顺应理论视角下的广告翻译.doc

毕业设计(论文) 课 题 名 称 顺应理论视角下的广告翻译 学 生 姓 名 严慧芳 学 号 0740511135 系、年级专业 外语系 2007级 英语语言学 指 导 教 师 刘丽华 职 称 副教授 2011年5月21日16A Tentative Study of Advertising Translation From Adaptation TheoryYan HuifangGrade 2007, Department of Foreign Studies, Shaoyang UniversitySupervised by Liu Lihua AbstractAdvertisement translation, an objective cross-cultural activity ,requires not only the observance of the general principles of translation but also keeping its own criteria and features .It aims to achieve the ultimate purpose of advertisement Verschuerens adaptation theory can explain and solve a lot of translational phenomena. It claims that the process of using language is a process of the continuous making of choices, consciously or unconsciously, for language-internal and language-external reasons. According to Verschueren, language has three features: variability, negotiability and adaptability, and adaptability is the core of the language using(Verschueren , 1999:58) This thesis attempts to reveal how, under this theoretical framework, different yet interdependent constraints on the translation process play their roles in the translation of advertisement through the comparison between the source text and the target text. This research is a tentative attempt to study advertisement translation within the theoretic framework of adaptation theory, looking forward to provide a new prospective and some enlightenment to advertisement translation.Keywords: adaptabilityadvertising translation;Adaptation Theory; variability;顺应理论视角下的广告翻译研究严慧芳邵阳学院外语系2007级指导老师：刘丽华摘要广告翻译是一种目的性很强的跨文化交际活动, 它在遵循翻译原则的同时还顾其独特的标准和特点, 以便达到广告的最终的商业目的。维索尔伦(Verschueren)的“顺应论”对翻译有很强的解释力, 它强调语言使用的过程就是一个基于语言内部和外部原因在不同的意识程度下不断作出语言选择的过程。语言具有变异性、商讨性和顺应性, 顺应性是语言使用的核心。本文试图以语用顺应论为理论依托, 对影响广告翻译的各种不同但又相互联系的因素作一探讨, 通过对原文和译文的各个层面的比较, 说明广告翻译的过程也是一个顺应语境因素不断作出选择以达到广告商业目的的过程。 关键词：广告翻译；顺应论；变异性；商讨性；顺应性 邵阳学院毕业设计（论文） ContentsAbstract中文摘要Introduction11 The Theoretical Background .21.1 An Overview of Verschuerens Adaptation Theory.21.2 Feasibility of Adaptation Theory for Advertising Translation.52 The Introduction of Advertising.62.1 The Definition of Advertising62.2The Classification of Advertising.72.3The Function of Advertising.72.4Translation of Advertising.83 The Practice of Adaptation in Advertising Translation.83.1The Practice of Adaptation in Linguistic Field.83.2Practice of Adaptation in Social World.11Conclusion.14Bibliography.15Acknowledgements.16A Tentative Study of Advertising Translation From Adaptation TheoryYan HuifangGrade 2007, Department of Foreign Studies, Shaoyang UniversitySupervised by Liu Lihua IntroductionIn modern society, the trade and commerce between countries have become more frequent than before, so advertisement has penetrated into every aspect of human life, and has showed its vital importance in commercial power, acting as a bridge between the producers and the consumers. Each country wants to know and to be known by the othersWith these reasons, advertisement is more flourishing than ever before, because advertisement is an effective way for people in one country to introduce their life or new things to people in another country. When it comes to the field of advertisement translation, a great deal of work has also been done. However, most of the pragmatics approaches to translation only address pragmatic implications for translation in certain aspects.No systematic and overall pragmatic perspective is offered to translation studies, let alone advertisement translation studiesJef Verschueren in his famous book Understanding Pragmatics puts forward the Adaptation TheoryUnlike the previous scholars, he does not regard pragmatics as the part of linguistics, just like phonetics, phonology, etcHe views the pragmatics as a general perspective on language, and he also uses the adaptation theory to explain and annotate pragmatics from a totally new angle which is different from the past.The general purpose of the thesis is to analyze and summarize the Adaptation Theory in advertisement translation. The ultimate goal of advertisement, is to persuade people to take action to buy. Nowadays, with the close international economic relations, contacts with foreign cultures have become increasingly closer and more frequent. If an advertiser wants his advertisement to achieve the persuasive effect and gain more profits, he has to make the advertisement well-translated to infect target audience. In this paper, the main discussions of this theory are about Adaptation Theory and its application. It would enrich the study of advertising English and the translation research from the aspect of Adaptation Theory as well as help the advertisers in their advertising creativities.This thesis is composed of five chapters. The first part is a general introduction of the study.The second part mainly describes the overview of the Adaptation Theory proposed by Verschueren.The third part begins with the definition, classification and functions of advertisement, and then gives a panoramic review of advertisement translation.The fourth part is the most important part of this thesis, studies how the Adaptation Theory is applied into the advertisement translation .The last part is the conclusion.1. The Theoretical Background1.1 An Overview of Verschuerens Adaptation Theory“Adaptation theory was first put forward in pragmatics by Verschueren in 1987,the director of the International Pragmatics Association.In 1999,in his new masterpiece Understanding Pragmatics,he expounded this theory in detail.”（赫晓凤, 2009:17）Unlike other pragmatist, Verschueren does not consider pragmatics as a branch of linguistics alongside with phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics, nor does he consider it to be parallel to those interdisciplinary fields, such as sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics.Instead, he treats pragmatics as a general functional perspective on all aspects of language. According to Verschueren, pragmatics is an approach to study language and language use, which takes into account the full complexity of their cognitive, social and cultural functioning. He first proposes this idea in Pragmatics as a Theory of Linguistic Adaptation and then continues to develop his original conception of pragmatics. Not until Understanding Pragmatics went to press in 1999 did the theory of linguistic adaptation begin to posses a comparatively mature essence.“In his work Understanding Pragmatics, Verschueren proposes a pragmatic perspective on language use and assumes language use to be a continuous making of linguistic choices with different degrees of salience for the purpose of adaptation.”（赫晓凤, 2009:17）1.1.1Choices MakingOn speaking of adaptation, we had better first talk about making linguistic choices, because making linguistic choices is a kind of means, while adaptation is the purpose and result of making choices. According to Verschueren, using language must consist of the continuous making of linguistic choices, consciously or unconsciously, for language-internal (i.e. structural) and language-external reasons( Verschueren 2000: 56).Then why the process of using language is a process of making choices? What are the features of making choices? Verschueren clarifies making choices in the following points: “First, once an utterance is made,the user is under an obligation to make choices.Second, choices are made at every possible level of language:phonetic level, phonological level,lexical level,syntactic level and stylistic level.Third, speakers choose not only different language forms,but also communicative strategies.Fourth, choices are made both in producing and in interpreting an utterance,and both types of choice-making are of equal importance.Otherwise,the meaning cannot be conveyed or interpreted.More often than not,choice-making may show a certain degree of consciousness. Sometimes, choices are made very consciously,and sometimes,choices are made completely unconsciously.Moreover, due to the different degrees of consciousness,choices are not equivalent: some choices are marked while others are unmarked.Finally, choices evoke or carry along alternatives.” (高辉, 2005：17)1.1.2 Three Properties of Language：Variability,Negotiability and Adaptability The reason why a language user can make appropriate choices in the process of language use is that language possesses the following three properties:variability,negotiability and adaptability.In this section,we will discuss these three properties of language in detail.“Variability is“the property of language which defines the range of possibilities from which choices can be made”(Verschueren,2000:59).The concept of variability may be associated with whats traditionally called“varieties of language”,which are defined geographically,socially or functionally.Similarly,it is meant to cover the entire possible range of options available for language users when they need make choices.In other words,various ways can be utilized to perform a particular task,and a linguistic form can be used to perform different functions.Negotiability is“the property of language responsible for the fact that choices are not made mechanically or according to strict rules or fixed form-formation relationships,but rather on the basis of highly flexible principles and strategies”(Versucheren,2000:59).It is the characteristic of natural language to have the same idea expressed via different linguistic forms and the same linguistic form can be used to realize different linguistic communicative functions.That is to say,each choice of form or strategy derives from a different consideration and thus makes a different effect.The utterer has the right to choose what he wants to say and ways of saying it based on the contextual features involved.Adaptability is“the property of language which enables human beings to make negotiable linguistic choices from a variable range of possibilities in such a way as to approach points of satisfaction for communicative needs”(Verschueren,2000:61).The choices of linguistic forms are made in accordance with pre-existent contexts.Contexts should also adapt to the choices that are made.Thus,linguistic choices and contexts are inter-adaptable.The three notions introduced by Verschueren are functionally inseparable.Adaptability is a higher-order notion,which is the key to understanding the use of language.However,we should keep in mind the fact that adaptability has no content without both variability and negotiability.Using adaptability as the starting point,we will be able to assign four clear tasksto pragmatic descriptions and explanations.”（赫晓凤, 2009:20）1.1.3 Four Angles of InvestigationAdaptation Theory can be examined from four inter-related aspects or angles,namely, contextual correlates of adaptability,structural objects of adaptability,dynamics of adaptability, and the salience of the adaptation processes.First, contextual correlates of adaptability must be identified. Contextual correlates of adaptability potentially include all the ingredients of the communicative context with which linguistic choices have to be inter-adaptable.The range goes from aspects of the physical surroundings (e.g.distance as an influence on loudness of voice)to social relationships between speakers and hearers and aspects of the interlocutors state of mind.(Verschueren,2000:66) It is these available“realities”that enable language users to make choices and turn their choices into relevant correlates.Second, the structural objects of adaptation include structures at various level of linguistic organization and the principles of structuring.Since the making of communicative choices takes place at all possible levels of linguistic structure that involve variability of any kind, pragmatic phenomena can be related to any layer or level of structure,from sound feature and phoneme to discourse and beyond,or to any type of inter-level relationship.Third, the dynamics of adaptability means the development of the adaptation processes, the way in which communication principles and strategies are used in making and negotiating choices of production and interpretation.It is related to both the contextual correlates and the structural objects.Fourth, salience of the adaptation process denotes the consciousness of the utterer or interpreter in the process of meaning generation.It hints at the fact that not all choices,in production or interpretation,are made equally consciously or purposefully.Some of them are highly motivated while others are virtually automatic.“However,“the general concern for the study of linguistic pragmatics is to understand the meaningful functioning of language as a dynamic process operating on context-structure relationships at various levels of salience”(Versuchueren,2000:69).The four tasks can be seen as necessary ingredients of an adequate pragmatic perspective related to any linguistic phenomenon.However,the four tasks for pragmatic investigations are not on a par with each other.Their contributions are complementary,because they have different functional loads to carry within the overall framework of the pragmatic perspective.”(高辉, 2005:19)In a word, By making use of the three properties of Source Language and Target Language translators can optimize his/her performance in the process of translation. Although variability may result in indeterminacy in understanding Source Language and producing Target Language, it makes translators accessible to abundant linguistic resources. Thanks to this property, translators can present the appropriate rendering(s) in advert translation. Negotiability allows the translator to break away from strict rules which lead to rigid translation, say, word-for-word translation. Based on these two properties, translators can make flexible choices and adaptation between context and structure. Analysis from the above four angles of pragmatic investigation will help us to better understand the adaptation between context and linguistic choice.1.2 Feasibility of Adaptation Theory for Advertising Translation“It is observed that advertisement translation to a greater or lesser extent, is motivated so as to adapt to different linguistic and contextual factors. The translators linguistic choices sufficiently demonstrate his conscious or subconscious adaptation to the elements involved in the theoretical framework of adaptation approach. It is also true that advertisement translation is a process of adaptation with regard to context and linguistic structure in a dynamic way at various levels of salience.1.2.1 Advertising Translation as a CommunicationAdvertisement translation is a kind of particular communication thatinvolves three parties: the Source Text author (advertiser), the translator and the Target Text reader. In the process of translation, the translator may not communicate with the other two parties in the same way as in verbal communication. The translator cant communicate with the author directly,neither can he/she do that with the Target Text reader because they are all absent.But in fact, it is a much more complex communication. At first, the translator has to communicate with the author (advertiser), understanding his intention and his techniques of designing the advertisement, and then, the translator will communicate with the target reader,trying to transmit the advertisers idea to the target reader and using those ways in which the target reader can easily accept. Therefore in translating, the translator should be in a position to strike a balance between adapting communicative context of the Source Text author as well as the assumed Target Text reader.1.2.2 Advertising Translation as a Continuous Process of Making ChoicesAdvertisement translation is a special communication. When we view the translation process of advertisement translation from adaptation theory, we may find that in fact the process of translating is a continuous process of making choices with some variation. First, choices are made at every level of structure from lexicon, syntax to rhetoric and even text type. Second, the translator chooses strategies and makes specific choices accordingly. Third, generally speaking, choices in the translation process should be made with a high degree of salience, especially when cultural barrier is in the way. Fourth, choices are made first in understanding the source text and then in transferring it in the target language. This may be the main reason to account for the translators creativity. Fifth, once translators embark on the task, they are expected to make the proper choices to meet communicative needs as much as different choices can have different connotations or possible. Sixth,evoke different associations and produce different effect. Finally, any choice made by the translator suggests a kind of contrast or emphasis reflecting the translators intention and purpose.1.2.3 Advertising Translation as a Process of AdaptationAs is discussed above, advertisement translation is a continuous process of choice making. However, what is the yardstick of making choice while facing many possible choices? From Adaptation