarousethesameinterestandpsychologicalempathyofthetargetconsumers,stimulatetheiraestheticenjoymentandconsumingdesire.Towardtheend,thetranslatorsmustserveasreceptorofthemessageintendedbythesourcesignandbethesourceofthemessageinthetargetlanguage.(Jin&Nida,1984:31-50)3.PrinciplesfortranslatingChinesebrandnamesVarioustranslationprincipleshavebeenproposed,suchastheinfluentialbutcontroversialcriterionof“faithfulness”,“expressiveness”and“elegance”(“信”,“达”,“雅”)asputforwardbyYanFuandtheprincipleoffunctionalequivalenceproposedbyNida.Consideringthefeaturesofbrandnames,particularlythefactthattheyaremostlycreatedtoperformsuchfunctionsasinformative,aestheticandvocativefunctions,thepresentpaperwillchieflydrawuponNida’sprinciple.3.1FunctionalequivalenceAminimal,realisticdefinitionoffunctionalequivalenceisstatedas:“Thereadersofatranslatedtextshouldbeabletocomprehendittothepointthattheycanconceiveofhowtheoriginalreadersofthetextmusthaveunderstoodandappreciatedit.”(Nida,1993:118)Anythinglessthanthisdegreeofequivalenceshouldbeunacceptable.Amaximal,idealdefinitioncouldbedefinedas“thereadersofatranslatedtextshouldbeabletounderstandandappreciateitinessentiallythesamemannerastheoriginalreadersdid.”(Nida,1993:119)However,thisequivalenceisrarelyachievedinpractice.ThisprincipleisobviouslyapplicabletoChinesebrandnamestranslation.Languagehassixbasicfunctions:informative,vocative,aesthetic,expressive,phaticandmetalingual(Newmark,1988:39).Theformerthreearemorecloselyrelatedtobrandnames.AsfarasChinesebrandnamesareconcerned,functionalequivalencemeansthattheEnglishrenderingsmustperformthesethreefunctionstothesame,oratleasttosimilarextentastheChinesebrandnamesdo.Forinformativeandvocativetexts,Newmark(1988:47)proposescommunicativetranslation,which“attemptstoproduceonitsreadersaneffectascloseaspossibletothatobtainedonthereadersoftheoriginal.”(Newmark,1982:39)Moreover,anytranslationwithoutconsideringthefunctionmayleadtofailureincommunication.Boththemeaningandfunctionsofthesourcetextsshouldbetransferredintranslation.Consequently,Nidaclaims,“Judgingthevalidityofa translationcannotstopwithacomparisonofcorrespondinglexicalmeanings,grammaticalclasses,andrhetoricaldevices.Whatisimportantistheextenttowhichreceptorscorrectlyunderstandandappreciatethetranslatedtext.”(Nida,1993:116).3.2RequirementsoffunctionalequivalenceFirstly,equivalenceininformativefunctionisrequired.Thisrequiresthattherenderingsmustbeabletoinformpeopleofthefunctions,characteristicsandvaluesoftheproductsastheoriginalbrandnamesdo.Forexample,“钻石”(watch)shouldbetranslatedinto“Diamond”ratherthan“Zuanshi”since“Diamond”hintstoEnglish-speakingpeoplethevalueofthiskindofwatchas“钻石”doestoChinesepeople,while“Zuanshi”doesnotperformthisinformativefunction.Secondly,therenderingsshouldcreateasenseofbeautyeitherinformorincontexttothesameorsimilarextenttotheoriginalonessoastoachieveequivalenceinaestheticfunction.Toachievethispurpose,therenderingsshouldbeasbriefandsweetastheoriginal.Forinstance,theliteraltranslationof“报春花”into“SpringReportingFlower”isnotterseenough.Itwouldbebettertorenderas“SpringFlower”tokeepthesameaestheticfunction.SincemostChinesebrandnamesarepleasantinsoundandimage,theirEnglishrenderingshouldalsoachievethesameorsimilareffect.Take“康王”forexample,Itispronouncedas“KangWang”inChinese,whichcreatescertainphoneticbeautybyrhyming.ItsEnglishrendering“Kangking”soundssweetandagreestothementalityofthetargetaudience.Cultural-specificitemsandisthuscarriersofthesourceculture.“Wordsonlyhavemeaningsintermsoftheculturesinwhichtheyfunction”(Nida,1993:110).Thecoreofthevocativefunctionisthereadership.Thevocativefunctionofbrandnamesmeansthattheycancalluponthereadershiptoact,thinkorfeel,infactto“react”inthewayintendedbythetext.(Newmark,1988:41)TheChinesebrandname“芳芳”(lipstick),forexample,suggeststotheChinesereadershipabeautifulgirl.However,whenitistransliteratedinto“FangFang”,anunfavorableassociationwillariseonthepartofthetargetaudience,because“Fang”referstothepoisonoustoothofaserpent.Inthiscase,thevocativefunctionisnotrealized.4.Culturalassociationsofbrandnamesandtranslatingproblems4.1CulturalassociationsThefamousBritishanthropologistE.B.Taylor(1871)definescultureas“acomplexwholethatincludesknowledge,belief,art,law,morals,customsandothercapabilitiesandhabitsacquiredbymanasamemberofsociety.”(Danesi&Perron,1999:3)ThelateGermansociologistR.Fletcherdefinescultureinmoredetail:The‘socialheritage’ofacommunity:thetotalbodyofmaterialartifacts…,ofcollectivementalandspiritual‘artifacts’(systemsofsymbols,ideas,beliefs,aestheticperceptions,values,etc.)andofdistinctiveformsofbehaviorcreatedbyapeople…intheirongoingactivitieswithintheirparticular life-conditions…transmittedfromgenerationtogeneration.”(SeeBullock&Trombley,1999:191)Sincecultureisoftencreatedbyapeopleintheirongoingactivitieswithintheirparticularlife-conditions,brandnames,whichobviouslyarepartofthecultureofapeople(inthissenserefersto“spiritual‘artifacts’”),frequentlytriggerdifferentaestheticperceptions(orassociations)andvaluesindifferentcultures.Fromtheviewpointoflexicology,associativemeaningisthesecondarymeaningsupplementedtotheconceptualmeaning.Itdiffersfromtheconceptualmeaninginthatitisopen-endedandindeterminate.Itisliabletotheinfluenceofsuchfactorsasculture,experience,religion,geographicalregion,classbackground,education,etc.Incontrasttodenotativemeaning,connotativemeaning(ofwhichassociativemeaningisanessentialpart)referstotheovertonesorassociationssuggestedbytheconceptualmeaning.Forexample,mother,denotinga“femaleparent”,isoftenassociatedwith“love”,“care”,“tenderness”,“forgiving”,etc.Theseconnotationsarenotgiveninthedictionary,butassociatedwiththewordinactualcontexttoparticularreadersorspeakers.(张维友,1999:87-88)Translationmeansnotonlytranslatingliterally,butalsoconveyingthesameculturalassociations.ThustranslatorsshouldtranslatewithregardtotheTLcultureandtheSLculture.Failuretorecognizeand/ortransferculturalfactorscouldleadtoinformationloss.Mostpeoplebuywiththeiremotionsratherthantheirminds.Therefore,thefunctionsofbrandnamesdependfarmoreonassociativemeaningsthanonconceptualones.Andassociativemeaningsofbrandnamesarecloselylinkedtovaluesandbeliefsofapeople.Forinstance,“黑妹”(toothpaste),whichliterallymeans“blacksister”or“blackgirl”,isreadilyacceptedbytheChinese.ButtheEnglishversion“BlackSister”or“BlackGirl”couldinsultcoloredreceptors.4.2ProblemsintranslatingChinesebrandnamesOwingtotheculturaldifferenceingeographicallocation,customs,religionandvalues,etc,peopleofdifferentculturesoftendrawdifferentassociativemeaningsfromoneandthesameword,whichcarriesthesameconceptualmeaning.Themajorconsiderationsandpossibleproblemsinbrandnamestranslatingarediscussedasfollows:1)Brandnameswiththesameconceptualmeaningsbutpartiallyoverlappingassociativemeanings.Peopleworldwidelovethesceneofablueskyandwhiteclouds.However,thephrase“BlueSky”“蓝天”(toothpastes)isassociatedwith“bondthatcannotbepaidoff”inAmericanEnglish,soitshouldnotberenderedinto“bluesky”whentheitemisexportedtoAmerica.2)BrandnamesthataboundwithassociativemeaninginChineseculturewhilesuggestingnoneinEnglishculture.Forexample,“厚朴”,aChineseculture-specificitem,isafamousChinesebrandnameoftoothpaste.WeChineseknowaboutthe traditionalherbalplantbythenameof“厚朴”(magnoliaofficinal).Butifwetranslateitas“magnoliaofficinal”,thetranslationmaymeannothingtothetargetreadership.3)Brandnameswiththesameconceptualmeaningsbutdifferentornegativeinassociativemeanings.Indifferentlanguagesandcultures,thesamewordmaygeneratetotallydifferentassociations.“凤凰”(bicycle)wastranslatedinto“phoenix”.TheChinesebrandname“凤凰”isassociatedwithsuchfavorableconnotationas“auspicious”or“goodluck”while“Phoenix”symbolizes“rebirth”or“nirvana”.Thatis,itmaygeneratetheominousimplicationofanarrowescape.ManyChinesebrandnamesarenamedafteranimalsandplants.However,manyofthemarefailuresbecauseoftheirnegativeassociations.Thebrandname“蝙蝠”(electricfan),“蝠”beinghomophonicto“福”symbolizes“luckiness,happinessandlonglifespan”inChineseculture.However,inwesternculture,“bat”is“aneeriecreaturebelievedtohavebecomeentangledinpeople’shair”andinsouthernAmerica,thebatiseventhesymbolofthebloodsuckervampire.Foranotherexample:“紫罗兰”isabeautifulflowerwithfragranceinChineseculture.InEnglishtherearetwoequivalents,“violet”and“pansy”.Thelattercarriesthenegativeconnotationof“effeminateman;homosexual.”4)PeculiarbrandnamesinChineseandwesterncultures.OwingtothestrikingdifferencesbetweenChineseandwesterncultures,someChinesebrandnameshavenoEnglishcounterparts(“culturalgap”).Thesebrandnamesoftenderivefrompeople’snames,namesofplacesandcharactersofmythology.“江南”(airconditioner)isanidealchoiceforthemakeofair-conditioners.AssoonastheChinesepeopleseethebrandname“Jiangnan”,aromanticplacewithbeautifulsceneryandpleasantclimatewillimmediatelyflashbeforetheireyes.Butfewwesternershaveacleargeographicconceptoftheplace,thevastterritoriessouthoftheYangtzeRiverinChina.Therefore,itcannotbringthesamementalassociationtoitstargetaudiences.5CriteriaforanidealtranslatedbrandnameHowtoassessatranslatedbrandname?Mostmarketingtextbookssummarizethecriteriaforidealbrandnamesasmemorable,distinctive,andpositiveandpreferablysuggestiveofproductattributes(KevinKeller1998:131-132).Thesecriteriaalsoapplytotranslatebrandnames.Intranslatingtheoriginalbrandnameintoanewone,thesecriteriashouldbekeptinmind.Buttranslatedbrandnamesaretheproductsoutoftheiroriginalnames;theyshouldsharesomerelevancewiththeiroriginalstosomedegreeorbysomemanner.Iftheyarecompletelyirrelevant,andthenthenewnamesarere-created,nottranslated.Inordertobuildaunifiedbrandimageacrossbordersandtomakeconsumerseasytoassociatethenewnameswiththeoldnames,itisadvisable,fromamarketingpointofview,totranslatewithsomeassociativerelevancebetweenthem,whilere-creationmeans thetotallossoforiginalbrandassetsandnewexpensivepromotionofthenewone.Withthisconsiderationandprerequisite,anidealtranslatedbrandnameshouldnotonlyhavethegeneralcriteriaforbrandnames,butshouldalsofollowthefollowingadditionalcriteria:5.1PhoneticrelevanceThenewtranslatedbrandnameshouldsoundsimilar,ifnotexactlythesame,toitsoriginalname.Transliterationcanwellreachthiscriterion.MideasoundslikeMei-di,MAXAMsoundslikeMei-jia-jing,etc.InChina,wecanfindthatalargenumberofforeignbrandnamesarephoneticallysimilartotheirtranslatedChinesebrandnames.Examplesinclude:Pepsi(Bai-shi),Mazda(Ma-zida),Pentium(Ben-teng),Simmons(Xi-meng-si),Motorola(Mo-tuo-luo-la),Contac(Kang-tai-ke),justtonameafew.5.2SemanticrelevanceBysemanticrelevance,wedonotnecessarilymeanliteralequivalence;ratherwemeanthenewtranslatedbrandnameshouldbesemanticallymeaningful.Iftheoriginalbrandnamehasasimilarpositivemeaningorculturalconnotationinthetargetlanguage,thenliteraltranslationmaybeachoice,suchasPeony,Panda.Ifitisnotthecase,thenewbrandnameshouldalsobemeaningful.Suchmeaningisnottheinherentmeaningoftheoriginalname,butintentionallyisgiventothenewnamebychoosingsuitablemorphemes,rootsorwordsbythetranslator.ModernbrandnamingtrendintheWestistocreatemeaningfulcoinedbrandnamesthatcansuggestorimplyproductbenefits;meaninglessnamesarehardertopromote.Tocreateinternationalbrandnamesthatareintrendwiththeprevailingforeignnamingpractice,itisnecessarytomakethetranslatedbrandnamessemanticallyrelevanttoproductattributesandotherinformation.TherecentcasesofEnglishtranslationofChinesebrandnamesshowthatthiscriterionisfollowedsuchasFrestech,Youngor,HiSense,Powerise,Irico,etc.5.3GraphicrelevanceLanguagesaresemiotic,thebrandnameanditstypefaceconstitutethevisualpartofbrandimage.Sometimes,thetypefacecansuggestorsymbolizethefeaturesofaproduct.Intranslatingbrandnamesfromonelanguageintoanother,itishighlyrecommendedtomakeasimilarvisuallookbyadoptingthesametypefaceorfontofletters.Forexample,iftheoriginalbrandnamelooksheavy,strong,powerful,thenitstranslatednameshallalsohavesimilarvisualperception.This,however,isbeyondtheworkoftranslators,butistheworkofgraphicdesigners.Buttomakeagoodtranslation,wethinkitisalsoimportant.Itisquitepossiblefortranslatedbrandnamestomeetallthethreeadditionalcriteria.Thenwecanconcludethatanidealtranslatedbrandnameshouldnotonlymeetthegeneralcriteriaforbrandnames,butalsoshouldberelevanttoitsoriginalnamephonetically,semantically,andgraphically.FromtheexamplesoftranslatedbrandnamesfromChineseto Englishorviceversa,wecanseethatalargenumberofthemhavemetthesecriteria,suchasHiSense,Frestech,Maxam,Serene,Youngor,etc.MostforeignbrandnamesaretranslatedintoChineseforbothphoneticlikenessandeffectiveemploymentofthemeaningsoftheChinesecharacters,aswellasgraphicconformity.6TranslationtechniquesofChinesebrandnamesThecommontechniquesareoffivekinds:1)literaltranslation;2)transliteration;3)liberaltranslation;4)combinedtranslation;and5)adjustment.6.1LiteraltranslationTheso-calledliteraltranslationinthispaperisequivalenttoNewmark’ssemantictranslation,which“attemptstorender,ascloselyasthesemanticandsyntacticstructureofthesecondlanguageallow,theexactcontextualmeaningoftheoriginal.”(Newmark,1988:39).Literaltranslationinvolvestranslatingmeaningsliterally,keepingboththeoriginalformandtheoriginalsense.ItisoftenusedwhenChinesebrandnamescanfindcorrespondingexpressionsinEnglish.AsChineseandEnglishculturessharemanysimilarities,manyChinesebrandnamescanbetranslatedintoEnglishbyliteraltranslation,especiallythosederivedfromthenamesofplants,animals,birdsorpreciousthings.Chinesebrandnamesthatindicatethematerial,qualityfunctionandpeculiarityofcertainproductscanbecopewiththistechniqueaswell.Foeexamples:“雅致”(clothes):“Elegance”;“水晶”(glassware):“Crystal”“永久”(bicycle):“Forever”;“黑旋风”(insecticide):“Swirl-wind”“皇朝”(grapewine):“Dynasty”;“东方美”(cosmetics):“EastBeauty”6.2TransliterationNewmark(1988:81)proposes“transference”forculturaltermswhichincludestransliteration:“TransferenceistheprocessoftransferringaSLwordtoaTLtextasatranslationprocedure.ItisthesameasCatford’stransference,andincludestransliteration,whichrelatestotheconversionofdifferentalphabets:e.g.…ChineseintoEnglish.”Forourpurpose,transliterationisamethodoftranslatingChinesebrandnamesbytransferringthesoundsoforiginalwordsinsteadofrenderingtheirverbalmeanings.Transliterationispreferredforculture-specificChinesebrandnames,fortheyrarelyfindcorrespondencesinEnglish.Take“厚朴”asanexampleagain.Inordertofillthesemanticandculturalgap,wecantransliterateitinto“Hope”,whichsoundssimilartotheChinese“厚朴”andconveysafavorablemeaninginEnglish.Inreal-lifetranslatingpractice,coinedChinesebrandnamesareoftentransliterated.Atypicalexampleis“新科”(VCD),whichisanattractiveandwonderfulcoinedChinesebrandname.Ifwetranslateditliterallyinto“NewTechnology”,itwouldbemoreacommonphrasethanabrandname.“新科”isactuallytransliteratedinto“Shinco”,whichsoundsaliketo“新科”. Therearetwocommonlyusedmethodsoftransliteration.OneistotranslatethebrandnamesbyChinesepinyin.Take“鸭鸭”(down-filledcoat)forexample.Although“鸭鸭”hasitsconvenientliteralrendering“Duck”and“Ducky”inEnglish,itistransliteratedinsteadinto“YaYa”byChinesepinyin.Thereasonisthat“Duck”or“Ducky”oftensuggests“somethingsillyandclumsy”inEnglishculturewhile“YaYa”doesnotarousenegativeassociationsAnothermethodisacombinationofChinesepinyinandEnglishspelling.SomeChinesebrandnamescanbetransliteratedinthisway,insomecasesproducingcoinages.TherenderingswilllookmoreliketypicalEnglishbrandnamessothattheyaremorereadilyacceptabletoforeignreceptorsandthusprovemoreeffectiveandmemorable.ThismethodismostoftenusedforcoinedChinesebrandnames.Seethefollowingexamples:“乐凯”(film):“Lucky”;“美加净”(cosmetic):“Maxam”“康佳”(TVset):“Konka”;“索牌”(plasticrope):“Solid”“捷安特”(bicycle):“Giant”;“传化”(washingpowder):“Transfar”“四通”(computer):“Stone”;“玛丽亚”(laundrydetergent):“Moriya”6.3ParaphraseParaphraseisthetechniqueoftranslatingChinesebrandnamesbygivingarestatementofthemeaninginEnglish.Ithelpsbringoutthefunctionsandeffectsofproductsclearlysoastoimpressthereceptorsandinmanycasesavoidunfavorableassociations.Forexample,“肛泰”(medicine)literallymeansa“healthyanus”.Butifitwereliterallytranslatedinto“HealthyAnus”orthelike,itcouldtriggerunpleasantassociationsinthemindsofthetargetaudiencesbecauseoftheoffensiveEnglishword“Anus”.Itis,however,translatedinto“Anti-hemorrhoids”instead.“快意”(air-conditioner),literallymeaning“blissfullyhappy”,isnotliterallytranslated,butparaphrasedas“Coolpoint”instead,whichindicatestheeffectsoftheair-conditioner.Asaresult,thistranslationcanachievetheequivalentvocativefunction.6.4ThetechniqueofCombinedtranslationSometimesliteraltranslation,transliterationandparaphraseareintegratedtoachievefunctionalequivalence.Thisiswhatwemeanbythetechniqueofcombinedtranslation.CombinedtranslationisoftenusedwhereChinesebrandnameshavecorrespondencesinEnglishthathavesimilarsoundsandassociativemeaningssothattherenderingscanbemoreattractiveandacceptabletothetargetaudiences.Wealsotranslatebybothtransliterationandparaphrasingorliteraltranslationsoastoprovideidiomaticandacceptabletranslations.Forexample,“珞珈山”istranslatedas“LuckyHill”.Here“珞珈”istransliteratedas“Luck”and“山”isliterallytranslatedas“Hill”.Moreexamplesareasfollows:“统统”:“Total”(literaltranslationandtransliteration)“美通”:“Bestone”(literaltranslationof“美”;transliterationof“通”) “楚星”:“TrueStar”(transliterationof“楚”;literaltranslationof“星”)“昂立一号”:“OnlyOne”(transliterationof“昂立”;paraphraseof“一号”)6.5AdjustmentThetechniquesdiscussedabovearemostfrequentlyusedinChinesebrandnamestranslation.ButstillthereareChinesebrandnames,whicharetoocomplicatedtobetreatedbyanyoneoftheabovetechniques.Tosolvetheproblem,wehavetoemployadjustmentasasupplementarytechnique,whichrequiresthatthetranslatormakesomeadjustmentsintranslation.Additionordeletion,blending,acronymy,purposivemisspelling,andrenamingusuallyrealizeit.6.5.1AdditionsordeletionsAdditionreferstoaddingcertainletter,soundorevensemanticcomponentintranslatingChinesebrandnamesintoEnglish.Deletionreferstodeletingcertainletter,soundorevensemanticcomponentintranslation.Forexample,“大鹏”(shoes)cannotbeliterallytranslatedas“ROC”,because“ROC”coincideswiththeabbreviationoftheself-styled“RepublicofChina”,whichisregardedasillegal.Wecantranslate“大鹏”into“ROCK”byaddingtheletter“K”.“ROCK”notonlysoundsthesameas“ROC”,butalsocarriesthepositivemeaning“durability”.Take“雄山”foranotherexample.Itistranslatedas“Hillo”byaddingtheletter“O”,whichsuggests“hero”,“hill”and“hello”simultaneouslytothetargetaudience.Sometimessemanticcomponentisappendedoromittedaswelltoavoidambiguityortomakebrandnamesmoreconciseandeffective.Forexample,“金龙泉”canbetranslatedinto“JinlongSpring”or“GoldenDragonSpring”.However,botharetoowordytobeeasilymemorized.Itisthentranslatedas“Kinglong”withthecharacter“泉”omitted.Therenderingbecomesshorterbutmoreimpressive.6.5.2BlendingBlendingreferstothetechniqueoftranslationbycombiningtwoorthreewordsintooneword.Itisacknowledgedthatgoodbrandnamesarenotonlyinformativebutalsoconciseenoughtobememorized.However,someliteralrenderingsofChinesebrandnamesaretoowordyandtediousthoughinformative.Blendingbasedonliteraltranslation,therefore,canhelpsolvetheproblem.Seethefollowingexamples:“椰风”istranslatedas“Cowind”byblending“Coconut”and“wind”.“紫罗兰”as“violatex”byblending“viola”and“texture”;“天美时”as“Timex”byblending“time”and“excellent”,“雅戈尔”asYoungorbyblendingYoungandthesuffix-or.(陆全,2000:17;张健,1995:76)6.5.3AcronymyAcronymyreferstothewayoftranslatingbycombiningtheinitiallettersoftheChinesecharactersinaChinesebrandname.SincesomerenderingsofChinesebrandnamesbytransliterationorliteraltranslationareambiguousortoowordytoattractpeople,acronymycanserveasasolution.Forinstance,inordertoavoidthe unfavorableassociation,wecantranslate“芳芳”into“FF”bylinkingtheinitiallettersof“Fang”and“Fang”,“云山”canbeliterallytranslatedas“CloudandMountain”.Beingtoowordytobeconvenient,itisrenderedinto“C&M”.Moreexamplesofthisnaturearefollowing:“奥康”(shoes)as“AK”,“美的”（air-condition）as“MD”.Whileacronymyresolvessomeproblemsinbrandnametranslation,weshouldpracticecautionwhileemployingthistechnique,fortherenderingsmightcoincidewithsomecommonlyusedabbreviationsas“ROC”illustrates.6.5.4PurposivemisspellingPurposivemisspellingreferstothedeliberatemisspellingofEnglishwordsintranslatingChinesebrandnamesintoEnglish.Brandnamestranslatedbythismeansoftenappearfreshandnovelenoughtoattracttargetreaders.“雅戈尔”（clothing）isafamousChinesebrandname.ItsEnglishrendering“Youngor”iscreatedbymisspellingtheEnglishword“Younger”.“臣功”(medicine),whichsoundssimilarto“成功”(literallymeanssuccess),isnottranslatedinto“Success”but“Cuccess”instead.6.5.5RenamingRenaming,asthetermsuggests,meansgivinganewnametotheoriginalbrandname.Itisbyfarthemostinnovativetechniqueoftranslationandismainlyusedtoavoidnegativeassociations.Take“白象”forinstanceagain.Toavoidthenegativeassociationof“WhiteElephant”,itcanbetranslatedas“PetElephant”.Insomecases,thistechniquecanachievebrevityandnovelty,especiallywhenwearedealingwithcoinedbrandnames.Forexample,“新飞”istranslatedinto“Frestech”;“彩虹”into“Irico”,etc.7ConsiderationsandConclusion7.1ProcessofbrandnametranslationAsindicatedfromtheabovefourconsiderations,translationofbrandnames,liketranslationofothertexts,involveslinguisticandculturaltransmissionoftwolanguagesandextralinguisticmatters,marketingandlegalaffairs.Inundertakingabrandnametranslationtask,alotofpreliminaryworkhastobedone,whicharealwaysbeyondtherealmoflanguagescienceandtranslationtheory,suchasmarketinganalysis,brandnamepositioning,trademarkinvestigation,consumertesting.Intranslatingbrandnames,typically,thetranslationprocessshouldbe:1.Toexaminethemarketingstrategyofthecompanyinthetargetmarketplace,suchasitstargetedcustomers,theintendedimageofthenewnameinforeignmarkets;2.Toexaminethenatureoftheproduct,suchasitsfunction,performance,benefits,andotherusefulinformationrelatedtotheproduct;3.Toinvestigatethetrademarklawofthetargetcountrytolearnitsstipulationson theregistrationofbrandnamesastrademarks;4.TotransmittheoriginalbrandnameintoEnglish,bywhicheverapproacheshedeemssuitable,forexampleliteraltranslation,PinyinorWade-Giles,transliterationorcoining;preferably,itisadvisabletocreateseveraloradozenofcandidatenamesbythedifferentapproaches,ortocreateseveralbythesamemethod;5.Toanalyzeeachcandidatenameagainstthecompany’smarketingstrategyandproductpositioning,andtodeletesomethatdonotcomplywiththem;6.Toscreentheremainingnamesforlinguisticperformanceandculturalconnotationinthetargetlanguageandsociety;7.Tochecklegalstatusand,ifnecessary,domainnameavailabilityandconsumertesting;8.Toselectthefinalone.7.2RequirementsforbrandnametranslatorsinChinaUptonow,translatorsinChinaaremainlyconcernedwithliterarytranslationandscience-techtranslationwhilelittleattentionisgiventotranslationofcommerciallanguagessuchasadvertisingcopies,slogansandbrandnames.Wefindonlyveryfewarticlespublishedonbrandnametranslation.SomeofthearticlespublishedinChina’stranslationjournalsareonlyconcernedwithculturalproblemsofbrandnametranslation,withoutadvancingsolutions.In1998,anarticle(Tan&Lu1998:3-6)publishedintheChinaJournalofInternationalAdvertisingprobedintothenamingtrendofglobalbrandsandproposedthatChineseexportbrandsbenameddirectlyinEnglish;in1999,anarticle(He1999:11-13)publishedinAdvertisingPanoramaadvocatedthatcoiningisprobablythebestwaytotranslateChinesebrandnamesintoEnglish.TranslationcompaniesinChinausuallydonotofferbrandnametranslation.Inwesterncountries,usuallytranslatorsincommercialorganizationsalsodonottranslatebrandnames,whicharetheproductsinagenciesandspecializednameofanotherprofession-advertiseBrandfirmslikeLexicon-Branding,NameLab,Namestormers,BrandGuardian,Interbrand,etc.InChina,asfarasweknow,therearenosuchnamingfirms.BrandnaminginChinaisdifferent,thetrademarklawandthenewChineselanguageuselawallstipulatethatbrandnamesofChinaproductsmustbenamedintheChinesecharacters,whileforexportbrands,translationcanbeused.So,forChineseproducts,theremustbefirstaChinesecharacterbrandname,thenatranslatedbrandname.WithChina’sfurtheropeningandreform,andwiththeeconomicglobalizationofChineseeconomy,itcanbeestimatedthatmoreandmoreChinesebrandswillenterintotheinternationalmarket,demandfortranslationofbrandnameswillincrease,andtranslatorsspecializinginthisfieldwillbeinincreasingdemand.ItisalsounfeasibleandunpracticalforChinesecompaniestohireforeignnamingfirmstocreateanewEnglishbrandnamewhilecompletelyignoringtheoriginalChinesecharacterbrandname,becauseofthehighfeeofnamingcompanies(somemay chargeashighas70,000USdollarsforasinglename),andthatthesenamingfirmsmainlycreateEnglishbrandnamesandmaynothaveexperienceinChinesebrandnamingandknowlittleaboutChinesecharacterbrandnamesandnamingpractices,thereforemaynotbeabletowellcoordinatetherelationshipbetweentheChineseandEnglishbrandnames.So,theglobalizationofChinesebrandnamesshouldmainlybethetaskofChina’stranslatorsorlinguistswhospeakChineseastheirnativetongueandhaveprofoundinsightandunderstandingofEnglishbrandnamingpractice.Unfortunately,thisisnotalwaysthecase.WefindoutthatmostofthepasttranslationsofbrandnamesinChinawereundertakenbysomeoneelse,somebycompanymanagers,somebythecompany’smarketingpeople,whomayknowsomeEnglishandonlyfindacounterpartinaChinese-Englishdictionary.Thishasbeenthecommontranslationpracticeforbrandnamesinearliertimes.Meanwhile,wehappilynoticethatrecently,manyforward-lookingcompaniesresorttospecializedprofessionalsororganizationsforbrandnametranslationbasedontheoriginalChinesecharacterbrandnames.Forexample,theShanghaiJahwaturnedtoalinguistforthetranslationofMei-jia-jing,MeidicommissionedLandor,CaihongturnedtoabrandingexpertforitsEnglishbrandname.Consideringthecomplexityandsubtletyofbrandnametranslation,anidealtranslatorforbrandnamesshouldbefirstofallanexpertintranslationandshouldhavesomeknowledgeaboutmarketing,branding,andlegalaffairs.Ideally,inordertodoagoodjobintranslatingbrandnames,atranslatorshould:1.Beanexpertinthesourceandtargetlanguagesandtheircultures;2.Beskilledatconventionaltranslationpractices(free,literal,andtransliteration)andtheory;3.Haveanunderstandingofthelanguageinbrandnaming,knowtherulesandmethodsincreatingbrandnamesinEnglish,especiallythecoiningofwords;4.Knowsomethingaboutmarketing,advertising,andlaws.7.3ConclusionWhendoinginternationalbusiness,thetranslationofbrandnameswillbethefirsttaskfacingmanycompanies,especiallythoseindevelopingcountrieslikeChina.Awell-translatedbrandnamewillbeamostvaluablelinguisticassettocompanies.Thoughgreatattentionispaidtothecreationofnewinternationalbrandnames,itseemsthatlittleattentionispaidtothetranslationofexistingbrandnames.What’smore,translationofbrandnames,inouropinion,ismoredifficultthannewcreationofbrandnamesbecausetheformerhastotakeintoconsiderationtherelationshipwiththeiroriginalones.Thedifficultyandcomplexityofnamingnewinternationalbrandsalsofacetranslationofexistingones,besidestranslationofbrandnamesshouldalsoheedtheirrelevancetotheexistingbrandnamesinphonetics,semanticsandgraphics.Brandnametranslationisnolongerthesimple dictionarytodictionarytransmissionofword,ratherithasbecomeaconsiderableoperation,involvingdifferentdisciplinesandcomprisingdifferentsteps,inwhichmanyfactorshavetobeconsideredsuchaslinguistic,cultural,marketing,legalandgraphicfactors.Brandnametranslationisgettingmoreandmoreimportanttocompaniesintoday’sworldeconomicenvironment,andhasbecomeahottopicincommerciallanguagetranslation,worthyoffurtherstudy.ItissuggestedthatChinesetranslatorsandtranslationorganizationsconsiderofferingsuchservicetotheirclients.Bibliography[1]Amen,R.1982.Interlingualtaboosinadvertising:hownottonameyourproductsInlinguisticsandtheprofessions:ProceedingsoftheSecondAnnualDelawareSymposiumonLanguageStudies.RobertJ.Dipietro(Ed).Norwood,NJ:Ablex.PP215-224[2]Bullock,A.&Trombley,S.(eds.).TheNortonDictionaryofModernThought[Z].NewYork&London:Norton,1999.[3]Crystal,D.1997.CambridgeEncyclopediaofLanguage.CambridgeUniversityPress.vii+480pp.[4]Danesi,M.&Perron,P.AnalyzingCultures.Bloomington&Indianapolis:IndianaUniversityPress,1999.[5]Jin,D&E.A.Nida.OnTranslation:withSpecialReferencetoChineseandEnglish.Beijing:ChinaTranslationPublishingCorporation,1984.[6]Keller,K,K.1998.StrategicBrandManagement.NewYork:Prentice-hall.xxvii+635pp.[7]Lekus,M1969.Problemsincoininginternationalbrandnames.ThetrademarkReporter.59:415-422[8]Newmark,P.ATextbookofTranslation,London:Prentice-Hall,1988.[9]Newmark,P.ApproachestoTranslation.Oxford:Pergamon,1982.[10]NidaE.A.Language,Culture,andTranslating,Shanghai:ShanghaiForeignLanguageEducationPress,1993.
