Transfer Of Cultural Connotation In Translation Of Brand Names

As economic globalization intensities, goods circulation has transcended national boundaries, leading to increasing cross-cultural exchanges. Different cultures inevitably influence and mingle with each other. Cultural discrepancies, especially between the West and the East, on the other hand, still exist. As a result, translating is becoming an indispensable part in economic and cultural exchange activities.The brand name is a vital component of a brand. It is not merely a name of product;it also possesses economic values, influencing consumers' psychology and purchasing decision. Besides, brand names have a certain cultural connotation, which can be endowed by producers or can derive from consumers' associations. The same brand name may trigger different associations in customers, depending on their psychology, culture, value tendencies and customs.Translating involves decoding and encoding between two languages, and the embedding of language with culture makes translating integrated with culture. Although the translating targets consist of just words or phrases, translation of brand names has its own characteristics. It is a kind of intercultural communication activity. It involves such factors as language rules, regional cultures, consumption psychology and value tendencies. Accordingly, in this process, translators will unavoidably deal with the transfer of cultural connotation in brand names.This thesis, adopting the methods of description and comparison, quotes instances of brand names translation between the English and Chinese languages. Focusing on the variation of cultural connotation from the source langue, the author classifies the transfer of cultural connotation into three classes, namely positive transfer, zero transfer and negative transfer.Positive transfer means that after translation, the original cultural connotation in the brand name is retained, or the original cultural connotation is positively reflected in the target market culture.Zero transfer implies that the original cultural connotation is not reflected in thetranslated name, or is lost after translation. Instead, the translated brand name tends to assume a new cultural connotation in the local culture, depending on the target consumers' values and attitudes.Negative transfer includes two situations. One refers to the fact that the translated brand name causes a negative effect on consumer's attitude or values towards the product. The other is that after the translation, the cultural connotation is totally lost, and the brand name fails to convey any meaning to consumers of target market.From the theoretical perspective of Functional Equivalence, positive and zero transfer may realize brand names' functions, while negative transfer fails to. Therefore, in practice, translators should avoid negative transfer of cultural connotation. Conversely, by exploring the psychological and cultural factors in potential target consumers, translators should handle the original cultural connotation in the direction of positive transfer or zero transfer.