InfluencesofLanguageandCulturalDifferencesontheAdvertisingTranslation

1、Influences of Language and Cultural Differences on theAdvertising TranslationAbstract: Advertisement has become one of the most important products of culture in the modern age. It is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume products or

2、 service of a brand. Especially, advertising language is characterized by cultural and age background. Western languages are rule-dominated, while the Chinese is dominated by people. There are many differences in the structure of language, and when describe something in advertisement, Chinese tends

3、to imagine, but English tends to preciseness. A good trademark translation embodies the perfect combination of translation technology and aesthetics. Different culture has different impact on advertising translation including history, value, and custom and so on. This paper gives a detailed analysis

4、 of advertisement translation, and some valuable examples.中英语言与文化差异对广告翻译的影响摘要 ：广告已成为一种非常重要的文化产品之一，在当今时代，广告已经成为不同地域之间的 一种沟通的方式，它的方式通常是说服潜在客户购买或消费自己的产品和服务。更重要的是广 告语言的特点是具有文化和时代背景。西方语言以规则为主导，而中国却以人为主导；由于语 言结构的不同，当他们描述事物时，中文注重幻想，但英语注重准确。一个好的商标翻译体现了翻译技术完美结合，不同的文化在广告翻译中具有非常重要的影响，它包括历史，价值，习 俗等。本文对广告翻译从语言和文

5、化差异方面进行了详细分析，还有一些有价值的例子。关键词 ： 广告 ; 广告翻译; 文化 ; 语言Contents1. Introduction32. language impact of advertising Translation32.1 The differences of the structure of language in the Sino-British advertising32.2 the defferences of choosing the words42.3 the differences of pronunciation of the words in Sino-B

6、ritish advertising53. The impact of culture on advertising Translation53.1 The impact of Historical and cultural on advertising translation53.2 Value reflected in the advertisement translation63.3 Cultural custom impact on advertising translation74. Definition of domestication95. Conclusion116. Ackn

7、owledgement .121. IntroductionAs to cultural products, advertising reflects the close relationship between language and culture directly. Advertising language is a special kind of art form which has profound cultural background. The trend of times also affects the language and culture n advertising

8、and decides whether the translation and advertising effectiveness is good or bad. Therefore, the translator needs not only a solid foundation of language but also an in-depth understanding of the two different cultures. This paper analyzes the influenceof language and cultural differences on the adv

9、ertising translation from the aspect of language, emphasis can be put on three areas: the structure of language, vocabulary choice and pronunciation to illustrate the importance of language translation for advertising, at the same time, the corresponding examples are cited, so that the reader has an

10、 intuitive feeling of the importance of language; as to the cultural field, it explains the importance of culture from the three areas of history, values, and cultural in the advertising translation. At the end of my paper, I gave the definition of domestication in the advertising translation as com

11、plement.2. Language impact of advertising Translation2.1 The differences of the structure of language in the Sino-British advertisingMr. Shen Xiao long has said that the Western languages are rule-dominated, while the Chinese is dominated by people. In other words, Chinese is a meaning-centered lang

12、uage, the grammar rules are relatively free, and sentences are flexible, the vocabulary may be longer or shorter, part of speech are diverse and variable. For the Western languages,the dominant position of grammar, sentencemainly composed of verb and verb phrase can not change lightly.For example: T

13、he slogan of the Nokia “Connecting People”. I t nsot a complicated sentence, consist of a predicate and a noun, also the grammatical structure is very standardized and simple. However, the two words are very powerful, and they re easy to acknowledge people the three-dimensional feel of the product.

14、However, the structure of language can not be arbitrarily changed. When translating it into Chinese, the subject “ technologysh” ould be proposed, and the importance of the human language of the art is better to be stressed.There are many modifiers in the Chinese advertising which focus on emotional

15、 expression, on the contrary, the expression of English advertising is very simple as it focuses on information transfer. For example:满树金花，芳香四溢的金桂；花白如雪，香气扑鼻的桂银；红里透黄，花多味浓的紫砂桂；花色似银，季季有花的四季桂，竞相开放，竞相开放，争妍媲美。进入桂花公园，阵阵的桂花花香扑鼻而来.When the sentence above is to be translated into English advertising, consider

16、ing the differences of language structures, those descriptive words in the source language should be deleted. The literal translation can be like this:“The park of acanthus is noted for its profusion of acanthus. Flowers from these in different colors are in full bloom which pervades the whole garde

17、n with the fragrance of their blossoms. ”Changes of structure in Chinese language are very rich and diverse. As the way to reflect the artistic expression, part of speech often changes; but the English language structure is relatively fixed and standardized, whats more, it can express things with si

18、mple sentences.2.2 The differences of choosing the wordsIn describing things, Chinese is fancy, but English is accurate. Chinese people are good at expressing their feelings by writing, and beautiful words to express their admiration and appreciation for beautiful things, and giving a number of subj

19、ective imagination and feelings. In Chinese advertising, we will often find a lot of descriptive words, like “ high class; “ ” perfect; “” specia;l “” incredible Th”. is descriptive language can attract the attention of consumers, consumers will be more and more interested in the product , to a bett

20、er propaganda effect, and achieve the purpose of persuading consumers to buy, but many of them also have exaggerated elements. In the English ads, the word “ good” is often used. The words of the English advertising focus on the accurate description of product information, and point out the pros and

21、 cons of specific products, pay more attention to the authenticity of things, the selected words are generally more objective and rational and try to maintain a concise style.“Good to the last drop. ” Maxwell House Coffee and “ The taste is great.Nesca”fe.Translators often face an uphill battle with

22、 misinformed clients who have misconceptions about translators and the translation profession. Many times translators have to talk to the clients about the industry in order to debunk the myths that seem to keep on circulating year after year.2.3 The differences of pronunciation of the words in Sino

23、-British advertising.The differences of pronunciation on advertising in general are the trademark of translation. A trademark is the name of goods, while the name can give limitless source of fascination and expectations.For example ,“ puma”is a trademark of a sportswear brand, its Chinese translati

24、on is “彪马 ” , the literal meaning is totally difference, but the pronunciation of “彪马 ” is much simil ar to “ pumaan”, d the meaning of “彪马 ” can express “ puma” baenttderit, is easier for Chinese people to accept and understand the brand. However, literal translation can not achieve the effect of i

25、ts own.Trademark translation has vital practical significance, and make the translation of the original language appropriate and accurate without losing artistic and characteristics of the name, for achieve wide publicity and promotional merchandise purpose; simultaneously it is also full of theoret

26、ical significance, not only broaden the space of linguistic research and a rich linguistic meaning, but also promote research and practical application of linguistic theory to be a organic integration. Only being good at figuring out the consumer's psychology, respecting for national customs, ap

27、plying various methods and techniques in the trademarks of translation appropriately, it can be able to win in the warfare of trademark translation, guide consumption and promote consumption. A good product should be coupled with a nice catchy name which is just likethe icing on the cake. A good tra

28、demark translation embodies the perfect combination of translation technology and aesthetics.3. Culture impact on advertising Translation3.1 The impact of Historical and cultural on advertising translationIn the international market, for the company, how to introduce their products to consumers in o

29、ther countries through advertising translation, thereby enhancing product credibility and sales is crucial. As the differences in language, customs and ways of thinking, cultural differences are important factor in the process of advertising translation, which can not be ignored. The neglect of cult

30、ural background will lead to some pragmatic failure, impact on the competitiveness of products in the international trade. The cultural differences among different countries are a big problem which can not be ignored in international advertising.Advertisement and culture have reciprocal and bidirect

31、ional relationship. From macro level, advertisement industry accelerates the development of social economy. Due to the reasons of geographical and historical, every nationality has formed a unique cultural and psychological characteristics, if you want the advertising translation circulating in othe

32、r nations, the first thing should be done is to allow translation in line with the audience's culture and psychology.Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation used the following advertising to promote their products to the U.S. market: “Not all cars created equal”. It is a clever imitation of the “ All

33、 men are created equal ” in the “ Declarationof Independence. ” Changing the affirmative sentences into negative sentence, expressing the car is better than other cas r performance. This translation is much closer to the consumer csulture psychology, psychology of customers have a strong impact on i

34、t. When Mitsubishi promoted their product to the Chinese , its advertising is "古有千里马，今有三菱车". It used the minds of" 千里马 " in the Chinese people's cultural image, so that products in the minds of the Chinese people has a three-dimensional impression. Mitsubishi Motors achieved

35、in the two countries, the two advertisings which are rich in imagination played very important roles in its success.A perfume of France would like to enter the Chinese market, its Chinese name called 鸦片 “ ”, the company want to highlight the charm of its products, but the market fierce criticism fro

36、m Chinese consumers. Since the company did not understand the Chinese hatred to opium because of the psychological and historical factors, it unconsciously hurt Chinese people's national self-esteem. Thereforei,t asn unsuccessful advertisement.3.2 Value reflected in the advertisement translation

37、.Value is often prescriptive, warning people what is good and bad, what is right and wrong, what is true and false and what is positive and negative. People in the different area have different value. Thus, a good advertising translation must take the differentvalues into account.The emphasis of Chi

38、nese cultural is on collective ideas and collective interests, the pursuit of our common ideas. So many lyrics like “大家好才是真的好” ;“用了都说好”;“男女老少皆宜 ” in the Chinese advertisements are fully embody Chinese people's cultural identity , as Chinese people consider that the product will be really good if

39、 everyone thinks it s good. By seizing Chinese consumers mind when they are purchasing, those merchants persuade consumers to buy their products. So collecting behavior is a significant factor in Chinese advertisement. Professor Yang, a Chinese American, holds the idea that Chinese people pay attent

40、ion to the texts of products in the advertisement; its cultural background is the ethic and religion which come from Taoist, Buddhists and Confucians.Westerners pay more attention to individuality and independence.Westerners are more willing to use “ you” ctoonvince consumers that they are being res

41、pected, and let the consumers desire what to buy.“ Gold Blend,the only coffee to serve is the ” Nescafe Gold Blend advertising. “ DrinkBaker, follow the trace of your own” is a Baker Beer advertising. In practice, the translator should fully take all differences of culture and values into account.Th

42、e following sentence is excerpted from an advertisement of an American magazine. "He is his own man. An individualist". "individualist" is always translated into "个人主义者" or "利己主义者". Meanwhile, it could not be considered as equivalentbecause of the differences

43、in cultural values. The word "individualist" in English contains positive and commendatory meaning. It is used to describe a kind of people who prizes personal right and is willing to show his or her personality. However, "个人主义者" inChinese is a derogatory term which means self-co

44、ncern. They seek benefits for themselves at the expense of others. Consequently, the translator must readjust the original text on the basis of apprehending cultural values; otherwise, it is impossible to realize intended function of the advertisement. "一个有主见的人，一个有个性的人。” isabetter version in te

45、rms of both understanding and psychological effects on the target people.3.3 Cultural custom impact on advertising translationThe translation of advertisements has evolved during the last decade towards what is now called A“dvertising Localization ” . It its anomere change of designation stemming fr

46、om computer science vocabulary but a radical change of perspective concerning the real nature and modes of linguistic and cultural transfer from one language into another. The present article explains, in detail, the evolution that took place, its expressions and its stakes in the profession and tra

47、ining of translators in the field of localization.From micro level, the advertisement is one of the agents which lead to the reform of culture. Contemporary culture contains the advertisement; meanwhile, it is also the disseminator and creator of the culture. While publicizing products or services,

48、the advertisement unconsciously outputs some cultural awareness and changes people s thinking ways or values. Let tsake Coca-Cola advertisement for example. Its original message is “ I can t catch that feeling ” . But Japanese version mea-nCsola” “ I enjoy Coca and Italian version means “ Theunique

49、feeling ”Th. erefore, it implies that only the advertisement information truly reflects local culture will it live up to the cultural expectation.The cultural differences reflect on the language, especially on the advertising language. Therefore, there are certain concepts which can be activates by

50、an English word but not by its Chinese equivalent. It is quite possible that a Chinese version of an American advertisement may not trigger the intended response in the Chinese consumers, and what wsorse; it may not be understood by them.Hence, the more a translator knows about how a cultural group

51、view such things as humor, interpersonal relationship, life and work style, the more successfully he or she will be able to produce an effective advertisement translation.The audience of advertisement is consumer. When translating an advertisement into another language, the translator must study the

52、 consumer behavior in that country. Many factors influence consumers behavior, including cultural background, political views, religious belief, individual preference, age, sex, income, consumption habit and so on. Cultural factors include culture, politics, religion, habit, etc. Social culture infl

53、uences even limits this kind of language and expression, meanwhile, the advertisement language contains and reflects the social culture. Cultural barriers refer to the cultural factors which have negative impact on the effect of advertisement publicity. For example, the English word “ dragon ” is of

54、ten associated with fire and portrayed as breathing fire, or else as acreature of that primeval chaos which was to be destroyed only through disciplined marshaling of mental and physical prowess; but its corresponding word 龙 ” in Chinese is usually understood as a symbol of happiness, capable of pro

55、ducing the potion of immortality (Biedermann, 1989). If “金龙牌” was translated as “ GoldenDragon” i,twould have negative effect among western community.4. Definition of domesticationOne of the two tendencies of translation studies during the past two decades in the marked shift of attention from langu

56、age transformation to cultural transformation; the other one is application of communication theory in translation studies. The integration of the two tendencies is to regard translation as an activity of intercultural communication. The term “ translation is e” ven replace by “ interculturalcommuni

57、cation ” (Christiane Nord， 1991), “ intercultural cooperation-Man”tta(rHi，olz1984), “ acculturation ” (AndreLefevere， 1992) and “ transculturation(R. Dan， ie1l9S8h8a)w.The initial sender of the message (the original author) is in a culture different from what the final receiver of the message (the t

58、arget reader) is in; hence how to handle the cultural gap is a hot topic in translation studies. Inevitably, domestication and foreignization become the focus of the controversy in this field.Domestication and foreignization are the two advanced by American deconstructionist translation theorist Law

59、rence Venuti to describe the two different translation strategies. They directly stem from German theologian and philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher s telling argument that e only tw“ ot.hEeirtehearr the translator leaves the author in peace, as much possible, and moves the reader towards him; or he leaves the reader in peace, as much as possible, and moves the author towards him” . (Venuti， 1995) in his famous lecture “ On thetDMifefethreonds of Translating ” (1813). According to Venuti s opinions, Dict