The Principles and Skills in English Advertising Translation.doc

the principles and skills in english advertising translationintroductionthis century is an era of globalization and internationalization. advertisement plays a very important role in business competition. with the rapid development of a promotional technique is becoming more and more pronounced. it promotes sales and plays a valuable role in economic prosperity. an effective advertisement should be attractive, attention grabbing and readable as well as containing great persuasive or selling power, which is critical to appeal to ones desire to buy the targeted goods. an integrated advertisement is usually made up of the brand or company trademark, title, body, slogan, and illustration, with the first two emphasizing a play on words. all these feature make the advertisement language a loaded language on the whole, which is more or less different from other types of language on the whole, which is more or less different from other types of language in style and effect. a persuasive advertisement can be accepted by the public through various medium. there is no one can keep away from advertisement. the charm of advertising depends largely on the language of advertisement. china has joined the wto; cross-cultural ad-spreading is inevitable. how to grasp the translation in cross-cultural advertisement is become more and more important. in this process, the correct use of language, lively and accurately to convey information, is the charming of advertising.1. history of advertisingin the ancient and medieval world such advertising as existed was conducted by word of mouth. the first step toward modern advertising came with the development of printing in the 15th and 16th centuries. in the 17th century weekly newspapers in london began to carry advertisement, and by the 18th century such advertising was flourishing. the great expansion of business in the 19th century was accompanied by the growth of an advertising agencies. the first agencies became involved in producing the advertising message itself, including copy and artwork, and by the 1920s agencies had come into being that could plan and execute complete advertising campaigns, from initial research to copy preparation to placement in various media. in the 21st century, with an intensely competitive consumer market, advertisers increasingly used digital technology to call great attention to products. 2. function of advertising advertising is both applauded and criticized for its role in selling products and its influence on society. for years, advertisement bears critics because it affects peoples judgment on merchandise. although every one knows that advertising is mainly a commercial method to promote sales, it is still be blamed by encouraging consumption. but the steady consumer growth of advertised product quality provides itself living and developing room. besides the commercial function, advertising is also a cultural activity, so a translator is not only a translator but also a writer who creates perfect work which can achieve a good sale.2.1 the marketing function along with sales promotion, public relations and personal feeling, advertising is one of the vehicles employed by a business or an organization to communicate with its customers or an organization to communicate with its customers. although advertising is only one element in a companys overall promotional program, it is the most visible. it is also the key aim of advertisement.2.2 the communication function advertisement is played on tv, printed on magazine, so it is not only a way to show the products or persuade others to buy the products but also transmitting different types of market information to match buyers and sellers in the market place. advertising both informs and transforms the product by creating an image that goes beyond straightforward facts. 2.3 the economic function advertising is a persuasive tool used by the marketers to distract consumers attention from the price of product, on the other hand, it is also as a source of information that increase consumers price sensitivity and stimulus competition.2.4 the social function and educational function although the aim of advertisement is a way of marketing, it has its own influence beyond telling others the function or the information of the product. when we are translating advertisement what does it tell, what does it teach should be considered either. for example, the nikes advertisement is “just do it!” that a hong kong translator translated it into: “想做就做!” it is perfect in literally but received a lot of opposition of hong kong citizens. because generally, the chinese society is more conservative than american, and the “想做就做”will make people feel it is abetting young people do everything as their please, concluding the meaning of doing crime. finally the translated text changed into “应做就去做”。this text obeys the chinese peoples social custom and has no other explanations,.faith means the translator should pass the writers original thought, view, the conclusion of the article, even style to the readers faithfully. it includes three parts, the original or other writer, translator, and the readers of translated works. the translators should faith to both the writer and the readers. but in advertisement translation, the key point of advertising is trying to accomplish the customers and make them finish the buying process. so the utility characteristic has decided the principle of advertisement translation which is much different from usual standard and also in some means advertisement translation is a kind of challenge of it. but faith principles should be considered too. correctly then maybe can do some small change or recreation on it to make the equity of function, and faith. 3. cultural differences in advertisingcross-cultural ad-spreading is under the influence of culture as spreading culture. ads from different cultural environment, in the process to advertise their products, cultural factors must be considered. first, we need to analyze differences in culture of chinese and english ads. 3.1 ethnic differences in beliefs every ethnic group in the world has their own admiration things. the provisions of their weddings, funerals, restaurants are not the same. therefore, in the process of translation must be fully respected religion of local consumers.in china,” dragon” is a symbol of good luck; it represents the rights of the ancient. however, in the eyes of westerners, even treat the “dragon” as a terrible monster. therefore, understanding of each countrys national religion can more successfully promote their products.3.2 differences in historical background languages in different regions has different historical backgrounds. thus, different social backgrounds are also reflected in the different advertising translation. the advertisement that toyota corporation put in china is”车到山前必有路，有路必有丰田车”, this is quoted from a chinese idiom. but in american, they replaced by“not all cars are created equal（并非所有的车都生而平等）”. because people who are familiar with american history know that this sentence is the first sentence of the declaration of independence “every man are born to be equal”3.3 differences in traditions and customs every country has its unique traditions and customs, these traditions and customs have a deep impact on peoples life style. for example, a same number in different countries may stand for different meanings. in china, 8 means to be rich and prosper while 4 usually to be looked as an unlucky number because it has the same pronunciation with the chinese character 死. another example, in the eyes of europeans 13 is a very unlucky number because of its religious origin. as a result, when we make advertisements we should avoid violating the traditions and customs in that country.3.4 differences in way of thinking people from different culture may differ in their ways of thinking toward things and values. english speakers showed a linear thinking. they commonly express their thought straight away. their straight thinking also reflects on their taste of ad preference. there are two advertisements: “compared to the five leading, a quaker chewy granola bar has, ounce for ounce, 1/3 less sugar, and 1/3less fat. and it comes in eight delicious, whole varieties your kids will love, like raisin and cinnamon, peanut butter and strawberry. so maybe all that sweet stuff isnt quite such neat stuff. know the facts about snacks. choose quaker chewy” “高档装修 中档价位 星级服务 大众消费 4000平米大店气宇非凡 系列名菜名点一应俱全 正餐、大餐、小吃任君品尝 豪华包间、雅间、大厅由你选择 品尝陶然风味 俯瞰山峡风情” from the first ad we can see that english speakers prefer to express their purpose in the first place. they would tell you what they want or what the ad aiming for. while chinese may think that is too direct. so when we do ad-translating we should notice that. we should avoid making people feel boring or rude.3.5 difference in aesthetic standardsthere has a close relation between ad-translating and aesthetic standards. we can easily find that we have a gap in aesthetic standards between american and chinese. we chinese prefer the beauty of delicate but americans worship the beauty of natural. in another case, chinese want to be white so they always want to buy the cosmetics which claim themselves can make girls whiter. while americans like the bronze color contrarily for they think bronze is a color of health. after knowing this we could make ads that can catch peoples eyes.4. principles and skills of ad-translating4.1 ad-translating should be simple and easily understood.one of the features of ad is to convey as much as information through limited text. that makes ad-translating more difficult. the ad should be short while the information should be abundant. there are two examples:the only car in its class.(1993villager car advertisement) it gives me clear, plain paper faxes at a price i can afford.(canon duplicator advertisement)these are good ads because they provide the information of their products in a couple of words. that saves the consumers energy to figure the ads out. we should know that customers are unwilling to waste their time in comprehending the complex ads. sentences which are easy to understand can give a deep impression to the customers.we can use imperative, interrogative and elliptical sentence in ad-translatinglook at this sentence:help make a difference in the ireland of today.( cultural charitable organizations advertising) come to life in hawaii.（travel ads） come into mcdonalds and enjoy a big mac sandwich.( sandwich advertising) air quality!( airline ads)how do you feel after you read this sentence?when we heard this advertising, we always feel relaxed and lively. therefore, rarely used complex sentence in advertising translation. it is these simple structure imperative, interrogative and elliptical sentence can make the advertising english easy to understand. this sentence always sounds lively.4.2 make the customers never forget the product the purpose of advertising is to promote the products. the advertising sentence should stimulate the customers imagination to consolidate memories. therefore, the feature of advertising english is to attract attention by use different modified. to move the consumer by a sincere and genuine. win the trust of consumers, or to go deep into consumers mind find for their need. so that, after consumers read the advertising they would buy the product.4.2.1 antithesis this modification has symmetrical structure and a same meaning. its stressed the main points and impressed the consumers. for example: tear out！fill in! fax now(maclean杂志征订广告) warehouse clearance. their loss, your gain!(清仓甩卖广告) distilled from rocky mountain water and canadian prairie grain.(vodka酒广告) quality breeds success.（福特汽车广告） ”familiarity breeds contempt.”。（各自识老底，互相瞧不起。）4.2.2 parodythis modification is apply the proverbs, sayings and famous that was known by the public and create a new meaning to make people refreshing.4.3 pay attention to the application of pun in english advertisement many advertisers also use illustrations and words to achieve better effect, especially on tv, as people are more likely to be attracted by pictures than by words. the illustrations and words are able to help people to understand the advertisement fully. pun in the advertisement need to connect with illustrations and words, so that people can understand the implied meanings. take the following advertisement as an example: 50%off it is a shop window advertisement. the illustration is a picture with six light, three on and three off .from the illustration, people know it does not only mean a half of the lights are off ,but also means the whole sale discounts 50%.the illustration and words are vivid and attract the passers-by more easily. 4.4 the pragmatic function of pun in advertisement through the above analysis ,we can see that pun has a lot of advantages such as wit, humor, novelty and vividness. it produces a particularly rhetorical and pragmatic effect when people use the language creatively. the proper use can make the advertisement impressive and attractive. in the most cases of advertisements, pun produces an effect of wit and humor to attract the audiences attention and inspires their associations. in this rapid rhythm society, advertisement with pun may make people enjoy themselves in the advertising atmosphere, and reduces their pressure in a relaxed environment. such as the following examples: sign on a mens gym door:” we have course to make the grown men young and the young men grown. this is an advertisement of a gym. it implies through their courses, they can make the old people became young, and the young people became more stronger. after seeing this advertisement you will feel very comical and could not forget it easily. when the wind has a bit .and you feel like a bit.then bite on a whole nut. this sentence sounds like tongue twister. here, bit has several meanings :grip, food, and eat. the whole sentence means that when the strong wind hurts you and you are very hungry ,just some nut. after a days working, people would feel tired and hungry, while the advertisement is just suitable for them .therefore, they would be attracted to buy the product, so they will not suffer hungry after work. excellent taste it is an advertisement of a whiskey product. here, taste is a pun .generally speaking, taste” means flavor, but here, another meaning is the ability to appreciate what is beautiful. so the advertisement means: this kind of whiskey has a good flavor; the people who choose it has high appreciation. the advertiser uses pun praise both the product and the consumers who buy their products. “creativeness and originality” this is typical of advertising language. a new way of sending a message may set a band, and this will greatly arouse peoples attention and induces them to buy the product. normally, a new created word accepted by readers can enhance the freshness and attraction of the advertisement. “cab forward.” it is an advertisement title of ram car produced by doer company.pun is an effective way to make the advertisement attractive, accurate, striking, vivid and forceful. thus it is the most widely and frequently used approach in english advertisement. pun in english advertisement has many forms of expression such as pun on politely, homonymy, parody, grammar, illustration and words etc. only after handle these puns classification properly, we will more appreciate puns attractiveness. and in most of english advertisements pun can result in the effect of humor, wit, beauty and economy and these effects always give people great impressions. thus after understanding these pragmatic analysis, pun would be used rightly and make the advertisement sweet to the ear, and pleasing both the eye and mind. v.conclusion advertisement lies in every part of our lives. advertisement can appear in the street, in the market, in the restaurant, in tv, in websites, in newspaper, even in the polar district. we could not avoid meeting ads, a bag of candy, a bar of chocolate, a bottle of mineral water. ads are in everywhere. since we couldnt avoid ads, we prefer to see some good and qualified ads. sentences used in ads are so important that sometimes they can persuade customers to buy the product. so it is important to work out good words for ads. it is also important to translate the ads in different languages. if an ad is ill-translated it may bring a devastating result to the product. culture, traditions, customs, life style, world view and religious factors should all be taken into consideration. ad-translating isnt as easy as it seems. so it is not enough for a translator to only have professional skills. he should also know different culture and different people. he should know what kind of people his target customer would be. ad-translating is not merely translating; it is also a process of creating. translator should add his understanding to the ads. ad-translating should fit for the product. because products are the most important, ads just provide the customer a chance to get to know the product. but if the ads are bad customer may even refuse to look at the product. first impression is the most important. ads are one of the important factors of selling goods. in china, we know there are lots of qualified products but many of them are not familiar to customers. the reason is that these products lack of good advertisement. for exam