On Translation of Advertising Slogans from the Perspective of Skopos Theory

时间:2022-09-18 06:44:39

【Abstract】As a kind of practical writing,advertising slogans aim to build brand preference and loyalty and arouse customers’desire for the products.Different from the traditional ways of translation,slogan translation centers on its business goals instead of the equivalence in the form and content.This paper,taking the perspective of Skopos theory,probes into the translation strategies of commercial advertising through the analyses on some typical examples from home and abroad.

【Key words】Skopos theory; advertising slogans; slogan translation

1. Skopos theory

Skopos theory,as the center of German functionalism,was first put forward by Hans J.Vermeer.He believes that translators should choose appropriate translation strategies to serve the various purpose of translation,and that“the prime principle determining any translation process is the purpose of the overall translational action.”(Nord.27)The theory can be further divided into three rules:Skopos rule,coherence rule and fidelity rule,of which the Skopos rule is taken as the leading rule that all the translation activities should follow.

2. Translation strategies of advertising slogans

2.1 Literal Translation

Literal translation refers to an adequate representation of the source text in a word-for-word manner without changing the original structure and content,which can achieve complete equivalence to the source text.Allowing for the conciseness of English advertising,literal translation is most frequently used in E-C slogan translation.

Take time to indulge!(Nestle)尽情享受吧!

Challenge the limits.(SUMSUNG)挑战极限

Few changes are made in the form and structure of the above translations.The word-for-word translations convey both the meaning and the purpose of the source text faithfully and coherently,maximizing the reproduction of the information and completely conforming to the Skopos theory.

In addition,literal translation can also be applied to C-E translation,especially when the Chinese phrases can find their English equivalence,for instance,the expressions like“典雅大方”,“款式繁多”and“香气浓郁”can find their equivalence in English like“elegant and graceful”,“various pattern”and“fragrant flavor”.

2.2 Free Translation

“People tend to think that text in one language can be accurately translated into another as long as the translator uses a good bilingual dictionary.Unfortunately,languages are not this simple and direct,translation in many cases is difficult if not impossible.”(Samovar et al.132)In most cases,literal translation is not applicable due to the difference between the source and target languages.At this point,the translator may change the form and structure of the target text to serve the purpose of the slogan while improving its readability.

上一篇:基于构建主义学习理论观下的大学英语课堂教学 下一篇:从生态翻译学视角探讨广告语翻译

文档上传者