Influences of Language and Cultural Differences on the Advertising Translation

1、influences of language and cultural differences on the advertising translation abstract: 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

2、or 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 tend

3、s 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 analys

4、is of advertisement translation, and some valuable examples. 中英語言與文化差異對廣告翻譯的影響中英語言與文化差異對廣告翻譯的影響 摘要摘要：廣告已成為一種非常重要的文化產(chǎn)品之一，在當(dāng)今時代，廣告已經(jīng)成為不同地域之間的 一種溝通的方式，它的方式通常是說服潛在客戶購買或消費自己的產(chǎn)品和服務(wù)。更重要的是廣 告語言的特點是具有文化和時代背景。西方語言以規(guī)則為主導(dǎo)，而中國卻以人為主導(dǎo)；由于語 言結(jié)構(gòu)的不同，當(dāng)他們描述事物時，中文注重幻想，但英語注重準(zhǔn)確。一個好的商標(biāo)翻譯體現(xiàn) 了翻譯技術(shù)完美結(jié)合，不同的文化在廣告翻譯中具有非常重要的影響，它包括

5、歷史，價值，習(xí) 俗等。本文對廣告翻譯從語言和文化差異方面進行了詳細分析，還有一些有價值的例子。 關(guān)鍵詞關(guān)鍵詞：廣告; 廣告翻譯; 文化; 語言 contents 1. introduction.4 2. language impact of advertising translation.4 2.1 the differences of the structure of language in the sino-british advertising.4 2.2 the defferences of choosing the words.5 2.3 the differences of pro

6、nunciation of the words in sino-british advertising.6 3. the impact of culture on advertising translation.6 3.1 the impact of historical and cultural on advertising translation.6 3.2 value reflected in the advertisement translation.8 3.3 cultural custom impact on advertising translation.9 4. definit

7、ion of domestication.10 5.conclusion.11 6.acknowledgement.12 1. introduction as 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

8、affects the language and culture n advertising 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 influence

9、 of language and cultural differences on the advertising 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 correspondi

10、ng examples are cited, so that the reader has an 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 dom

11、estication in the advertising translation as complement. 2. language impact of advertising translation 2.1 the differences of the structure of language in the sino-british advertising mr. shen xiao long has said that the western languages are rule-dominated, while the chinese is dominated by people.

12、 in other words, chinese is a meaning-centered language, 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, sentence mainly composed of verb

13、and verb phrase can not change lightly. for example: the slogan of the nokia “connecting people”. its not 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 theyre easy to acknowledg

14、e people the three-dimensional feel of the product. however, the structure of language can not be arbitrarily changed. when translating it into chinese, the subject “technology” should be proposed, and the importance of the human language of the art is better to be stressed. there are many modifiers

15、 in the chinese advertising which focus on emotional expression, on the contrary, the expression of english advertising is very simple as it focuses on information transfer. for example: 滿樹金花，芳香四溢的金桂；花白如雪，香氣撲鼻的桂銀；紅里透黃，花多味濃的紫砂桂； 花色似銀，季季有花的四季桂，競相開放，競相開放，爭妍媲美。進入桂花公園，陣陣的桂花 花香撲鼻而來. when the sentence abov

16、e is to be translated into english advertising, considering 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 differen

17、t colors are in full bloom which pervades the whole garden 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 an

18、d standardized, whats more, it can express things with simple sentences. 2.2 the differences of choosing the words in 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 app

19、reciation for beautiful things, and giving a number of subjective imagination and feelings. in chinese advertising, we will often find a lot of descriptive words, like “high class”; “perfect”; “special”; “incredible”. this descriptive language can attract the attention of consumers, consumers will b

20、e more and more interested in the product , to a better 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 descriptio

21、n of product information, and point out the pros and 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.”

22、nescafe. translators often face an uphill battle with 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

23、 the differences of pronunciation of the words in sino-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

24、 a trademark of a sportswear brand, its chinese translation is “彪馬”, the literal meaning is totally difference, but the pronunciation of “彪馬” is much similar to “puma”, and the meaning of “彪馬” can express “puma” better, and it is easier for chinese people to accept and understand the brand. however,

25、 literal translation can not achieve the effect of its 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 merchandi

26、se purpose; simultaneously it is also full of theoretical 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 consumers

27、 psychology, respecting for national customs, applying 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 whi

28、ch is just like the icing on the cake. a good trademark translation embodies the perfect combination of translation technology and aesthetics. 3. culture impact on advertising translation 3.1 the impact of historical and cultural on advertising translation in the international market, for the compan

29、y, how to introduce their products to consumers in other 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 transl

30、ation, which can not be ignored. the neglect of cultural 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. a

31、dvertisement and culture have reciprocal and bidirectional 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

32、 want the advertising translation circulating in other nations, the first thing should be done is to allow translation in line with the audiences culture and psychology. japans mitsubishi corporation used the following advertising to promote their products to the u.s. market: “not all cars created e

33、qual”. it is a clever imitation of the “all men are created equal” in the “declaration of independence”. changing the affirmative sentences into negative sentence, expressing the car is better than other cars performance. this translation is much closer to the consumers culture psychology, psycholog

34、y of customers have a strong impact on it. when mitsubishi promoted their product to the chinese , its advertising is 古有千里馬，今有三菱車. it used the minds of 千里馬 in the chinese peoples cultural image, so that products in the minds of the chinese people has a three-dimensional impression. mitsubishi motors

35、 achieved 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 “鴉片”, the company want to highlight the charm of its products, but the market fierce crit

36、icism from chinese consumers. since the company did not understand the chinese hatred to opium because of the psychological and historical factors, it unconsciously hurt chinese peoples national self-esteem. therefore, its an unsuccessful advertisement. 3.2 value reflected in the advertisement trans

37、lation. 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 different values into account. the emphas

38、is of chinese 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” ;“用了都說好”;“男女 老少皆宜” in the chinese advertisements are fully embody chinese peoples cultural identity , as chinese people consider that the product will be really goo

39、d if everyone thinks its 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 att

40、ention 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” to convince consumers that they are bein

41、g respected, and let the consumers desire what to buy. “gold blend, the only coffee to serve” is the nescafe gold blend advertising. “drink baker, 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 accou

42、nt. the following sentence is excerpted from an advertisement of an american magazine. he is his own man. an individualist. individualist is always translated into 個人主義者 or 利己主義者. meanwhile, it could not be considered as equivalent because of the differences in cultural values. the word individualis

43、t 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, 個人主義者 in chinese is a derogatory term which means self-concern. they seek benefits for themselves at the expense of other

44、s. 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. 一個有主見的人，一個有個性的人?！眎s a better version in terms of both understanding and psychological effects on the target peo

45、ple. 3.3 cultural custom impact on advertising translation the translation of advertisements has evolved during the last decade towards what is now called “advertising localization”. it is not a mere change of designation stemming from computer science vocabulary but a radical change of perspective

46、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 training of translators in the field of localization. from micro level

47、, 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, the advertisement unconsciously outputs some cultural awareness an

48、d changes peoples thinking ways or values. lets take coca-cola advertisement for example. its original message is “i cant catch that feeling”. but japanese version means “i enjoy coca-cola” and italian version means “the unique feeling”. therefore, it implies that only the advertisement information

49、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 an english word but not by its chinese equivalent. it is quite possible

50、that a chinese version of an american advertisement may not trigger the intended response in the chinese consumers, and whats worse; it may not be understood by them. hence, the more a translator knows about how a cultural group view such things as humor, interpersonal relationship, life and work st

51、yle, 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 consumer behavior in that country. many factors influence consumers b

52、ehavior, 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 influences even limits this kind of language and expression, meanwhile, th

53、e 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 often associated with fire and portrayed as breathing fire, or else as a c

54、reature of that primeval chaos which was to be destroyed only through disciplined marshaling of mental and physical prowess; but its corresponding word “龍” in chinese is usually understood as a symbol of happiness, capable of producing the potion of immortality (biedermann, 1989). if “金龍牌” was trans

55、lated as “golden dragon”, it would have negative effect among western community. 4. definition of domestication one of the two tendencies of translation studies during the past two decades in the marked shift of attention from language transformation to cultural transformation; the other one is appl

56、ication 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 even replace by “intercultural communication” (christiane nord，1991), “intercultural cooperation” (holz-mant

57、tari，1984), “acculturation” (andre lefevere，1992) and “transculturation” (r. daniel shaw ，1988) . the initial sender of the message (the original author) is in a culture different from what the final receiver of the message (the target reader) is in; hence how to handle the cultural gap is a hot top

58、ic 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 lawrence venuti to describe the two different translation strategies. th

59、ey directly stem from german theologian and philosopher friedrich schleiermachers telling argument that “there are only two. either 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 auth

60、or towards him”. (venuti，1995) in his famous lecture “on the different methods of translating” (1813). according to venutis opinions, dictionary of translation studies defines domestication as follows: “a transparent, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the strangeness of the foreign text f