A Study Of Advertisement Translation From Relevance-Adaptation Perspective

With the rapid development of global economy, advertisements have become anindispensable part in commercial activity. Advertisement translation, as a major meansfor an enterprise to engage in cross-national trade and establish brand images, plays animportant role in international trade. Therefore, the study on advertisement translation isa hotspot of practical significance. The traditional Chinese translation principle ofXin-Da-Ya, equivalence translation theory and functionalist translation theory in theWest have been widely applied in the field of translation, some fruitful achievementshave been made. However, these principles and theories are under much controversybecause they confine and trap the translator to some extent, which is not conducive tothe development of advertisement translation theories and practice, thus hindering theinternational commercial and cultural exchanges.Because of the uniqueness of advertisement language, during the process ofadvertisement translation, the translator has to take into consideration both the intendedmeaning in the original advertisement and the linguistic, social, cultural and mentalreality of the target consumers. In this thesis, on the basis of previous studies, the authorattempts to construct a new translation model—the Relevance-Adaptation-based modelon advertisement translation for the purpose of better studying and interpreting theadvertisement translating process with a desire to render service for the development ofcommodity economy.The Relevance-Adaptation-based model on advertisement translation is a dynamicresearch model constructed on the basis of Relevance Theory by Sperber&Wilson(2001) as well as Adaptation Theory by Verschueren (2000). From the perspective ofRelevance-Adaptation, translation is both a relevance-searching ostensive-inferentialprocess and a dynamic process of adaptation. The translator searches for optimal relevance in the original cognitive context and makes dynamic adaptation in the targetcontext. The whole translation process is a translator-centered cross-culturalcommunication. The translator first infers the informative intention and communicativeintention intended by the original writer. Under the guidance of optimal relevance andthe properties of variability, negotiability and adaptability of a language, the translator,then makes dynamic adaptation in linguistic level and context level to ensure that thetarget audience can achieve enough contextual effect with proper effort and finally torealize the success of cross-cultural communication.Advertisement translation is a cross-cultural communicative act with strong senseof purpose. Due to the differences in language, socio-cultural background and cognitiveenvironment between the two sides of communicators, the cognitive effect toward thesame advertisement text is different, so the role and function of the translator isunderlined. Under the Relevance-Adaptation-based model on advertisement translation,the translator infers from the original advertisement the commodity information and thecommodity-promotion intention intended by the original advertisement writer, andmakes dynamic language choices according to the language-using features and thesocial, cultural and mental world of the target consumers. A translated advertisementwhich has optimal relevance to the original text and conforms to the acceptance andaesthetic expectation of the target consumers is certain to achieve satisfactory effect incommodity publicity and promotion and wins excellent brand reputation andcommercial benefits in international market.