The translation of brand name and culture essence - Sophie's World

The translation of brand name and culture essence
Zhaoxia
(class 014,english department,yangtze university)

Abstract: as China’s reform and opening-up progress further, translation of trade marks has become an important aspect in economic and culture. This paper addresses the principleand method of the translation of trade marks. It also pointed out that success model of translating lies in catering for the target market aesthetic interest, reflecting its traditional culture value, taking in its culture essence and following its culture fashion. This research aims at achieving a better understanding of brand name translation process and can help to overcome the cultural barriers to successful translations of brand names.

Key words: trade marks; translation; culture essence; aesthetics

摘要
随着中国改革开放进程的发展，品牌名称的翻译渐渐成为经济文化领域的一个重要方面。本文首先介绍了品牌翻译的原则和方法。并着重论述了成功的品牌翻译应该有赖于对销售市场审美情趣的迎合，同时要注意反映传统文化价值，吸收其文化内涵精髓和文化的时代特征，更深入地理解品牌名称翻译的过程以及跨越品牌名称翻译中的文化障碍。
Contents
1. Introduction············································································
2. the principle which should be obeyed···········································
3.the method of translation···························································
4. a culture perspective in translating brand name·····························
5. Conclusion··············································································
1. Introduction:
As we have stressed at the beginning of the paper, we are in an age of globalization, when businesses around the world spare no effort to market their products or services in the world marketplace and to build their brand images on a global basis. Before entering the world market, developing the right international brand names has become a very important marketing strategy for most businesses. If a company is to make a successful move into a foreign market, it is essential for it to translate all relevant documents into the target language, including translating its brand name. It is important to ensure that the translated brand name is not only accurate, but also in conformity with the culture of the designated market. This paper, therefore, does not discuss how to develop new international brand names, but focuses on the translation of existing brand names, since the undergoing process of globalization has presented brand name translation as a significant research topic. And in this chapter, the author’s chief concern will be the major concepts regarding brand name translation as well as its importance. At the end of this chapter, some commonly used methods in brand nametranslation will also be listed.
we are in an age of globalization, when businesses around the world spare no effort to market their products or services in the world marketplace and to build their brand images on a global basis. Before entering the world market, developing the right international brand names has become a very important marketing strategy for most businesses. If a company is to make a successful move into a foreign market, it is essential for it to translate all relevant documents into the target language, including translating its brand name. It is important to ensure that the translated brand name is not only accurate, but also in conformity with the culture of the designated market.
2. the principle which should be obeyed
2.1 having similar meaning and function
trade mark is a kind of proper symbol with special meaning and function. Therefore, to translate trade mark is not so easy. In addition to the surface meaning and inner meaning, what is the represent of the trade mark’s? and what might be thought about? That is more important. In order to make all question mentioned above become true, we should not be stickled in the original internal vocabulary. Instead, we should adopt the best method from various choice in various style. Only to do so, the consumers could get the most similar feeling as the native language consumers’.
Some examples can illustrate the opinion clearly.
a. Pentium------------奔腾
Pentium is a CMOS chip series product from Intel company.” 奔腾” in Chinese means high speed. powerful function, and remarkable quality. and, it’s make us think of the blooming development of IT industry easily. Visibly, ” 奔腾” is a good translation which reflects not only the pronunciation but also the culture essence related.
b. Nike-----------------耐克
Originally, Nike is the name of Victory goddess in Greece myth. If we translate this mark only according pronunciation, it may be called “奈基” or ”娜姬”. But, neither of these two names have a matter-of-fact meaning, that makes china’s consumers feel confused to know what it refer to. Afterwards, man translate it as “耐克”,among it, “耐” means “wearable” and “克”means “victory”. It seems a coincidence that Nike is the name of goddess of victory.
2.2 paying attention to the difference among various cultures and make the translation domestic
in fact, the translation of brand name is a kind of culture communication in economic aspect, for most of brand name have there own inherent native culture essence. It is the inner meaning involved in the surface meaning that attracts customers to buy the products. So, in terms of market, a perfect brand name is also a good advertisement. Likewise, a novel and proper translation of brand name could be a attractive path which guide the customs to buy. If the translator wish the brand name could be translated into a equal word which show its meaning and culture connotation successfully, he must pay enough attention on the local culture and try his best to make the translation more domestic. that is, to enrich and deepen the essence of translation, so, it is more important to be familiar with two culture than to grasp two language, for only in the given culture background language has its significance.
a. proctor & gamble-------------宝洁
The well-know company “proctor & gamble” is a nice model. “proctor” means ”训导长” in Chinese ,and “gamble” means “dice”, ”wager” . “宝洁” and “保洁” have the sane pronunciation. ”宝”embody the high quality of products，and “洁” imply the function of products.
b. rejoice------------------飘柔
Rejoice is a famous brand name for Chinese customers. It is reported that many Chinese people think “飘柔” is a domestic products. That manifest the translation is so lose to the local tone that even the local people can not distinct it from there own trade mark . but, the light point id far more than that.. “Rejoice” ,the original meaning is “happy”, “glad”, then, ”欢乐”or “瑞兆伊丝”are both the acceptable name in the terms of translation. Anyhow, 飘柔is the best choice among them. Saying”飘柔” ,we as if feel our long hair streaming in the wind.
c. safeguard------------------------舒肤佳
safeguard”means “安全保卫” in Chinese. As a product of cleaning, “安全保卫”can not express its whole relish. Wise translators give the name a new life--舒肤佳. “舒”means “comfortable”; ”肤” imply that this thing is concern with skin; “佳” means “good”
“perfect” in quality. Putting these three characters together, the translators create a image of product which make our skin clean and comfortable successfully.
2.3 easy to read and remember, brief and novel
the translation of brand name should be easy to read and remember, brief and novel. Because the final purpose of brandname is to attract consumers, a complex brand name can not express consumers’ deeply.

a. OMO-----------奥妙
b. Budweiser-------------------百威
c. head & shoulder----------------------海飞丝
e. Hewlett-packare--------------------惠普
3. the method of translation
3.1 according the pronunciation
this method is fit for translating the trade mark which comes from some special names, like the inventors’ name, or the corporations’ name.
Some examples:
a. Hennessy--------------------“轩尼诗”
b. Martell------------------------“马爹利”
In these two examples, ”轩” and “马” have no practical meaning in Chinese, but they sound so beautiful that china customers can not help themselves to think of the pomp and the local view of the product’s hometown.
c. Pierre cardin----------皮尔.卡丹
d. Goodyear----------固特异
Goodyear is a brand name of tire. It is from the inventor’s name: Charles Goodyear. If you translate it as “好年成”，f. grangers must consider it as a kind of pesticide or fertilizer by mistake. 固特异 tell us the tire is standard, special and remarkable.
3.2 according the meaning
translating according the meaning could transfer the emotion and the information of the original brand name. Meanwhile, the feather and character could be remained.
Of course, translation in this variety must be some words which sound nice and represent good things.
Some examples:
a. apple---------------------“苹果”
b. Nescafe-----------------“雀巢”
c. camel---------------“骆驼”
d. ivory------------“象牙”
e. Fairchild-------------------“仙童”
3.3 Coinage
There are still other brand names translated through coinage, i.e. the invention of a new word. This method is believed by some people to be a wise choice, for names obtained in this way are very unlikely to be repeatedly used by other companies. What’s more, the method, once appropriately adopted, can help to produce an unexpectedly fascinating effect among target consumers.
a.美加净----------------------“MAXAM”
Its translation “MAXAM” originates from the English word “maximum”, and surpasses all the other possible translations for its favorable association, conciseness, symmetry, and ease to remember.
b. 彩虹------------------------“Irico”
In 1995, the彩虹 company in China’s northeast Shanxi Province, the biggest TV monitor manufacturer at that time, intended to find a special English name for its product. Many methods were adopted and the company finally selected the name “Irico”, which was blended from “Iris” and “Corporation”. “Iris” is the goddess of rainbow who brings good news to people in ancient Greek mythology. Thus the word, obtained through coinage, is related to the source brand name.
3.4 a classical of translation ---------------- coca cola 可口可乐
“可口可乐”pervade in china’s native culture by steps.
“可口”means “very delicious” in Chinese, “可乐” now becomes the pronoun of softdrink in china. By this mark, manufactures create many brand name such as “非常可乐”，“红景天可乐” and so on..

4. a culture perspective in translating brand name
4.1 foreword
Culture, which has been heatedly debated in the translation field, is an extremely complex, multidimensional, and all-encompassing subject. According to the definition given in The New Encyclopedia Britannica (1768:784), culture is “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behaviour”. “Culture thus defined consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, ceremonies, and other related components.” And in The Encyclopedia Americana (1829:315), culture is defined as the most general concept to describe human behavior and history. It refers to innumerable items at different levels of generality: ideas, sentiments, values, objects, actions, tendencies and accumulations.
As a matter of fact, although more than a hundred definitions have been given to culture, all anthropologists agree that culture consists of the learned ways of behaving and adapting, as contrasted to inherited behavioral patterns of instincts. Social scientists have divided culture into a series of institutions or groups of activities with specific need-satisfaction functions. Family, education, economics, politics and religion are the most familiar ones.
Culture and language are indispensable to each other. Culture can never be discussed without mentioning the language used in it. According to Peter Newmark (2001:94), culture refers to “the way of life and its manifestations that are peculiar to a community that uses a particular language as its means of expression.” Culture is an extremely complex concept and an enormous subject, which embraces almost everything in the world, whether material or spiritual. Language is intrinsically bound up with culture and no linguistic text can exist out of a certain cultural context. Language is the means through which culture is expressed while culture embodies language at the same time. Different languages codify the world in different ways. The acceptance of culture is limited by the diversity in the categories of culture and particularly by the diversity in language-culture and mental culture. Language, of course, is the most important code of all for the transfer of culture. On the one hand, being an intrinsic part of culture, language carries culture, mirrors culture, spreads culture, and helps develop culture. On the other hand, language is strongly influenced and shaped by culture in various aspects of our life.
Translation is not simply a process of decoding languages, but the process of intercultural or cross-cultural communication. Due to the fact that people from diverse cultures vary sharply in their criteria ranging from perception, evaluation, and attitudes to religions, lifestyles and stereotypes, translators can hardly avoid cultural interpretation in the translating process. In a word, cross-cultural competence is absolutely needed for effective translation. As Nida (1991:110) points out, “For truly successful translating, biculturalism is even more important than bilingualism, since words only have meanings in terms of the cultures in which they function.”
As far as culture is involved in translation, brand name translation is no exception. Brand names are not isolated units of language. They are information chips deeply rooted in the cultural soil. As a particular form of translation, brand name translation is not simply a matter of finding equivalent expressions in the target language for the source brand name, but a process of transplanting cultures as well. Therefore, heightening brand name translators’ sensitivity to the dynamics of culture is a prerequisite for translation if the target brand names are to be operative and effective.
Since translation is a bilingual as well as bicultural communication, it is an even more complicated activity than linguistic choice making activities in a general sense. Brand name translation is a practical form of translation, in which the translator’s choice making is constantly operated under the influence of linguistic adaptation, cultural adaptation and legal and marketing adaptation. Cultural adaptation is among the most important factors with which the whole translation process should be interadaptable. In a translation process, equal importance is conferred to both linguistic and cultural differences between the source language and the target language, and it is widely acknowledged that differences between cultures may cause more severe complications for the translator than differences in language structure do. A target brand name, as the outcome of a translation process, should first of all be culturally accepted.
In order to achieve the closest natural functional equivalence in brand name translation, cultural differences will have to be taken into account. After the candidate target brand names are created, a careful evaluation should be made of the cultural appeal and appropriateness for the target consumers. Language, images, symbols, and colors may carry different meanings in different cultures, and people living in different cultures differ in their values and beliefs, social conventions, etc. As a result, flexible adaptation out of cultural considerations is necessary to avoid possible misunderstandings. Only when the translated brand name is culturally accepted in the target market, will it be able to increase the competitiveness and profitability of the product. On the other hand, if the cultural adaptation is neglected, the translation may not be successful at all, or what is even worse, it may result in costly mistakes. This can be clearly illustrated with the often-repeated joke about the translation of “金鸡”, a well-known Chinese brand name for alarm clock. When it was introduced into foreign market years ago, the translator put it rigidly into “Golden Cock”, paying no attention to the fact that “cock” is a taboo word in American culture as well as in some other cultures. Naturally the translator’s ignorance of cultural adaptation resulted in pragmatic failure, and consequently, the name could not be accepted by many English-speaking consumers. If the cultural elements had been taken into account at that time, the translation would have been something like “Golden Rooster”, which might have been well accepted by target consumers.
Therefore, a competent translator of brand names should definitely have a good command of cultures since cultural adaptation is a most crucial part in brand name translation. This also reveals the huge pressure on the translator of brand names, since he is perceived as the person to bridge the gap between the producer and the target consumer, and thus to some extent, perceived as the guarantor of the success of the product. He is responsible for the entire communicative process and is required to be bilingual, and more importantly, bicultural.

4.2 Adaptation to various cultural elements
In this section, a multi-dimensional study will be conducted on the various cultural elements which might be possibly involved in brand name translation. All the factors may roughly fall into eight categories: national traits and values, politics and history, extended meanings of words, people’s attitudes towards animals, plants and numbers, geographical location, religious elements and allusions, age, sex, and race of the consumers and purchasing psychology. Along with the analysis, a considerable number of real brand names will be used to illustrate how the translator’s linguistic choice making is interadaptable with various cultural elements. And it will be further explained why a successful translation of brand name should take these elements into consideration. Besides, what deserves our attention is that the adaptation of linguistic choices in a translation process is a highly flexible one: the translator may often need to consider several cultural elements in one translation, but not all the elements are necessarily involved. In the following categories, each of the examples will be devoted mainly to one dominant aspect of culture with which the translator’s linguistic choices should be interadaptable.

4.2.1 Adaptation to national traits and values
By national traits, we mean particular characteristics, qualities, or tendencies that a nation has, and values are moral principles and beliefs which they regard as important. Both of them are part of a culture. If a translated brand name is to be well accepted in the target market, the translator can never neglect the national traits and values which are exclusively possessed by the target consumers.
a. Kiss Me---------------------------“奇士美”
“Kiss Me”, the brand name of a foreign lipstick, is a popular name in western countries partly because the name arouses people’s association of charming ladies after using the lipstick. To some degree, the name caters to the majority of western people, who, compared with people living in the east, show a much stronger tendency to pursue love boldly. But when the product is targeted on the Chinese market, one has to consider the national traits and values of the Chinese, which vary a great deal from those of western people. As we know, compared with western people, most Chinese tend to be more traditional and conservative when talking about love in public. Actually, throughout much of the Chinese history, the ability to control one’s feelings has always been seen as a virtue. Hence the translator, who might be well aware of that, translated the name into “奇士美” while another candidate target brand name “吻我” is quickly filtered out in the adaptation process. Obviously the latter does not show enough respect for the Chinese national traits and values, and thus does not fit the Chinese market. Comparatively, the name “奇士美”, though not necessarily the best translation, shows some adaptation to the target culture in the translator’s linguistic choices. Apart from that, some people believe that the name is intended to evoke similar association among the target consumers as the original does: “奇士” is homophonic with “骑士”, so when combined with “美”, it makes people think of a handsome hero with a beauty. In order to adapt to the target culture, the translator chooses to sacrifice the literal meaning so as to keep, if not all, part of the original flavor. On the contrary, other people do not think highly of the name “奇士美”, which, to them, can never match the source brand name in its humor and liveliness.
b. Poison--------------------------- “百爱神”
There are still other examples of adaptation to national traits and values in brand name translation. One might have heard about the famous perfume “Poison” produced by the French company Christian Dior in 1985, which was believed to be specially designed for western women to satisfy their curiosity about mysterious and adventurous matters. The product sold so well in western countries that it broke the record in the first two weeks after it appeared in the market. “Mysterious and unforgettable” was the common feeling of western woman consumers. But considering the fact that women in the east tend to be more gentle and quiet, it is translated into “百爱神” with the semantic transliteration method before entering the Chinese market. The translation of the name bears a similar sound to the original and conveys favorable meanings in the target language. Other possibilities like “毒药” are not chosen by the translator since the linguistic choices are not interadaptable with the Chinese culture and also very confusing.
In a word, in order to attain functional equivalence in brand name translation, the translator will have to adapt his linguistic choices to national traits and values of the target culture.

4.2.2 Adaptation to politics and history
Politics and history, being part of a culture, have always been imposing influence upon many other cultural elements. In fact, political and historical elements always bring out gradual changes in almost every aspect of lives within a nation, directly or indirectly. In brand name translation, the translator should be sensitive as well as careful enough to adapt his linguistic choices to the political status and the history of the target country. If the translated brand name does not accord with the above elements, it is very likely to hurt the feelings of that people, or even result in serious trouble, not to mention to help in the sales of the product.
a. OPIUM----------------------------“鸦片”
So far as political and historical reasons are concerned, the most notorious example of all brand names might be the “OPIUM” cologne produced by a French company. The owner of the company had ever been to China and was deeply impressed by the traditional Chinese snuff bottles which were exquisite handicrafts. He then named his product “OPIUM”, hoping that no Chinese gentleman could resist the temptation of this cologne just as one could not resist the temptation of opium. What was beyond his expectation was that the translation ended up as a blunder. The word “鸦片” is already a symbol of galling shame and humiliation long since the outbreak of the Opium War. Every Chinese has a strong hatred towards opium from the bottom of his heart. Therefore, when the product first appeared in the Chinese market, it encountered unprecedented dilemma: all Chinese consumers protested strongly against the name. They insisted that the name had brought insult upon them. The cologne was finally forbidden to be offered for sale in Chinese market because it also violated the Chinese brand name law. From this example, we can see how important it is for the brand name translator to adapt his linguistic choices to politics and history of the target country.
b.大鹏---------------------------“ROC”
A similar error was made when the Chinese “大鹏” plimsolls entered the foreign market with an English name “ROC” (a kind of imaginary bird in the ancient times which is believed to be large and fierce). The Chinese name conveys favorable association of “good expectation” but its literal translation “ROC” coincides with the abbreviation of the former Republic of China in the Chinese history. Thus the name was improper as far as the politics and history of the source country are concerned. If the name had been used in the foreign market, it would have done harm to the reputation of our country. Therefore, the name was soon replaced by “Giant Eagle”, which sounds much better. It is obviously seen that brand name translation is a process of making linguistic choices out of various considerations, including adaptation to politics and history.
c. Nippon-----------------------“立邦”
Comparatively speaking, Japanese businessmen seem to be more careful in brand name translation in terms of cultural adaptation. Every Chinese who knows a little history would remember the Japanese invasion into China during World War II and the enormous pain it has brought to the Chinese people. Out of such historical consideration, Japanese businessmen racked their brains in the translation of “Nippon”, the brand name of a Japanese paint when they were targeting on the Chinese market. Thinking that their product would very probably be rejected by Chinese consumers if the literal translation “日本” is adopted, the Japanese businessmen cleverly used the semantic transliteration method and put the name into “立邦”, which sounds like a newly created Chinese name. The name sounds very close to the original; what’s more, the Japanese businessmen’s patriotism is also implied in the name, for “立邦” in Chinese means “to make one’s country prosperous”. It must be admitted that the Japanese are indeed good at handling cultural elements in brand name translation and the linguistic choices involved in producing the desired target brand name for “Nippon” are highly motivated by adaptation to political and historical concerns.
All in all, when one undertakes brand name translation, he should seriously adapt his linguistic choices to all the possible political and historical elements so as not to cause costly failures. That may also be one of the reasons why the word “bear” is not a desired brand name since the former Soviet Union was often referred to as the “Polar Bear” by many western newspapers.

4.2.3 Adaptation to extended meanings of words
Language is the carrier of culture. Being a kind of code system reflecting concrete culture, each language contains numerous words with their extended meanings far beyond the basic ones. Great care is needed in the treatment of these words and the translator should consider not only the basic meanings of words but the extended meanings of them as well. Often these words can not be literally translated; some adjustments are necessary.
Let’s look at some examples:
the Chinese brand name of leather shoes “帆船”, which stands for people’s good wishes, was once translated into “Junk” when entering the foreign market. Though the translation seems to be equivalent to the source brand name in their literal meanings, it conveys an extended meaning “old and unwanted things of little value”. Naturally the minimal functional equivalence cannot be attained in this case since the target consumers would not be able to conceive how the source brand name was appreciated by the source consumers. Sales of the product did not rise until it adopted another name “Junco”, which, though not absolutely desirable, sounds much better than “Junk”. The translator’s final choice of “Junco” instead of “Junk” is actually an outcome of cultural adaptation in translation process.
Out of the same consideration, the translator should be alert when translating the Chinese brand names of “蓝天” toothpaste and the “白翎” pen, for “blue sky” in American English is often used to mean “invalid securities” and “White Feather” symbolizes cowardice in English. The English idiom “to show the white feather” means “to act like a coward”. And a car made in U.S.A does not sell well in many countries in Latin America partly because its name “Matador” not only means “bullfighter” in Spanish, but also has another meaning “killer”.
In order to avoid being misled into one-sideness in translating brand names, we should have as more and better understanding as possible on comprehensive meanings of words and phrases approved by people at home and abroad, and especially how they use them in practice.

4.2.4 Adaptation to people’s attitudes towards animals, plants, and numbers
People living in different cultures hold different attitudes and beliefs towards animals, plants, and numbers. What is considered a good omen in one culture may not symbolize the same in another. Therefore, it is generally advisable that people should not use this type of words to name their products, and when one translates existing brand names of this type, cultural adaptation may help him in finding a more proper target brand name. The difficulties caused by such words in brand name translation may be illustrated with the following example.
As we know, Chinese people often associate bats with good luck because the Chinese character “蝠” sounds the same as “福” (meaning “blessing” or “good fortune”). Some Chinese legends even say that when a bat lives 100 years, it turns white in color and hangs upside down from a tree, and eating that bat could bring a person longevity. A red bat foretells even better luck for “红蝠” sounds exactly the same with “洪福” (being supremely fortunate) (Hu Wenzhong, 1995:212). Some Chinese stick to the belief so much that they name their products “蝙蝠”. But if the translator adapts his linguistic choices to the different attitude towards the animal in European cultures, he would not consider “Bat” a good name, for bat is regarded as an extremely evil omen in many European folklores. Perhaps translations like “Fortunes” would be better.
“孔雀” is also a Chinese brand name. Most Chinese would feel it natural to adopt such a brand name since peacock has always been seen as the most beautiful bird of all and seeing a peacock displaying its fine tail feathers is regarded as propitious. In China’s Yunnan Province, people of the Dai nationality pass down the custom of performing a kind of “peacock dance” from generation to generation to express their good wishes for life. Just on the opposite, English-speaking people hold a different attitude toward the bird. According to Collins Cobuild English Dictionary, “peacock” may be used to describe someone who behaves “in a vain and arrogant way” (1997:1217). Therefore, when the name enters the global market, the translation may need to be adapted to the unfavorable association which may be aroused among English-speaking consumers. Compared with “Peacock”, the name “Kingbird” might be a better choice.
Similarly, English brand names like “Owl” and “Grey Hound” may be hard for the Chinese consumers to accept, while Chinese brand names like “蝴蝶牌”, “大白兔”, “鹅牌”, “仙鹤”, and “海燕”may be hard for English-speaking consumers to accept if they are translated into “Butterfly”, “White Rabbit”, “Goose”, “Crane”, and “Petrel”. The translation of this type of words needs translator’s careful consideration of cultural connotations, otherwise even if they do not cause any unfavorable association to the target consumers, they will definitely fail to convey the original flavor to the target consumers. Thus functional equivalence would be impossible to achieve. With this in our mind, it seems easy to understand why the brand name of a Chinese pillowcase “鸳鸯” is put into “Lovebirds” instead of “Mandarin Ducks”. To English speakers, the latter means nothing other than a kind of duck. “Lovebirds” is actually created out of cultural adaptation.
Plant words also acquire different connotations to people from different cultures. People associate their feelings and emotions, happenings and natural phenomena with various plants. “水仙” is often related to virtues like purity in Chinese, but the English word “narcissus” arouses an unfavorable association: a self-loving person. Thus if the Chinese washing machine with such a brand name is targeted at English-speaking consumers, cultural adaptation is necessary in the linguistic choices. Compared with “Narcissus”, “Daffodil” might be a more suitable target brand name for it.
Finally, numbers bring about different associations. Generally speaking, each culture has certain numbers believed to be either “lucky” or “ominous”, but this may often differ from individual to individual. Let’s take the translation of “7-up”, a brand of soft drink, as an example. The number “7” is thought to be a lucky number to many English speakers, but it does not have the same meaning in Chinese. Considering the cultural difference, the translator, in order to create a similar effect among the Chinese consumers, worked out the name “七喜”. The name is quite satisfactory because its first part “七” remains faithful to the source brand name without conveying any unfavorable meaning, and its second part “喜”conveys the meaning of “happiness and good luck”, and hence makes up for the loss of connotation in the number “7”.
In a word, using the above-mentioned type of words as brand names in a global market often means taking a risk. As we have discussed, it is advisable that producers be careful with creating such brand names. Anyway, what a translator can do about the existing brand names of this type is cultural adaptation.

4.2.5 Adaptation to geographical location
Geographical location may be seen as another important element contributing to the differences in cultures. Different natural environments give rise to differences in languages, and literally equivalent terms may be interpreted differently in different cultures. For instance, snow has become an indispensable part of Eskimos’ life, and consequently a quite large vocabulary exists in their language for different kinds of snow. While people living in India can hardly imagine what snow looks like, and there is naturally no word for “snow”.
When the difference caused by geographical locations comes to brand name translation, it may also be a cultural barrier. Here is a typical example. China has once produced a series of agricultural machinery named “东风”. Because of the geographical location of China, Chinese people have always regarded “东风” as a symbol of warmth. It may also convey the meaning of “advantageous conditions” as the Chinese allusion “万事俱备，只欠东风” expresses. On the contrary, “east wind” may be totally different to British consumers. Apart from the political sense possibly implied in the term, it would never be a symbol of warmth to people living in Britain. To them, the term expressing an identical idea is “west wind”. Therefore, though the brand name was put into “East Wind”, many people hold that a more proper name might be “West Wind”.

4.2.6 Adaptation to religious elements and allusions
Religions, myths, legends, and images from literary works are an inseparable part of culture. They are deeply rooted in culture and at the same time contribute a great deal to the formation of people’s concepts about certain objects. These elements, when involved in brand name translation, call for the translator’s sensitivity as well as flexibility in cultural adaptation in order that functional equivalence could be attained between the source brand name and the target brand name.
a. Goldlion---------------------------------------“金利来”
To begin with, religious elements often result in the formation of taboos, which people feel offensive to talk about usually because they are believed to be sacred and inviolable or mythical, sinful or filthy. As we know, most Chinese, who have been strongly influenced by the doctrines of Buddhism, regard death and the loss of fortune as very unpleasant topics. This is believed by some people to be a main reason why the famous foreign brand of men’s accessories “Goldlion” was not well-liked when it first appeared in the Chinese market with the name “金狮”. It is said that many people would not buy that product just because the name sounds very close to “金死” in some Chinese dialects. Other people believe that the name was not well accepted because it resembles the sound of “尽输”, which is also a taboo idea in China, especially in Hong Kong, where people display a particular liking for things with luck-bearing names. Anyway, the product did not sell well until the new name “金利来” was adopted by Zeng Xianzi, a famous Chinese entrepreneur. He skillfully took apart the source brand name into “gold” and “lion”. The first part was literally put into “金” to be faithful to the original, while the latter adopted the method of semantic transliteration and was put into “利来”, meaning “bringing profit”. Such an auspicious name has helped a lot in building up the good fame of the product. By contrast, yet some other scholars do not agree that “金狮” is an unfit brand name for the Chinese market, and the most convincing example is that “金狮” is also a prestigious brand name of a Chinese bicycle which once sold extraordinarily well in China. That probably is due to the fact that “金狮” bicycle is made in the mainland while “Goldlion” is made in Hong Kong, where people seem to pay even more attention to good luck than people living in the mainland do. Anyway, the story of “Goldlion” at least shows how important religious elements might be to the translation of brand names.
b. 黑猫------------------------------------- “Black Cat”
Due to the same reason, the English translation of “黑猫” into “Black Cat”(the brand name of a Chinese company in Suzhou selling mobile sprayers, high-pressure cleaners, etc.) is not an adequate name for the countries where people generally believe in Christianity. As we know, Christians regard black cat a taboo image and the word “cat” already implies the meaning of “a mean unpleasant woman”. Similarly, the Chinese brand name “熊猫” should not adopt a literal translation in Islamic countries, for to Islamic people, panda resembles pigs in appearance and pigs are seen to be filthy. All these should be taken into account in the process of the translator’s choice making so that the target brand names could be culturally accepted.
c. 凤凰------------------------------------“phoenix”
Myths and legends are sometimes used in brand names. There was an old Chinese brand for bicycle called “凤凰”. The name sounds pleasant to the Chinese because phoenix, an imaginary bird, foretells a peaceful world. While in English, phoenix has a different symbolic meaning. According to Oxford Concise Dictionary of English Etymology, phoenix is a “mythical bird of gorgeous plumage living for centuries in the Arabian Desert, then burning itself to ashes, from which it emerged with renewed youth” (2000:350). The different connotations of “凤凰” and “phoenix” in the two cultures lead to heated debate about the translation of this Chinese brand name. Some people, who clearly show more concern for the adaptation to target culture, insist that “Phoenix” is not proper for it easily arouses consumers’ association of “a narrow escape”. Others maintain that both source culture and target culture should be considered. On the one hand, the unique Chinese flavor of the brand name should be kept; on the other hand, thanks to the more and more frequent global exchanges, western people have come to understand Chinese culture. Therefore, to the latter group of people, “Phoenix” is no longer a problematic brand name in today’s world market. There is also an website named “火凤凰”, whose English translation “Hope-Phoenix” has been accepted by many people. At this point we also touch upon the dynamics of culture. Whether to choose “Phoenix” or to resort to other methods should be decided after conducting a thorough investigation in the target market.
d. Revlon-------------------------------------- “露华浓”
Many foreign companies have endeavored to make their Chinese brand name more Chinese. Thus they make full use of the images and allusions from Chinese literary works. “Revlon”, the brand name of a foreign cosmetics company is translated into the Chinese “露华浓”. The target brand name has been carefully chosen to cater to the Chinese market: the name, which sounds very close to the pronunciation of the source brand name, seems to be a local Chinese name. And more importantly, the choice of words in the target brand name has purposely intended to meet the aesthetic requirements of the Chinese, especially those who have ever read the poetic lines written by Li Bai, the most genius poet in China’s Tang Dynasty for Yang Guifei, who was the most beloved beauty of the Tang Emperor: “云想衣裳花想容，春风拂揽露华浓”.
e. Luxus--------------------------------------“凌志”
Therefore, the target brand name is the result of the translator’s adaptation to the Chinese culture as well as showing some consideration for the equivalence in pronunciation. Such localization of brand names fulfilled through using also occurs to a Japanese brand name for car: “Luxus”. In order to please the Chinese consumers, the name is put into “凌志”, which is taken from the lines written by the former Chinese leader Mao Zedong: “久有凌云志，重上井冈山”. The target brand name sounds close to the source brand name and expresses the favorable meaning of “lofty ideals”. Besides, due to the charm of the poetic lines, the name sounds attractive and memorable.
4.2.7 Adaptation to age, sex, and race
Brand names, including translated brand names, are a vital choice in marketing strategy. More often than not, a product is targeted at a certain group of consumers. In this case, it is advisable that the brand name translator should take into account the age, sex, and race of the target consumers so as to make sure that his linguistic choices involved in producing an ideal target brand name are adaptable to the above elements. Only when all these elements are seriously examined will it be possible for the target brand name to be culturally accepted or to achieve the desired marketing goal.
The Ayear Group Co. Ltd. in Hong Kong, a leading umbrella producer specializing in the production and sale of umbrellas with fashionable patterns, designed a fantastic umbrella with lights and music for children with the name “Magic Meteor”. In translating the name into Chinese, literal translation was used and the name was simply put into “魔法流星”, which is assumed to be able to bring about a similar effect among Chinese-speaking children. Now that curiosity and imagination are psychological characteristics of children, both the source brand name and the target one cater to the psychological needs of children.
In addition, adaptation to consumers’ age in translator’s linguistic choices may also be one of the reasons why amplification is repeatedly adopted in translating foreign brand names of children’s wear into Chinese, especially those lovely cartoon images. For example, BRUNO is put into “班纳小猪”, “Micky” into “米奇鼠”, and GARFIELD into “加菲猫”. This type of translations is obtained through a combined effort of literal translation and amplification which clearly aims at attracting children, the designated consumers.
Besides the age of consumers, sex is another factor which is believed to be equally important in brand name translation, and this is often embodied in translator’s choice of words. There seems to be a tendency for the translator to choose words which are thought to be more “female”, e.g. “莲”, “雪”, “雅”, “婷”, for products targeted for women, while words which are thought to be more “male”, e.g. “绅”, “顿”, “威”, “士”, are more likely to be chosen for products targeted for men. For instance, the world famous brand names of women’s products like “Italina”, “Mary Kay”, “Lancome” and “Maybelline” are respectively put into “伊泰莲娜”, “玫琳凯”, “兰寇”, and “美宝莲” to fully display women’s tenderness and beauty, while brand names for men’s products like “Lowndes” and “Novell” are put into “罗比登威” and “蓝威龙” to emphasize men’s might and strength. Very often, this difference in diction occurs even when the source brand names share some characteristics in sound or spelling. Everybody knows the celebrated brand name “Gillette” (men’s razor), which is put into “吉列” using transliteration method. Interestingly, another brand name “Belle” (women’s accessories), which shares part of its sound and spelling with “Gillette”, adopts the same method but is put into an utterly different Chinese name “百丽”. The name “列” sounds quite masculine while “丽” seems rather feminine. The difference in diction has been a result of the translator’s high-motivated adaptation to the sexes of consumers.
“Triumph” is also a good illustration of how translator’s linguistic choices in brand name translation are purposefully adaptable with the sex of targeted consumers. “Triumph”, the brand name of women’ underwear, if translated literally into “胜利” or “凯旋”, will not seem attractive to its targeted consumers, and can hardly be associated with female products. Therefore, taking the targeted consumers into account, the translator chooses transliteration with the use of “female” characters: “戴安芬”. Here the literal meaning of the source brand name is sacrificed for the adaptation to the sex of designated consumers so as to achieve another aspect of functional equivalence in translation. What’s more, the famous Chinese brand of men’s shirt “紫罗兰” was once rendered literally into “Pansy”, but the name was soon filtered out for the word “Pansy” is believed to be womanish and “Violet” is used for it. Unfortunately, “Violet”, which easily arouses people’s association of a shy and timid person, does not seem to be a satisfactory translation, either. Therefore, to keep the original flavor of the Chinese name as well as considering the sex of the consumers, some scholars suggest coining a word “Violetex”, using the combination of “Violet” and “texture” to weaken the womanish characteristics as well as hinting at the fine material of the product (Liu Fagong, 2003:69).
Though a lot of examples have been given to stress the importance of adaptation to sexes in brand name translation, exceptions do exist. The world famous French brand name “Montagut”, which is mainly used for men’s wear, is a typical example. Despite the fact that the name is put into “梦特娇”containing a typically feminine Chinese character “娇”, the product remains one of the favorite choices to many Chinese gentlemen. Though “骄” may be a more neutral word to be used here, as we know, promotion of a product is an interdisciplinary task, and thus the inadequacy in brand name translation can sometimes be compensated for by other advertising strategies or the appealing attributes of the product itself. Therefore, the adequacy of brand name translation is not the only means to evaluate the success of the product.
Regarding the sexes of designated consumers, still one thing deserves our attention: nowadays there has been a less clear-cut distinction between products for men and those for women, which might have been the result of the development of the society and the changes in people’s concepts. Despite all that, it is still necessary for the translator to take sexual differences into account, and adjust his translation when needed.
Finally, the race of consumers can also bring about need for translator’s linguistic adaptation in the translation process. A sensitive translator would not use words which show even the slightest tendency of racial discrimination. Otherwise, if a name bearing prejudice against a certain racial group enters the global market, it may certainly cause trouble. “黑人”, a Chinese brand name of toothpaste, was originally translated into “Darkie” to promote its teeth-whitening effect, but what the translator might never have thought of was that the word “Darkie”, just like “negro”, is a contemptuous name for the black people. Consequently, the name incurred a series of complaints that the name amounted to racial discrimination against the black. Besides, the name violated the brand name law of our country. The company was finally forced to adopt another name “Darlie” but the loss in sales of the product could never be made up for. The story of “Darlie” teaches a good lesson: race is an extremely sensitive object and adaptation to it in brand name translation should be handled with great care.

4.2.8 Adaptation to purchasing psychology
Millions of purchases take place everyday. But what has been motivating people to choose certain brands among countless products of the same type, particularly at the first sight of them? As we know, in spite of the variety of products purchased every day, consumers aim at satisfying one or more aspects of their needs, either physiological or psychological. This means whether consciously or unconsciously, consumers expect that the purchase would be able to meet their different needs. When a product first appears in the market, besides its advertising slogans, package, price, advertisements and other related items, brand name is crucially important for leaving a good impression upon people. This is also true of a translated brand name. In order that a translated brand name is acceptable or even appealing to the consumers, a careful assessment of the consumers’ mentality relating certain product should be made. In other words, a thorough investigation should be carried out about consumers’ general expectations for the brand name, which are largely related to the product nature. It is not uncommon for us to find that the brand name translator adapts his linguistic choices to purchasing psychology and consequently many brand names are translated to highlight the high quality, the effectiveness, or the outstanding performance of the product.
Since consumers’ purchasing psychology is closely related to the different natures of products, it might be helpful if we divide common products into the following eight types:
Medicine
When people buy medicines, the first thing that provides information for them is the brand names of the medicines. Very often, the translated names indicate something like the function as well as the effectiveness or instant results of the medicines in order to cater to consumers’ purchasing psychology. In addition, many brand names of medicines made by foreign producers are translated into Chinese through semantic transliteration. For example, “Bufferin”, the brand name of a medicine for cold and flu manufactured by the American Bristol-Myers Squibb company, is put into the Chinese “百服咛”. The translated name does not tell what the medicine is, but implies that symptoms can be relieved after the medicine is taken since “服” means “to take the medicine” and “咛” is homophonic with “宁” meaning “peace”. On the one hand, the choice of the name shows the translator’s consideration of the source brand name since the word “buffer” also means “to lessen” in English; on the other, the name suddenly captures consumers’ attention because it caters to their psychological needs. What’s more, the two Chinese characters combined with “百” help to form a sound which is very close to that of the source brand name. It is not hard to see that its translator carefully adapted his linguistic choices to people’s purchasing psychology and the translation achieves a high degree of functional equivalence to the source brand name. Another foreign brand name of medicine “Coldrex” is put into the Chinese “咳立治”, which literally means “coughs can be cured immediately” in an almost boastful way. Its Chinese translation not only bears a similar sound to the English name but reminds consumers about the medicine’s function at once. Similarly, “Asverin” is put into “安嗽定” meaning “bring coughs under control”, “Legalon” into “利肝灵” meaning “extraordinarily beneficial for liver”, “Dakmane” into “带尔眠” meaning “helping you fall into sleep”, “Hsmanal” into “息斯敏” meaning “relieving allergic reaction”, and “Contac” into “康泰克” meaning “health”, “peace” and “cure”.
By contrast, Chinese medicine producers are not paying equal attention to the translation of their brand names as foreign producers are. “利君沙” is simply put into the Chinese pinyin “Lijunsha”, which means almost nothing to foreign consumers and can provide no information about the product. Also, the name is too long to leave an impression on them. How could they remember a name that they do not even understand? “依研” is a Chinese brand name of medicine for curing chilblain. Though an English name “Silker” is adopted for it, which does not seem to have any unfavorable meaning, it has little to do with the source brand name. Despite the careless translations of Chinese brand names of medicine, it pleases the author to find that a few medicine producers in China have begun to realize the importance of brand name translation. “润洁”, the brand name of eye drops produced by a pharmaceutical factory in China’s Shandong Province, is skillfully put into a coined word “Mioclear”. “Moi” is taken from “moisture”, which conveys the meaning of “润”, and “clear” is the literal translation of “洁”. The whole name sounds like a native English name and also indicates the function of the product. In this way, consumers’ purchasing psychology is to some extent taken into consideration. Besides, it tends to be very rare that a brand name obtained through coinage has been used by other producers, thus the uniqueness of the brand name is guaranteed. Brand names like “Moiclear” are certainly much more memorable to foreign consumers compared with “Lijunsha”, and what’s more, it gives consumers some idea about the product itself and caters to their purchasing psychology.
Food and drinks
When purchasing food and drinks, almost all consumers would expect the products to be delicious so as to satisfy their appetite. Due to this reason, a brand name of this type tends to be more easily accepted if the translator considers consumers’ purchasing psychology by choosing words which hint that the product tastes wonderful. There seems to be no need to give details of how the brand name of the well-known American soft drink “Coca-Cola” was put into the Chinese “可口可乐”. Anyway the name has been universally acknowledged to be an even greater success than the original for its lively rhythm and more importantly, its positive implication “tasty and happy”, which fully displays the translator’s adaptation to consumers’ purchasing psychology. A product with such a name is indeed irresistible to one who is thirsty.
In translating the brand name of another soft drink “Sprite”, the translator, having in mind consumers’ purchasing psychology, gives up Chinese names like “斯必来特” and “小妖精” since neither meets the physiological and psychological needs of consumers. Even a fairly lucky name “事必利” is not proved to be entirely satisfactory probably because the name has little to with the product itself. Finally the name“雪碧” (meaning “as crystal as ice”) is considered most appropriate since to a person who needs a drink, something that is cool and crystal-clear as ice is the best choice. Still many other brand names are translated with emphasis laid on purchasing psychology: “Dumex” being put into “多美滋” (meaning “extremely delicious ”), “Lactov” being put into “乐口福” (meaning “having a gourmet’s luck”), and “Timmy” being put into “添美食” (meaning “more delicious food”), etc.
We have exemplified the importance of adaptation to purchasing psychology in translating brand names of food and drinks, but still one point has to be made clear: though a considerable number of translated brand names highlight the deliciousness of such products, an almost equally large number of names of this type tend to adapt to other aspects of purchasing psychology and almost have nothing to do with their tastes. For instance, “Pepsi-Cola” is put into “百事可乐” meaning “everything is enjoyable”, the Swiss brand name of coffee “Nestle” is put into the Chinese “雀巢” (evoking a favorable association of “great comfort and tender care”), and the Chinese brand name “乐百氏” is put into the English “Robust” (meaning “strong or healthy”), to name just a few.
Cigarettes and liquor
Smoking and drinking are generally believed to be harmful to people’s health. In order to make cigarettes and liquor sell well in the global market, producers rack their brains to create charming names for their products. It is also true of the translated brand names.
The celebrated “Kent” cigarettes got its English names from the acronym of “kiss ever never teach”, while “Marlboro” is said to be the acronym of “men always remember love because of romance only”. Both names are very romantic, but it seems really difficult for the translator to convey an equally romantic sense. Therefore, in order to make up for the loss of the romantic flavor, translators turn to the purchasing psychology of smokers. Thinking that health and wealth might be to the taste of smokers, translators respectively put them into “健牌” (“health”) and “万宝路” (“road to wealth”). (By the way, as is mentioned before, it is not rare to see the translation of a brand name simultaneously adapt to more than one cultural elements: the translators in these two cases have also taken into account the sex