Discussion on Trademark Translation on Commodity Packaging

[Abstract] With the integration of the global economy, the translation of trademarks is of great significance. The design of the trademark on the packaging reflects the company’s philosophy and product quality with vividness and vividness. Therefore, the translation of the foreign language trademark can flexibly use different translation methods while emphasizing consumer psychology and local traditional culture. The beauty of the rhythm, the beauty of meaning, and the implication of the image.
Keywords :trademark; translation; aesthetic principle; consumer psychology; method

With China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, with the development of global economic integration, more and more foreign companies have taken over the Chinese market, along with more and more foreign trademarks registered in China; or domestic companies are ready to open up foreign markets. Registration of foreign language trademarks abroad; in the field of the entry of goods into the circulation, in order to facilitate the identification of publicity, there are often two kinds of signs in Chinese and foreign languages ​​on the packaging of goods. As a result, the translation of trademarks shows a very important significance, which directly affects the general The degree of acceptance among consumers affects the competitiveness of products in the market.

1 Equivalent principle of trademark translation

And the consumer psychology trademark is a significant symbol on the packaging of goods. It can be composed of words, graphics, or a combination of text and graphics. It is a special sign that distinguishes the different quality of goods and commodities of different companies. Specifically, this symbol sign represents a specific producer and product image, and is attached to the package of the product by means of printing or pasting.

From a linguistic perspective, the composition of a trademark is concise and easy to understand. Compared with other forms of interlingual translation, its translation process is not affected by the deeper linguistic levels of sentences, passages, chapters, etc., and thus appears to be simple. However, the trademark has the function of positioning and promotion of goods. The name of the trademark has good readability and good language in language, and has a good-looking character in the design of packaging design. Therefore, the translation mark should also have a good read, nice, and good-looking language. Features, perfect harmony of sound, shape, and meaning.

From one language to another, translation has its basic principles, such as the principle of Nida's Principle of Equivalence; what Lu Xun said is “keep the Fengzi of the original”. However, the translation of trademarks has special requirements while following these basic principles. Trademarks use fewer words and have a large amount of information. They have the characteristics and symbolism of the goods. When translating, they must not only maintain the original flavor, but also meet the consumer's psychology. At the same time, they must also pay attention to local cultural characteristics and achieve a vivid image. Coca - cola is a well-known trademark in the world and can be said to be a household name in China. Every time I picked up a Coca-Cola drink bottle, the flowing letters on the package caught my eye. Translating it into “Coca Cola” uses the different tones of these Chinese characters to maintain the syllables and loudness of the original words, and to lively and rhythmic movements. In this way, the words that have no specific meaning were translated in a vivid and full of charm, highlighting the vividness and significance of the image. Therefore, the translation of a trademark must not only have the professional knowledge of translation, but also have the aesthetic ability, and can realize the image charm of the trademark in packaging design. Because the writing style of foreign characters not only reflects the company's philosophy, product performance, but also reflects the aesthetic culture of different nationalities. National trademark designs form their own style characteristics under the cultural background of the country. For example, French trademark design and fine arts come down in one continuous line, emphasizing the performance of childishness and freedom; American trademark design tends to lively free space combinations; in Germany, the appearance of the model More rigorous. Therefore, when translating, the pronunciation and fonts of the transliteration mark reflect the charm of the original mark as accurately as possible.

At the same time, translating trademarks must cross cultural barriers, avoid cultural conflicts and conform to people’s consumer psychology, so that they can play a good role in promoting the products it represents. If Goldlion is translated as "Golden Lion", gold is noble, the lion is majestic and shows the man's image, which can be described as a real name. However, Golden Lion had a homonym that was "destroyed" and Hong Kong people were jealous. Therefore, it was reinterpreted as "Goldlion". It appeared to be auspicious and catered to the traditional culture of the Chinese nation and ultimately succeeded. In the same way, when translating trademarks of Chinese export commodities, we must also take into account the cultural habits and aesthetic psychology of foreign consumers. In previous years, China exported "White elephant" brand batteries. Its trademark translation was White Elephant, which looks concise. However, no one cares about the product in the United States. The original English White Ele2phant refers to "useless and cumbersome things." These examples illustrate that the translation of a trademark is different from the translation of an ordinary paragraph. It is necessary to consider both the quality of the product itself and the consumer's psychology of acceptance. Therefore, it is not easy to do a trademark translation. It requires both translation theory and guidance, as well as a certain degree of translation skills.

2 Method of trademark translation

Trademarks are the unity of language and ethnic culture. Therefore, trademark translation should adopt a flexible and diversified approach to strive for good quality, impress consumers, stimulate their purchasing desires, and achieve the same promotional functions as the original trademark. In practical operation, transliteration, free translation, and semantic translation may be used according to specific circumstances.

Transliteration refers to the use of similar or identical words in the original trademark. The transliteration method can be divided into two kinds: pure transliteration and harmony transliteration.

Pure transliteration is also called direct transliteration. That is, according to the pronunciation of foreign language trademark words, the same or similar character combinations are selected. These phrases often have no meaning in Chinese. The pure transliteration method preserves the phonological beauty and calling capabilities of the original trademark, such as Motorola Motorola (mobile phone), Sony Sony (Color TV), Kodak Kodak (film), Finbid Finbid (pharmaceutical), Sharp Sharp (electrical), although they do not comply with the Chinese language. The combination of vocabulary models, but because of the full flavor, new and unique and very popular with Chinese consumers.

Harmonic transliteration is also called homophonic puns, which means that when translating, homophonic words or phrases that can arouse the Chinese consumers' beautiful associations are selected. Because there are many homonyms in Chinese characters, they are free to choose to express sounds that are loud and beautiful when translated.

Arche translates as “Yaqian” and Pantene translates as “Pantene”. It not only retains the loudness of the original syllable, but also uses beautiful characters such as “Qian” and “Ting” to highlight women’s commodity features, and has poetic beauty. . Brandy Brandy (wine), Coca-cola Coca-Cola (beverage), Tide Tide (washing powder) and many more.

Free translation includes literal translation and innovative translation.


Author/Li Shuchun Huanggang Normal College,