英文广告标语及其翻译

英文广告标语及其翻译

On the English Advertising Slogan and Its Translation

Contents

Abstract (in English)

Abstract (in Chinese)

1. Introduction

2. Language Features of the English Advertising Slogan

2.1 Feature One: short and simple

2.2 Feature Two: unique and creative

2.3 Feature Three: rich in rhetorical devices

I

II

1

4

4

6

7

3. Functions of the English Advertising Slogan

3.1 Function One: to tell about a product

3.2 Function Two: to give information about the producer

3.3 Function Three: to enhance brand value and promote profits

11

11

11

12

4.

The

Main

Translation

T

echniques

of

the

English

Advertising Slogan

4.1 Literal translation

4.2 Free translation

16

16

18

4.3 Domestication translation

19

5. Conclusion

Works cited

摘要

21

24

随着经济全球化和世界一 体化的快速发展，

中国与世界其他国家间的贸易量也日

益增长。

与此同时，

广告业繁荣发展。

广告标语及其翻译，

作为一则广告不可

或缺的 成分，

毋庸置疑，

在推动经济贸易发展和促进产品或者服务销售 方面起着

越来越重要的作用。

在前人 对于广告标语翻译研究成果的基础上，本论文就英

文广告标语及其翻译这一主题展开详细 探讨。

本论文由五个部分组成。

< /p>

论文的

第一部分，主要对于英文广告标语的发展和研究相关背景做 了一个简短的介绍。

第二部分和第三部分，

< br>主要介绍了英文广告标语的主要语言特点和功能，

同时结

合英文广告标语实例给以详细阐释。

第四部分，则主要在前人 研究成果的基础

上，

并结合各种典型的英文广告标语实例，

分析总结整理出了几种最为常用的英

文广告标语的翻译方法，主要包 括：直译，意译，归化翻译，运用修辞法

,

套译

和补偿法。

本论文的最后一个部分是总结部分并阐明英文广告标语及其翻译的

未来研究方向。< /p>

关键词：

英 文广告标语；语言特点；功能；翻译技巧

Abstract

With the rapid development of economic globalization and integration in

the whole world, the trade between China and the other countries all over

the

world

increases

day by day.

Meanwhile,

the

advertising

industry

is

booming. As the essential part of an advertisement, the advertising slogan

as well as its translation undoubtedly plays a more and more critical role

in

boosting

economical

trade

and

increasing

product

or

service

sales.

Based

on

the

previous

studies

made

on

advertisement

translation,

this

paper

is

trying

to

make

a

detailed

study

exclusively

on

the

English

advertising slogan and its translation. There are five parts in the paper. In

the

first

part,

a

brief

introduction

to

the

background

related

to

the

development and the study of the English advertising slogan is provided.

In the second and third part, the major language features and functions of

the English advertising slogans are focused upon and expounded through

some

examples.

In

the

forth

part,

with

the

help

of

some

illustrative

examples, it will concentrate on the translation techniques of the English

adverting

slogan,

including

literal

translation,

free

translation,

domestication

translation,

rhetorical

method,

loan

translation

and

compensation.

In

the

last

part,

we

will

make

a

summary

of

the

whole

paper and a discussion on the future directions of research.

Key

words:

English

advertising

slogan

；

language

features

；

functions

；

translation techniques

1. Introduction

Recently,

with

the

rapid

development

of

economic

globalization,

China?s

entry

into

WTO

and

the

constant

improvement

of

people?s

commodity

consciousness,

advertisement

plays

a

more

and

more

significant role in propelling economic growth. As the book “

Advertising:

Principles

and

Practice

”

written

by

Wells

William

points

out,

“Advertising provides informati

on that helps match buyers and sellers in

the marketplace.”

B

ased on his years? advertisement creation experience,

David Ogrily, a famous advertising expert, summarizes that the number

of people who only read the slogan of an advertisement is five times more

than those who would read the whole part. For the enterprises especially,

if their advertising slogan fails, eighty percent of their advertising fee

is

by

all

means

wasted.

As

the

central

part

of

an

advertisement,

the

advertising

slogan

does

not

merely

convey

the

most

important

information about the product advertised, it also shows people the unique

quality of its producer. No matter in terms of the basic creation principles

or

the

linguistic

features

of

the

advertisement

translation,

what

can

be

easily

seen

is

the

unique

advantages

in

advertisement

making

and

the

great significance of a good advertising slogan. Therefore it is worth that

we pay sufficient attention to the study on the advertising slogan and its

translation.

As

an

essential

part,

the

English

advertising

slogan

and

its

translation is the focus of this paper.

2. Language Features of the English Advertising Slogan

According to the wikipedia, the advertising slogan,

“as a secondary

sentence attached to a

brand name, is short but memorable phrases used

in

advertising

campaigns

and

is

often

claimed

to

be

the

most

effective

means

of

drawing

attention

to

one

or

more

aspects

of

a

product.”

Its

purpose

is

to

directly

popularize

a

product

that

the

company

hopes

to

impress

consumers,

and

to

indirectly

show

the

corporate

image

and

managing

tenet

of

the

producer.

Clearly,

the

advertising

slogan

plays

a

great role in competitions between companies.

2.1. Feature One: short and simple

The

advertising

slogan

is

usually

short,

simple,

direct,

concise,

crisp and apt, which visually helps people distinguish

and memorize. The

advertising slogan can never afford to be long and complicated. It is easy

to conclude that almost all the good advertising slogans share this feature.

For example,

a)

Nike: Just do it.

b)

Nestle: It?s the taste!

c)

Apple computer: think different.

2.2. Feature Two: unique and creative

The advertising slogan often features uniqueness and creativity by

various means, which not only imply a distinction between the advertised

product

and

the

other

ones,

but

also

easily

impress

the

potential

consumers. As we all know, people tend to be tried of the common- used

things but be interested in the new ones, so the difference and novelty of

the ad

vertising slogan, undoubtedly, can vastly satisfy people?s curiosity

and

motivate

them

to

try

the

new

product.

Here

are

some

typical

examples,

a)

Louis Vuitton: Epileather.

b)

Burton Menswear: Everywear.

c)

Financial Times: No FT, no comment.

d)

IBM: I think, therefore IBM.

2.3. Feature Three: rich in rhetorical devices

Linguistically,

the

advertising

slogan

often

applies

a

variety

of

rhetorical

devices

such

as

alliteration,

figuration

and

pun.

On

the

one

hand,

use

of

the

rhetorical

devices

strengthens

the

effect

of

an

advertisement by making the advertising language more colorful; on the

other hand, with the consumers? impression on the brand intensified, their

consumption inclination will be inevitably influenced and guided to some

extent, that is, the sales of the advertised product will probably increase at

last. Here are some examples,

a)

Kenco Really Rich Coffee: Get Rich quick.

b)

Finish Detergent: Brilliant cleaning starts with Finish.

c)

Greyhound: Greyhound going great.

d)

Fila: Functional... Fashionable... Formidable...

3. Functions of the English Advertising Slogan

A

good

understanding

of

the

language

features

of

the

English

advertising slogan helps create satisfying advertising slogans.

It is known

that in order to promote sales, every company

spares no money for a good

advertising slogan.

In fact, the real reason why they take it so seriously

lies in its functions. Here four main functions are summarized.

3.1. Function One: to tell about a product

Above

all,

a

function

of

the

English

advertising

slogan

is

to

tell

consumers what a certain product is about. However, what a really good