Skopos And Cooperation

With the great development of economic globalization and China's entry into the WTO, an increasing number of foreign commodities have gained access to China's huge market. In the meantime, the products and services provided by the Chinese enterprises have also marched into the international market. As the competition among different enterprises is getting fierce, these providers have to not only improve the quality of their commodities, but also attach more importance to their brand names. Being the same as the original, a well translated brand name is of much significance to the success of marketing in a foreign country.Ever since the 1990s, some scholars have made earnest research on the subject of brand name translation. Their research has touched on the following disciplines: linguistics, aesthetics, psychology, semiology, marketing, etc. Despite these achievements, the brand name translation is still far from being satisfactory. The former translation standards, i.e. "faithfulness, smoothness, elegance" and the frequently mentioned equivalence principle fall short of meeting the special requirements of brand name translation. Since brand name translation is highly pragmatic, the ultimate goal of such a purposeful activity is to persuade consumers to buy the products or services. Therefore, it is necessary to combine the peculiar purpose of a brand name with the relative translation theories in the process of brand name translation.As an important supplement to and a major breakthrough in the research of translation theory, the functionalist translation theories advanced by Reiss, Vermeer, Nord, etc. have provided us with a new perspective in brand name translation. In order to achieve the goal, some principles should be observed, such as Grice's Cooperative Principle.This thesis takes the Skopostheorie as guide, together with the Cooperative Principle, analyzes and explains these factors to which the translator should pay attention, especially the legal restrictions and the specific characteristics of the products or services. By means of analyzing cases, either successful or failed, it suggests the brand name translation had better imply their underlying features.Apart from that, it summarizes some creative translation techniques as well as those traditional ones. In the end, the author herself applies these effective techniques to translate some brand names, just as illustration.This thesis is expected to offer a new perspective for brand name translation, and to seduce more constructive advice and suggestions for others.