German translator Vermeer put forward Skopos Theory for the first time in the Framework of General Translation published in 1978. The highest standard of translation is the goal standard. He believes that the purpose of translation determines the translation strategy, and many problems in translation can not be solved by linguistics alone, thus getting rid of the shackles of a translation theory that pursues equivalence with the original text. It is suggested that translation is an act of purposefully satisfying customers' requirements according to their entrustment and the purpose of translation. Therefore, in translation, the original text is not the standard to measure everything, being faithful to the original text is secondary, and achieving the purpose of translation is the most important. Translators do not need to imitate the original text mechanically, but should flexibly choose various translation strategies and methods according to the expected purpose of the translation.
? Skopos theory belongs to functional translation theory, which inherits the reasonable elements in translation theory, breaks through the shackles of translation theory and opens up a new perspective for translation theory. The translation of brand names coincides with many propositions of functional translation theory and is highly consistent with AIDA principle in advertising. AIDA principle is a very important advertising principle. This principle holds that if advertising wants to achieve good publicity effect. We should attract consumers' attention, arouse consumers' interest, stimulate consumers' desires, and finally stimulate consumers to make consumption behaviors. (Zhu Yiping, Bai Hui. On the applicability of AIDA principle in trademark translation J. Journal of Northwest University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition) 2010 (3):162-164. ) Skopostheorie translation theory focuses on the communicative purpose and function of the text and emphasizes "audience first".
Trademarks, like people's names, are symbols representing goods. It should conform to the aesthetic psychology of consumers. We must also strive to innovate. Many internationally renowned trademarks have become intangible assets of enterprises. A successful trademark generally has the following characteristics: it conforms to the characteristics of goods, has associative meaning, is easy to remember, has aesthetic feeling and is catchy. (Zhang Yunyan. Characteristics and Skills of Advertisement Translation J Journal of Hubei Institute of Education, 2005 (4)116-117). The purpose of brand name translation is to stimulate the purchase desire of the target language readers, make them have the same promotion function as the original brand, and earn the maximum commercial profit for commodity producers.
? In order to achieve the purpose of brand name translation, we should overcome the obstacles of national psychology and cultural language, and try our best to adopt various flexible means to get rid of the shackles of hard translation. There are several translation methods: homophonic, transliteration, literal translation, innovation, spelling, abbreviation and so on.
1. The best translation strategy: homophonic method. This translation method is to try to choose words that are homophonic with the original brand name and have positive significance, and fully fit the cultural characteristics and audience psychology of the target language. For example, the brand of soap, Safeguard, literally means "safety" and translated as "Shu Fu Jia", which sounds like a good item with a desire to buy and makes the skin comfortable. Mercedes-Benz, a famous automobile brand, has just been translated into "Ben Ci", "Pingzhi" in Taiwan Province Province and "Mercedes-Benz" in Hongkong. These translations did not arouse people's interest, and later they were translated into "Mercedes-Benz", which was refreshing and had a sense of speed. BMW is a famous German automobile brand, which is the abbreviation of Bavarian Motor Works, namely Bavarian Engine Manufacturing Co., Ltd., which translates as "BMW". Coca cola. At first, it was translated into "chewing wax with tadpoles", which made people puzzled. Later translated into "Coca Cola", which is both homophonic and festive.
Pepsi? Translated as "Pepsi", being with Pepsi makes people feel happy. As a famous sports brand, Nike means goddess of victory in Greek mythology, but few people in China culture know that it has the endurance to overcome difficulties and win. Viagra (Viagra) and Revlon are American cosmetics brands, which are homonymically translated as "Revlon". This word is taken from a famous poem written by Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, which describes Yang Guifei's beauty and beauty. "Qingpingdiao": "The cloud wants clothes and flowers to make her look good, and the spring breeze is full of flowers." This translation, which takes both sound and meaning into account, is faithful to the original text and does not stick to it, leaving a beautiful and profound impression on the audience.
China's very cola, when translated into English, also used homophonic method. The future cola, translated skillfully, indicates that this beverage can lead the future. Head and head. Shoulder can't be directly translated into head and shoulder, but translated into "head and shoulder" is very aesthetic, and the characteristics of shampoo and conditioner are vividly displayed. These examples are too numerous to mention.
? Two. ? Cultural differences and the translation of trademark names
? Of course, some names and place names can be transliterated or not, such as Maotai, Tsingtao Brewery, Sharp, OMO and so on. Due to the cultural differences between English and Chinese, people in China are reserved. For example, the translation of kiss Me (the trademark of lip balm) into "Kiss Me" is generally unacceptable to the audience in China. So transliteration is adopted. Kiss and Chinese words such as "actually", "strange stone" and "Me" are catchy, highlighting the performance and attributes of products to consumers. Poison perfume brand. It can't be translated directly into "poison", but into "God's love". Sprite originally meant "goblin" and translated into "Sprite" according to the product characteristics, which is very in line with the aesthetics of China people.
We should pay special attention to the likes and dislikes of numbers, colors and different animals between English and Chinese, and also pay special attention to translation to avoid misunderstanding. For example, the English translation of "White Elephant" is a white elephant, which is a typical translation error. In English, white elephants refer to expensive and useless things, so nobody cares. Feather cutting refers to the act of weakness. Goldern Clock, golden rooster alarm clock, however, in western culture, cock refers to male genitalia, which can be transliterated or pinyin.
In the translation of brand names, we must pay more attention to cultural differences and pay special attention to word selection. For wine, brandy and whisky, which are equally famous, people prefer the brand name "brandy", which is a vast land under white clouds and blue sky, and "whisky" means that even mighty warriors have to be taboo. Brandy sales in China have been far ahead! It should benefit from the translation of trademark names.
In short, under the guidance of Skopostheorie of dynamic translation theory, we can bridge the gap between cultures by adopting appropriate translation strategies and paying attention to the influence of different cultural backgrounds. Contribute to global economic integration,