Translation Of Cosmetic Brand Names From The Functionalist Perspective

Brand name, a part of advertising, is helpful to promote the corporation image and stimulate consumption. Owing to the intensification of competition in the international business, people began to realize the significance of brand name translation. Consequently, there is an increasing urgent need for translation of brand names. Despite the fact that brand name translation has emerged for a long period, there is still a lack of comprehensive and in-depth research, especially on the translation of cosmetic brand names. This thesis attempts to study the translation of cosmetic brand names in a holistic and detailed way with the guidance of functionalist theory of translation.One of the most important rules in the functionalist theory is the Skopos rule. Being the top-ranking rule, it means that a translational action is determined by its Skopos, that is, the end justifies the means. As the cosmetic brand names should arouse the interest of the consumers and preserve the aesthetic value, first concern of the translation of cosmetic brand names should be given to the vocative function.Having a glimpse of the research on translation of brand names, the thesis goes to explore the definition, formation and functions of cosmetic brand names. In the light of functionalist theory, the informative function, aesthetic function and vocative function, along with the positioning of the cosmetic brand names, call for the factors such as consumer psychology, culture and aesthetics to be considered in the translation of cosmetic brand names. By analyzing the translation of cosmetic brand names randomly collected from supermarkets, department stores and websites, their translation strategies (linguistic relevance strategy and product relevance strategy) and translation methods (transliteration, literal translation, transliteration and literal translation, and adaptation) are suggested. Besides, being the main approaches to realize and preserve the aesthetic values of cosmetic brand names, diction and the choice of rhythm and tones are researched and explained.