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4.1 Research Questionnaire
4.1.1 Questionnaire Design
There are 10 English brand names listed in the questionnaire survey, including cosmetics, daily necessities, automotive, electrical appliances, clothes etc, and each brand name is clearly marked with 2-3 different translation versions. Different translation names mainly come from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and a small number of translation names are translated by the author according to different translation methods as the provided options. Participants are expected to give an indication of the reason.
The participants in this questionnaire survey come from New Dynamic Institute and Nanjing University of Science and Technology. There are 25 students and 25 employees in the survey.
4.1.2 Results
Table 1 The sex and age proportion of participants
Number of people Proportion
Male 18 36%
Female 32 64%
Under 30 33 65%
Above 30 17 35%
Table 2 Consumers’ acceptance of different translation methods
Translation methods Literal
Translation Transliteration
Free
Translation Mixed
Translation
Acceptance degree 16% 19% 32% 33%
4.2 Methods of Brand Name Translation
As is mentioned above, how to translate brand names is an urgent as well as a meaningful issue. To do this, much attention should be paid to methods and techniques of translation before an ideal brand name is produced. In order to design a good brand name, different ways and techniques are used in brand name translation: transliteration, literal translation, free translation and mixed translation. The following is going to discuss those four methods along with the influencing factors and the findings from the survey.
4.2.1 Literal Translation
Literal translation of brand names means to translate the literal meanings of the brand directly. The advantage is that it can keep the meaning and spirit of the original language and convey its exact original information and feelings directly and precisely. Literal translation is still used by some foreign brands though it is not feasible for every brand name to be translated literally. A number of brand names are translated into another langrage by this method.
This method is the most convenient way, but it’s also the one has least relationship with culture, aesthetics and consuming concept. Many scholars don’t support literal translation for it cannot adapt to the cultural needs of new market. And in the questionnaire survey, the acceptance degree of literal translation is only 16%.In fact, a literally translated brand name can be a good one if the translation and the culture of the target language are consistent so that can trigger consumers’ interest and purchase desire.
For example, “Forever 21”(永远的21岁) can give customers a very clear idea that its cloths design is young and red-blooded. “Mr. Juicy” (果汁先生) can make consumers have a view that it is a fruit juice brand while at the same time it forms a cartoon image in people’s mind. “Pioneer”, an electronic appliance brand, translated as “先锋”, can convey the message to the customers that it is the pioneer of the electronic appliance industry. Others like Microsoft(微软), Soft&Clean (洁柔), Breeze(清风) are also translated directly.
4.2.2 Transliteration
In the process of brand translation, transliteration is a common method. It is to translate the brand name according to the pronunciation. Many brand names for goods from home and abroad are transliterated. Such as Motorola(摩托罗拉), Omega (欧米加), Sony(索尼), Chevrolet (雪佛莱), Dell (戴尔), Boeing (波音), Marlboro(万宝路), Carlsberg(嘉士伯), Hennessy(轩尼诗), Lipton(立顿), Mazda(马自达), Intel(英特尔), Siemens(西门子), Nikon(尼康), Olympus(奥林巴斯), Adidas(阿迪达斯), Rolex(劳力士),Dior(迪奥)，Chanel(香奈儿) and Lancôme(兰蔻).