As Zhang and Schmitt (2001) show, while much prior research has examined the characteristics of a good English brand name, less research has provided guidance to brand name conversions for companies entering international markets。 Due to the international trade extension, the latter study aspect needs an exploration。 Zhang & Schmitt, (2001) and Zhang & Schmitt, (2004) proposed a structure for evaluating English to Chinese trademark translation on the basis of the cognitive processing inclination and philological characteristics of two perse language structures。 The semantical working pattern has close connection with logographic Chinese language structure while the phonologic working pattern has close connection with alphabetical English language structure。 They discovered that the mentioned language working patterns determine the customers’ preference of trademark translation means。
The study tests the customers’ preference in the four ways of transforming a logographic Chinese trademark into an alphabetical English trademark: phonologic (through pronunciation), semantical (through meanings), phono-semantical (through pronunciation and meanings), and Hanyu Pinyin (referring pinyin in today’s society)。 Zhang & Schmitt, 2001 and Zhang & Schmitt, 2004 tested the first three ways while from an opposite orientation, which is from English to Chinese but not from Chinese to English。 It is conceptual equivalence。 And it provides a more comprehensive comprehension on trademark transformations through perse language structures。 It plays an important role in many firms of China which wants to expand their trademark in the whole world, too。文献综述
Moreover, with the joining of Pinyin translations, the range of trademark translations means study on a Chinese–English bilingual environment is widened。 It is a new way of trademark translations from Chinese to English and trademark naming。 There are some instances。 The Chinese trademark 长虹(Chang Hong) of electronic merchandise and the Chinese trademark 伊犁(Yi li) of journal merchandise both use this way when exporting their merchandises to the whole world。 Nevertheless, its practicability is not definite in multilingual marketplace。 This study explores the linguistic characteristics of pinyin and tries to find in which condition that people more like to choose this means of trademark translations than other three styles of trademark translation means from the philological working features of Pinyin。 It is discovered that customers’ preference of trademark translation means differs in their long-term disparity in command of language (language dexterity)。 The practicability of Pinyin trademark is getting more and more significant because of the increasing number of abroad Chinese in English-talking nations and increasingly global interest on studying Chinese as a second language。
In the end, the study tests the interaction existing in language dexterity and preference of trademark translation means。
2 Literature Review
According to Zhang and Schmitt's (2001, 2004) efforts, I use “a philological view” in testing Chinese–English trademark translations, which include two perse language structures’ transformation。