英语专业毕业论文-浅谈功能对等理论在广告翻译中的应用

Application of Functional Equivalence Theory in

Advertisement Translation

薛莹

A thesis presented to the School of English Studies of

Xi?an International Studies University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

Bachelor of Arts

May 18, 2012

Class: 2008-16

Advisor: 张倩

西安外国语大学

毕业论文开题报告

姓名安果英性别女单位河北省张北县西关街小学论文题目:

浅谈功能对等理论在广告翻译中的应用

Application of Functional Equivalence Theory in Advertisement Translation

论文主要内容及参考文献:

在现代商业社会，广告随处可见。随着经济全球化的进行，各国产品开始在世界范围内流通，广告的翻译对产品的宣传与推广都起到了至关重要的作用。广告本

身作为产品的一种主要促销手段，其目的就是引起消费者的注意，促使他们去购买广告中宣传的产品和服务。尽管已有许多人对广告翻译进行了大量的研究、实践，然而该领域却仍有改进的空间。本论文，从语言学角度，联系翻译学的相关知识，根据奈达的功能对等理论研究广告的翻译，以期能给广告翻译带来一定专业、学术的指导。

Chen, Ping. Modern Chinese. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Katan, D.. Translating Cultures: An Introduction for Translators, Interpreters and

Mediators. Manchester: St. Jerome Publishing, 2004.

Newmark, P.. A Textbook of Translation. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language

Education Press, 2001.

Nida, Eugene A.. Language, Culture, and Translating. Shanghai

Foreign Language

Education Press, 1993.

Shuttleworth, Mark, and Moira Cowie. Dictionary of Translation Study. Shanghai:

Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, 2004.

连淑能.《英汉对比研究》. 北京: 高等教育出版社，2002.

指导教师 (签名)

年月日

浅谈功能对等理论在广告翻译中的应用

摘要:

在现代商业社会，广告随处可见，它已渗透到社会生活的各个角落。随着经济全球化的进行，各国产品开始在世界范围内流通。广告的翻译对产品的宣传与推广都起到了至关重要的作用。广告本身作为产品的一种主要促销手段，其目的就是引起消费者的注意，促使他们去购买广告中宣传的产品和服务。尽管已有许多人对广告翻译进行了大量的研究、实践，然而该领域却仍有改进的空间。就广告翻译应当采用的理论依据，不同的学派持有不同的观点。广告功能的特殊性决定了广告翻译的原则，本文认为功能对等理论是广告翻译的指导原则，而且在广告翻译中，对等可以达到三个层面，即词汇对等，句法对等和修辞对等。本论文，从语言学角度，联系翻译学的相关知识，根据奈达的功能对等理论研究广告的翻译，以期能给广告翻译带来一定专业、学术的指导。

关键词:

语言学;功能对等;广告翻译

Application of Functional Equivalence Theory in

Advertisement Translation

Abstract:

Advertisements can be seen everywhere in the commercial society.

With the economic globalization, products from different countries are competing in the international markets; therefore, advertisement translation plays an important role in the publicity and spread of the products. As a main method of promoting sales, the main purpose of advertisements is to draw consumers? attention and stimulate them to purchase the product or service. Although many people have done many researches in the field of advertisement translation, it also needs several theoretical improvements. Different schools hold different views

on the guiding principle of advertisement translation. This thesis holds the view that Functional Equivalence Theory should be viewed as the main principle of translating advertisements, which depends on the unique features of advertisements. The application of Functional Equivalence Theory in advertisement translation should be achieved at three levels, namely, lexical, syntactic and rhetorical level. This paper, from the perspective of Linguistics, connecting Translation, attempts to study advertisement translation on the basis of Functional Equivalence Theory, put forward by Nida, and deduce some practical methods of advertisement translation under the guidance of it, hoping to give some theoretical and methodological reference for advertisement translation.

Key Words:

Linguistic; functional equivalence; advertisement translation

Table of contents

Introduction ........................................................... (6)

1.1 General

Introduction ........................................................... .. (6)

1.2 Literature

review ................................................................. . (6)

1.3 Thesis

Statement .............................................................. ............................ 8 2. Advertisement Development and Features of.. (10)

2.1 The development of

advertisement .......................................................... . (10)

2.2 Features of Advertisement

Language (11)

3. Three Requirements for Functional Equivalence Theory Applied in

Translation ............................................................ (14)

3.1

Naturalness ............................................................ . (14)

3.2

Accuracy ............................................................... .. (15)

3. 3

Conciseness ............................................................ ................................... 15 4. Strategies for Advertisement Translation ............................................................ .. 17

4.1 Equivalence at Lexical

Level .................................................................. . (17)

4.2 Equivalence at Syntactic

Level ...................................................................

4.3 Equivalence at Rhetoric

Level .................................................................. .. 19 5.

Conclusion ............................................................. ............................................. 21 Works

Cited .................................................................. (23)

1. Introduction

1.1 General Introduction

It is well known that advertisements have become a very important

and indispensable part of our life. Nowadays, we live in a world full of advertisements. We can see them everywhere. It is a main method of promoting products or services. The main function of advertising is informing and persuading.

Advertisement translation, as a type of communication, is receiving more and more attention than ever before. Advertisement is a practical text style, quite different from common literary works, with a very unique purpose of attracting consumers? interest and persuading them to

take action. As we all know, no matter in what way to translate the advertisements, this only purpose has never changed. However, many advertisements are still translated under the guidance of traditional theories; little attention has been paid to the purpose of the advertisement. Many obvious problems exist in the translation. Firstly,

a lot of advertisement translation adapts a word-to-word translation approach. The order and meaning of the source language is faithfully preserved without considering the features in advertisement language. Moreover, the principle of translation is source-text-oriented, without considering the purpose of the advertisement language. Therefore, the translation is inadequate. The translated versions of advertisements are very hard to be understood or accepted by consumers, needless to say informing and persuading.

Under these circumstances, the function and purpose of advertisement language should be paid more attention. It is necessary to search for a theory to guide the advertisement translation under which the strategies should be researched to show their applicability. The “Functional Equivalence Theory” is just the right one.

1.2 Literature review

After centuries of heated debates about literal and free translation, scholars in the 1950s and 1960s began to attempt more systematic

analysis of translation. The

most prominent issue was about meaning and equivalence.

P. Newmark holds that translation theory derives from comparative linguistics and sociolinguistics, which investigates the social

registers of language and the problems of languages in contact in the same or neighboring countries. After his careful observation of translation process, he proposes “semantic translation” and “communicative translation” (N ewmark 38). Although there are quite a lot of

differences between semantic translation and communicative translation, they have something in common at a more general level: both of them require that “the

translator has to respect and work on the form of the source language text as the only material basis for his work” (Newmark 39).

In comparison with Newmark?s translation theory in which linguistic analysis is

taken only as an approach to achieving translation purposes, Catford lays his translation theory entirely on the base of linguistics. He defines translation as the replacement of textual material in one language (SL) by equivalent textual material in another language (TL) and puts forward “formal correspondence” and “textual

equivalence”. He holds that “since translation has to do with language, the analysis

and description of translation must make considerable use of categories set up for the description language. It must, in other words,

draw upon a theory of language---a general linguistic theo ry” (Catford 1).

While Eugene A. Nida and Taber think “translating consists in reproducing in the

receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the source-language message”

(Nida & Taber 37) Nida defines translating, the process of

translation as “decoding

the meaning of a text in one language and encoding it into a

different language, often reflecting a quite different culture.” He classifies Catford?s linguistics-based

translation theory as a “strictly linguistic approach to translating”, which focuses

much upon the structures of source and target language (Nida 7). In order to overcome the narrowness of this approach, he proposes a communication theory of translating, in which focus is given upon the source, the form, the content of the message, the receptors, the setting of the communication, the media, and so on, instead of mere verbal message, in order to achieve the purpose of verbal

communication. Therefore, the closest natural equivalent must be found to match the message in SL text. Such kind of equivalence is named by Nida as Functional Equivalence, which means that the receptors of the message in the receptor language respond to it substantially in the same manner as the receptors in the source language.

Functional theories in 1970s and 1980s mark a move toward a functionalist and communicative approach to the analysis of translation. The functional equivalence theory of Nida is tremendously influential since his work is the move towards a functional definition of meaning where a word is meaningful only in its cultural context. The functional equivalence theory has widely been applied to the study of translation works, and these studies are mainly focused on literature translation. Functional Equivalence Theory must be based on analysis of the message embedded in source and target languages. In other words, no functional equivalence can be achieved without adequate analysis of the languages involved in translation process.

To sum up, the traditional studies of advertisement translation are mainly included in literature translation, which investigate the style of advertisements through analysis of the lexical and syntactic features and probe into the translation approaches with contrast between the English and Chinese styles of advertisements. Unfortunately, it is largely neglected to study the translation of product advertisements in relation to the theory of functional equivalence. This thesis tries to link the wording of advertisements with its actual context and meaning, and attempts to examine how functional equivalence is reflected in the translation of advertisements in the hope of deepening the understanding of advertisement translation and the theory of functional equivalence.

1.3 Thesis Statement

Since the author pointed the importance of the advertisement translation above, there are some problems we are faced with in the process of translating. Different schools hold different views on the principle of advertisement translation. This paper will focus on Eugene Nida?s Functional Equivalence Theory and introduce this theory in detail and give some examples at the same time. And the author will analyze the current strategies of advertisement translation. Moreover, this

paper will list two reasons and cite many examples to illustrate that functional equivalence should be viewed as the principle of advertisement translation. This paper will further argue that functional equivalence could be achieved at three levels in advertising translation, namely, lexical, syntactic and rhetoric level. At last, the author will conclude that Functional Equivalence Theory is the main principle in advertisement translation.

2. Advertisement Development and Features of

Advertisement Language

Advertisement is around us all the time. Whenever we read a newspaper or a magazine, on the TV, or on the computer and so on, we are confronted with advertisements. However, how is advertisement developed? What are the functions and language features of advertisement? And what are the methods applied in advertisement translation? These are the questions which we must have a good understanding.

2.1 The development of advertisement

The embryonic form of advertising in the world is street cries,

which exist even today. The origin of advertisement dates back to thousands of years ago when the first known methods of advertising was an outdoor display, usually a sign or an announcement on the wall of a building. Such primitive advertisements offered various commodities for sale and rent. Advertising was not unknown in ancient Greece and Rome, but advertising as were cognize did not start until the seventeenth century in the West. It was at about this time that newspaper began to circulate. Before that, it is printing which was first invented in China and then introduced to the West that played a vital role in the production of print advertising. Small types of advertising were dominant before the nineteenth century and the style and language used in ads at that time tended to be direct and informative. The Industrial Revolution, which began in England in the mid-1700s and reached the United States by the early 1800s, facilitated mass-production of goods. Meanwhile, advertising became more and more important in the industrial market. The great breakthrough for advertising came only in the late nineteenth century. Technology and mass-production techniques were then sufficiently developed for more firms to be able to turn out products of roughly the same quality and at roughly the same price. This brought on a crisis of over-production and under-consumption which meant that the market needed to be stimulated by advertising. In the 1 950s, television came to our life which developed

so fast that it became the main media to spread the advertisements. Today advertising is playing a more and more important role in our daily lives. As China is deepening its opening up to the outside world, especially after joining WTO, the international economic activities develop rapidly and the international advertisements also need to keep the pace of development. As a result, advertisement has grown vigorously, so there is a strong need for efficient international advertising communication. Our daily

life has been greatly changed by it. Advertisements have seeped into nearly every aspect of our life, and there is no doubt that our attitudes, values and knowledge all have been affected by them to some degree. As time goes by, more and more advertisements appear to us and a good translation of them to open the door to commercial communication is

a must.

2.2 Features of Advertisement Language

Advertisement language features are very special, because of its unique purpose, so it is necessary for us to make it clear before we begin to translate them. 2.2.1 Lexical Features

Since the key role of advertisement is to persuade the potential consumers to know the utmost quality of the product and have a need for them, thus the lexical features of advertisement are greatly different from that of other types of writing. First, creating new words to

attract attention is the main feature in advertisement language by misspelling and free-compounding. In advertisements, advertisers

sometimes misspell some words deliberately so as to reach the aim of attracting readers? attention

and enhancing them to take action. For example, 百“衣”百顺(百依百顺)--- a

creative slogan about iron, which vividly describes the

characteristic of the production directly and motivates the consumers to wonder more about the information of it and maybe consumers are all curious about whether the quality of it is real or not so they have potential motivation to have a try. New words and phrases coined by means of imitation or by free compounding are invariably met in advertisements. Many words in advertisements, especially in trade names, are words newly coined, or deliberately misspelled and abbreviated. The case in this point is the advertisement about a

cigarette named Marlboro, which is abbreviated by the sentence--- “Man Always

Remember Love Because Of Romantic Occasion”. This newly-created word has

already been accepted by most of people and everyone can be

attracted by the beautiful sentence and remember this new brand easily. Another example is about a juice advertisement: “the Orangemostest Drink in the world”. This newly coined word

“Orangemostest” is deliberately created by the advertiser, which consists of three parts: orange, most and est. It is well known and welcomed by the old and the young

for its nutrition and high quality. Two superlatives “most” and “est” are added to

orange so as to stress the best quality of this product. Creating new words of this kind is used intentionally to suggest that the product being advertised possesses some special qualities as well as the value of creativity and interest. Second, in advertisements, flexible use of compound can be found everywhere in advertisements. As the composing parts can belong to any word class and their combination is not restricted to the word order, its usage is flexible and changeable. For example: “From

a heavyweight, comes the latest lightweight”--- an earphone designed by Sony. These

two antonym compounds “heavyweight” and “lightweight” highlight the quality of this production and the flexible use of compounds of this kind can make the advertising language colloquial, thus leaving a particular impression on readers? mind.

2.2.2 Syntactic features

“Advertising language is required to be precise and it has its own characteristics in syntax compared with other types of writing” (Baker 49). In the following, the author

will elaborate them in detail. The pattern of simple sentence is the most prominent feature in advertisement, like imperative sentence and elliptical sentence. “Imperatives sending out appeals, suggestions or

requests are concise and forceful, which can contribute to triggering a ready response among the readers” (Bell 77). For

example: “Take TOSHIBA, take the world”----“ 拥有东芝，拥有世界”. “Obey your

thirst”. “服从你的渴望(雪碧)”. Advertisement language must be persuasive and

economical which requires that advertisers should use direct and

brief language. In order to carry as much information in a most concise manner, the admen normally make good use of elliptical sentences. Usually, an ellipse can be a sentence that omits

object, predicate or other components. For example: “Connecting People. (Nokia) 科

技以人为本.” “Safe, Easy, Quick and with Fun” ---- This is an expression made up of

three adjectives and an adverbial group(It can be comprehended like this:Using this

production is safe, easy, quick and with fun. Compared with the changed one with the original one, it is easy to find that the

elliptical sentences are more brief and forceful, thus more fascinating to readers.

2.2.3 Rhetorical features

Rhetoric may serve several functions in advertisement, like

attracting attentions, generating a positive mood, or communicating the essence of a message in a fast and effective way vividly. Moreover, the

creative use of rhetoric in advertising language may result in advertisements which are emotionally alive, intellectually appealing and unforgettable. Repetition and metaphor are the main techniques using in advertisement language. Repetition is used to emphasize a point and leave readers a great and deep impression. For example: “You can?t Xerox a Xerox on a

Xerox”---Xerox copier. In this advertisement, “Xerox” is repeated 3 times. The

repetition of the word leaves a deep impression on its readers and urges them to discover more about the product advertised. Also, metaphor is widely used in advertisement language. Advertisements become more appealing and eye-catching with the help of it, just like a glasses advertisement--- “Featherwater, light as a

feather” (Featherwater 眼镜，轻如羽毛).

In general, advertisement language is quite different from other genres. In order to be concise, simple and easy to remember, it has its own linguistic features on lexical, syntactic and rhetoric levels respectively.

3. Three Requirements for Functional Equivalence Theory

Applied in Advertisement Translation

The soul of all principles and sta ndards is “faithfulness”. Acknowledging

the vital importance of “faithfulness”, Eugene A. Nida proposed a new principle

of translation---functional equivalence, which aims at producing a translation which is the closest natural equivalent to the original message, so as to be as distinctly understood and strongly felt by the target language receptors as by the source language receptors. His concept of translation is expressed in the following statement, “translating consists in reproducing in the receptor

language the closest natural equivalent of the source language message, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style”(Nida 12). In the concept of

closest natural equivalent, it also has three requirements in

guiding the translation.

3.1 Naturalness

Nida?s functional equivalence requires that ……translating consists

in reproducing

in the receptor language the closest natural equivalent of the

source language, first in terms of meaning and secondly in terms of style” (Nida & Taber 12). By “natural”,

Nida explains that “the best translation does not sound like a translation” (Nida,

Taber 13). In advertising translating, in order to get rid of “translationese” (Katan 9),

which means that in translation version, a strong feeling about

word-for-word transformation let readers feel strange and

incomprehensible. Being natural is the first priority of realizing functional equivalence in advertising translating and it?s a must to let target audience acceptable, so we should use a natural translation version so as to avoid any trace of strangeness in grammar and style in the translations. The ignorance of common expressions in English advertising may lead to the occurrence of “Chinglish”. For example, the translation of the Chinese phrase “保质期” is in confusion in China. Some people translated it into “preservation period” or “quality

guarantee period”, which are not natural at a11. Some foreigners may feel confused

when they see this translation and the idiomatic English expressions for it are “shelf

life” or “storage life”. Because of the cultural differences between China and

American, this problem is very usual and can be found everywhere around us. As an admen, what you pursuit is to let readers know the information of your products exactly and have passion and interest to buy them, so misunderstanding and confusions about your products must have a negative influence on your products; thus, your advertisement translation must be a failure.

3.2 Accuracy

By the word “accuracy” we mean that the ad vertising translation should

transmit the message of the source language correctly. Otherwise the message would be distorted and would be difficult to realize functional equivalence. The original translation was trying to preserve formal correspondence of the original, therefore，the

translation is rigid. The example shows this problem----in

translating the advertisement “Connecting People. (Nokia)” with the meaning “连接你我”, thus,

which cannot express the actual quality of the Nokia mobile phone. No matter what kind of cellophanes can achieve at this level and let readers have nothing serious about it, while this translation version “科技以人为本”, which can exactly describe

the attractive features of this brand. It is the best choice.

3. 3 Conciseness

The conciseness of advertising translation demands that the translated version should both be simple and brief, brief in wording and simple in syntax. Since advertising is to face audience with different educational backgrounds; the use of uncommon words, big words and complex sentences will hinder them from quick understanding, thus impossible to stimulate their interest for the products. For example: Source text: “Night of Olay is a special night cream, created to make the most of the magic of the night. It is greaseless and remarkably light to touch, a sheer pleasure on your skin, allowing it to breathe naturally while it absorbs this special