The Chinese English Cultural Differences and Impacts of Advertising Translation

摘要：Advertisement is not only an economic activity, but also a kind of cultural exchange. Advertisement, being a manifestation of language in action, is a widely used medium of communication in modern society. The translation of advertisement must be accurate and fluent. Accuracy in the translation of advertisement lies in pragmatic meaning. The translation of advertising English is obviously different from other styles. The translator should possess the knowledge in language, social culture, folk-custom, aesthetics, psychics, marketing economics and advertising theory and so on. Using advertising language brings various difficulties resulting from the differences in cultures and languages among countries. This paper argues that the cultural differences between Chinese and English and its impacts ,also its focuses on the theory of adaptation to do the translation well.

关键词：advertising English; cultural differences; advertisement translation;theory of adaptation

1．Introduction of Culture and Culture Differences

Owning to the different geography and history, people in Western countries and China have different cultural values and mode of thinking. It is also another issue which should be considered as an important factor in advertising translation.

Comparing Chinese with Western people, personal honor, self-centre, pioneering spirit and individual freedom are emphasized in the Western culture; modesty, sacrifice, the golden mean and harmonious cooperation are the main features in Chinese culture. Western people think much of classes and have complex family relations. In the Chinese-English advertising translation, misunderstanding is always found and influences in the sales of the products in the foreign market.

Advertising is created by human beings. As a cultural media pattern, advertising is affected by the different mode of thinking of the creators of the advertisements. Advertising is connected closely with people’s mode of thinking. In Chinese advertisement, the important meaning is always expressed in the end. It is because Chinese people are implicit and the tendency to think is in spiral way, which influences the speaking pattern of Chinese people. Meanwhile, fewer words are used in English advertisements in which the main idea is put at the beginning which accords to the straightforward character of Western people. The different declarative patterns between Chinese and Western advertisements are decided by the different Chinese and English mode of thinking.

2． Three aspects of cultural differences in advertising translation

Advertising is culturally bound. Different cultures use different conventions or rules to create representations. Written or spoken language is a basic barrier to cross-cultural communication. Advertisements written in English may be difficult for those who speak only Chinese .There are three aspects to illustrate the impact of cultural differences on advertising creation and translation.

1) Core cultural values: Collectivism and Individualism

Values are defining expressions of culture. They express in words and deeds what is important to a culture. Values are cultural bedrock and enduring. They cannot be changed quickly or easily. The different values can be reflected by all means via advertisements. The examples listed below could prove:

Group1

① I am what I am. (Reebok Sportswear)

②Just do it. (Nike Sportswear)

Group2

①好迪真好―大家好才是真的好。（好迪洗发水）

(Literal meaning: Houdy shampoo is great----great for all.)

②万家乐，乐万家。（万家乐热水器）

(Literal meaning: Macro Heater brings happiness to every family.)

Advertisements in Group1 clearly represent the individualistic nature of American society by using the words”I” and” Just”. Americans like to do things according to their will and follow their inclination. The above advertisements can arouse local people’s yearn for freedom just like their predecessors, thus are easily accepted and favorably functioning. In contrast, advertisements in Group2 are typical of the essence of Chinese society with a collectivistic origin. It is considered good virtue to benefit others and the whole society. The advocation of care for each other and shared benefits among all people are extremely attractive and persuasive to Chinese consumers. These features are clearly shown by the words “大家好”and “乐万家”.

2) Viewpoint: Monism and Pluralism

People all hold a view of themselves. Chinese culture has the monism viewpoint and the western culture has the pluralism viewpoint. “Nature and human are in oneness” is one of Chinese philosophy concepts in Chinese traditional cultural. It insists that nature and human should be in harmony. Contrary to the Chinese culture, the western culture insists on the view of pluralism. It emphasizes on the changes and differences of the matter, self-development, and enterprising spirits.

3) Consuming Tendency: Group Tendency and Individual Need

Western societies are more individualistic and thus more prone the strive for self-achievement, while the Chinese tend to be more collectivistic thus making constant reference to their peers. Reflected in consuming beliefs, the westerners choose products based on their specific needs while Chinese consumers tend to think that products or services favored by the majority are good ones .Chinese advertisements stressing social norms and social acceptability will be favored while in western countries those featuring personal preferences and feelings will be well accepted.

References

[1]Wright Laura & Hope Jonathan. Stylistics: A practical Course book [M]. Beijing: Foreign Teaching and Research press, 2000.

[2]包惠南 .《中国文化与汉英翻译》[M]. 北京: 外文出版社, 2004.

[3]刘华初.《文化构建―文学翻译论集》[M]. 上海: 外语教育出版社, 2001.

[4]程瑜蓉.《广告英语导航》[M]. 合肥:中国科学技术大学出版社, 2003.