Abstract:With the acceleration of economic globalization and China’s entry into WTO, more and more foreign products are being launched into the China’s market. So, in order to promote economic and cultural exchanges, translating foreign commercial advertisement successfully into Chinese has never been more imperative and vital than today. The translation of a commercial advertisement consists of two parts: brand name translating and advertising slogan translating. Only when the translation of these two parts is done successfully can it help to boost the sales of the product and to build up the image of a company. The translations process is a kind of intercultural communication. It involves such factors as linguistic laws, cultural psychology, and aesthetic values. A successful translation of an advertisement should not only transfer the information concerning the commodity or service, but also transfer its cultural significance to the audience in the target culture. 

When doing international business, the translation of a commodity’s brand name or its advertising slogan will be the first task facing many foreign companies, especially for those aiming at developing countries like China. A well-translated advertisement will be valuable invisible benefit for companies.

  This thesis concentrates on how does culture influence the appropriateness of translating a foreign advertisement. It discusses advertisement translation mainly through the principles of translation, analysis of the characteristics of the present well-translated advertisements, some important cultural factors and the adaptation strategy adopted in translating. 

Key words: commercial advertisement; culture influence; translation principles; translation strategies.

Table of Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Definition of Advertisement and its Functions-3

3. Cultural Influences on Translating Advertisements-4

3.1 Influence of traditional customs on translation-4

3.2 Influence of psychological elements on translation-5

3.3 Influence of aesthetic standards on translation-5

4.Three Principles in Advertisement Translation-7

4.1 Brevity and sweetness-7

4.2 Novelty and distinctiveness-7

4.3 Readability-8

5. The Adaptation Stragety for Advertisement Translation-10

5.1 Adaptaiton to psychological features of Chinese people-10

5.2 Adaptation to regional differences of China-11

5.3 Adaptation to Chinese social and historical backgrounds-11

6. Conclusion-13

Bibliography-14

Acknowledgements-15