Multi-perspectives On Brand Name Translation

Advertising is pervasive in our life, especially in the trade fields targeting foreign markets. This gives birth to BNT (Brand Name Translation), and naturally the research on BNT also becomes the province of bilingual scholars and experts. Many have dwelled on this topic from various disciplines, such as semiotics and aesthetics. This thesis revisits BNT from a pragmatic perspective of adaptation.After the survey of the translations of more than 200 brand names on the markets home and abroad, this paper probes into the brand name translation and strategies based on Skopostheorie and Adaptation Theory, both of which are new guiding to the study of brand name translation, different form other major previous articles based on the theory of equivalence. Skopostheorie suggests combining and reasonable adopting of translating strategies and methods from the Skopos of product-oriented and/or consumer-oriented perspective, and the target brand names could bring the target-audiences the positive association. This is just the point of intersection with another important theory—Adaptation Theory in this paper, revisiting BNT process and strategies from a pragmatic perspective of adaptation.On the strength of the Adaptation Theory proposed by Verschueren, this paper investigates the translator's language usage from a pragmatic perspective. Translating brand name is, in nature, a whole dynamic process of adaptation in various aspects to produce the ideal target brand names, either linguistic adaptation or extra-linguistic adaptation. In effect, the translator must also grapple extra-linguistic motivations and constraints.In practice, the decision-making goes through the entire process of translating brand names, which is a linguistic, artistic, strategic, and creative endeavor. To adapt or not to adapt on the part of the translator determines the fate of the translated brand names in the target market context. The translated brand name is the result of the translator's adaptation to the linguistic as well as extra-linguistic parameters in translation.This paper is to serve as a reference for future research on BNT from multi-perspectives.