Phone Advertisement Translation From The Perspective Of Variational Translation Theory

Today’s world is witnessing significant growth in the volume of Chinese smartphones as a result of the rapid iteration of science and technology,as well as the development of Chinese production technology.With the current saturated domestic market,Chinese major smartphone manufacturers have gradually gone abroad and established their brands overseas.Advertisement translation(ad translation),crucial in boosting international sales and strengthening the brand image,should garner increased attention.This thesis collects phone ads in both Chinese and English from the websites of five local phone manufacturers(Xiaomi,Oppo,Vivo,Honor,and One Plus)and analyzes them using four adaptation methods,including selected translation,altered translation,narrated translation,and annotated translation,at four levels of variational translation(word and phrase,sentence,paragraph,and textual).Attempts have been made to discover the causes for adapting,the method for adapting,the topic for adapting,and the outcome of adapting.The following are the conclusions:1.The ad translation neither can nor needs to fully retain the content of the original text,and the source information is generally conveyed by the conversion of content or form.Differences between Chinese and English,both in culture and language,determine that Chinese imagery and content,sentence logic,or cohesion can hardly be faithfully preserved in English.Therefore,communication of the key information,instead of formal matching of the source text,should be the primary goal of the translation.2.The translator is critical in translation.Since the conversion of ad translation is inevitably accompanied by an absence of information,the translator is responsible for the original text and should fully consider the value of the text information,cultural differences,political factors,readers’ aesthetic tendency,and their vision of expectation,etc.They should select,retain or reshape the text information,conveying the essence of the original text,so as to realize the value of the translation.3.Readers’ acceptance of advertisements is the standard for judging ad translation.The function of an ad translation text is not only to deliver the source information but also to restore the artistic or commercial value of the original text and satisfy the aesthetic preferences of the target audience through images and artistic language.