时间：2022-10-03 12:48:39
【Abstract】From the point of sociolinguistics，this thesis has carried a brief analysis on the brand name translation of cosmetics under the surrounding of global market.Meanwhile，it also shows the sociolinguistic factors that Chinese promoters and consumers have to take into account when they are to illustrate some related cultural implications of brand names.
【Key Words】brand；cosmetic；sociolinguistics
1 Introduction
1.1 Research background
Brand name translation，a once neglected topic in the translation studies in China，has been drawing more and more attention from the translators nowadays.Under the trend of globalization and China’s rising status in the world market，Chinese businesse has been undergoing frequent exchanges with foreign countries.Every entrepreneur has laid more and more emphasis on the brand culture.Therefore，the Chinese-English and English-Chinese translation of brand names has become a hot topic among linguists.Though many of them have done researches in this area，only a few have been dealing with the relationship between brand name translation and culture，while most of the papers are about the criteria and principles governing the brand name translation.And，previous studies are focused on various kinds of brand names，it’s far from clear to explain the relationship that exists.
1.2 Purpose of the analysis
However，researches above have served as a starting point，it still deserves our futher attention to better the present achievements.For the purpose of figuring out how，on earth，brand names are related with society and culture，this thesis tries to study on a certain kind of products and make a detailed explanation about the problems left by learners.Here we are going to take cosmetic names for example.
1.3 Layout of the thesis
This paper is devoted to the study of brand names of cosmetics from the sociolinguistic angle.It firstly offers a general survey of the current trend of brand name.Then it points out the theoretical framework，that is，the relationship among language，culture and society，thus indicating the significance of translating brand names in the international market.Next，the paper notes some social factors that may influence translation of brand names of cosmetics and methods of transltion.At last，the auther gives a summary and lists some suggestions for further improvements.
2 Theoretical Framework
Sociolinguistics，as an interdisciplinary study of language use，attempts to show the relationship between language，culture and society.
2.1 Language and culture
2.1.1 The relationship between language and culture
Language is the carrier of culture，and it is an essential part of a given culture and the influence of culture on a given language is intrinsic and indispensable.Culture finds a better representation through language use.
2.1.2 Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis
This Hypothesis suggests that our language will mould our view of the world.The hypothesis has two important points，（ⅰ）linguistic determinism——language may determine our thingking patterns and（ⅱ）linguistic relativity——similarity between languages is relative，the greater their structural differentiation is，the more diverse their conceptualization of the world will be.
Two versions of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis have been developed，the strong version of the theory emphasizes the decisive role of language as the shaper of our thinking patterns，while the weak version，a modified type of its original theory，suggesting that there is a correlation between language，culture，and thought，but the cross-cultural differences thus produced in our ways of thinking are relative，rather than categorical.
2.2 Language and society
Language is regarded as a mirror of society，through which we can understand social activities of a certain society better.Language is both a scientific system and a social activity.It is the major bond of people’s communication in society（Hatim﹠Basil，2001）.
Some social factors are believed to influence our language behavior in a social context.Among these factors，some major ones include a）class；b）gender；c）age；d）ethnic identity；e）educational background；f）occupation；g）religious belief.
3 Factors in Brand Names Translation of Cosmetics
At a superficial level，translation is just a kind of code-switching between two languages，in fact，it is not the case.Chinese famous scholar YanFu has concluded three basic principles that outstanding translated texts must follow，they are faithfulness，expressiveness and elegance.He indicates that，apart from language skills，translators must also take extra-linguistic factors into account.Here I will show some social elements that may have influence on the English-Chinese translation of the brand names of cosmetics.
3.1 Gender
The Jews are considered to be the smartest in doing business in the world，they have their own knack of doing business，that is“the children，women and health products”.Look back carefully，we will be sure to find out that most of the cosmetics are designed for women，which demands the producers name the cosmetics after the lingustic characteristics of them.In the view of sociolinguists，women usually speak in a different style from men in communications.As for women，they prefer more emotive words such as“beautiful”，“cute”，“charming”，“lovely”，etc.Women tend to be more sensitive and sentimental，they are emotional，exquisite，well-behaved and good at imaginal thinking.Now that the target consumers of cosmetics are women，their brand names must be gentle，soft，velvety and elegant.Therefore，it deserves our full attention when choosing the appropriate Chinese words（喻小继、安冲伟，2006：98）.After a small survey，I find that those brand names of cosmetics are related with names，colors and fragrance of plants or other female words.For example，brand names such as“爱茉莉”﹑“美宝莲”﹑“兰蔻”﹑“薇姿”show the connections of plants，“佳雪”，“白大夫”the colors，“雅芳”﹑“诗芬”the fragrance，“妮维雅”﹑“嘉娜宝”﹑“欧莱雅”﹑“可伶可俐”﹑“欧纯”the purity.All these words were cautiously selected and has improved the status and reliability of the products among female customers.
3.2 Age
If we regard gender as the first factor when naming a sort of cosmetic，then age must come the second.As is known to all，cosmetics are aimed at improving one’s looks and delaying caducity，thus people between 30 and 50 are major consumer groups，especially people between 25 and 35 years old，who are at their most energetic and creative stage and have the strongest desire to purchase something.As for their style of speaking，women of this age period are not that nifty as youngsters，nor as serious as olders.Instead，they aspire for being refined and being free from vulgarity，thus appearing to be more lady-like while in the communication，as can be noticed in the previous examples.Producers have also utilized another characteristic of women——the intense passion for foreign goods and the prejudice that imports are better than exports.Because of this，when a foreign cosmetic enters into the Chinese market，the translators usually retain some features of other countries while paying special attention to the Chinese culture，it is also why some brand names are translated by transliteration，for example，“美宝莲”、“妮维雅”，etc.For the purpose of catering for the psychological need，we sometimes adopt some words that are exotic even when naming a domestic product.Examples are like“圣梦”in Beijing，“嘉娜宝”in Shanghai and the“奥斯曼”in Xinjiang.If we hear it for the first time，we are very inclined to treat them as imports and have a stronger intention to buy them.From the above，we can see that translation reflects social features to some degree.
3.3 Cultural characteristic
Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis have the strongest influence when it comes to the relationship between language and culture.The hypothesis has two versions——the strong version and the weak version.The former indicates language determines our thinking patterns and thus being called“linguistic determinism”；the latter indicates that language influences thinking patterns and reflects them，thus being called linguistic relativity.In recent years，many scholars have raised doubts towards the hypothesis，and put forward the inappropriate points.In my opinion，it is still of abundant values of existence since some ideas are rational.In the weak version，language reflects thinking patterns，namely，language structure reflects the national culture and different nations choose different language patterns.Therefore，translators should take into account the cultural characteristics among different ethnics while translating the brand names（Nida，E.A，1933）.Besides，brand names translation is different from translation of other styles，it should include cultural factors as well as economic information and language effects.When they translate brand names of cosmetics，the differences between eastern and western women should be the principal element on which businessmen must put emphasis.The western women are relatively tall，strong and extroverted while the eastern women are lovely，delicate and introverted，they are not that frank as the westerners.All the distinction can not be ignored.For example，the Japanese cosmetic“clean&clear”is translated into“可伶可俐”.Its English name is apparent，complying with the fact that the westerners are lighthearted；its Chinese name is lovely-pathetic，also in accordance with Chinese lady’s characteristics.
4 The Principles and Features of Brand Names Translation of Cosmetics
4.1 Transliteration
Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system.It is also the system of rules for that practice.By the use of transliteration，we can translate the source language which has no literal meaning into the target language that possesses the similar pronunciation.“In the process of transliteration，we should ensure that the target version follows the way the original name is pronounced，for example，if the source language is Japanese，then the target name should be pronounced as Japanese people do.”（ZhangLing，2007：121）Brand names that are transliterated“retains the phonetic beauty in the original text，does not accord with the Chinese rules in the formation of vocabulary.But after cautious selection，the brand names seem to be more innovative and meet lady’s psychological demand.Meanwhile，it is relatively direct and convenient.”（Yu Xiaoji﹑An Chongwei，2006：98）Therefore，most of the brand names of cosmetics are translated through this method.The American cosmetic“Maybelline”is phonetically appealing itself，its Chinese version“莲”indicates that those who buy it will as charming as lotus，and its syllable is adopted.The“美”implies that its function is to make consumers become more beautiful and by the use of this sense，two languages mixed up，resulting in an complicated and abundant meaning.Apart from that，“Eatee Lauder”is translated into“雅诗兰黛”，“ANNA SUI”is translated into“安娜苏”.The Germany cosmetic“NIVEA”is translated into“妮维雅”，“Sistain”is translated into“希斯汀”；the French cosmetic“L’OREAL”is translated into“欧莱雅”，“Channel”is translated into“夏奈尔”；the American“Elizabeth Arden”is translated into“伊丽莎白·雅顿”，etc.Transliteration is always limited by the producers and producing place of the brand names.If the original language and target language share the similar letters and pronunciation，for example，if the two languages are both spelt with letters，transliteration is sure to be widely-spread.
4.2 Literal translation
Literal translation attempts to render，as closely as the semantic and syntactic structures of the second language allow，the exact contextual meaning of the original.”（Newmark，Peter，1998：39）.This approach is to translate the brand names into the target languages with a similar meaning as the original.It can better indicate the author’s original intention and wish，and can produce the conformity with the brand designs.But there is a premise that should be born in mind，that is，the pragmatic meaning of the original one can be pleasantly accepted by the alien consumers.There are only a small number of brand names that are translated literally.When the original name is peculiar and abundant in meaning，we can have a try the literal translation，thus leaving an impressive impression on female customers.For example，the Australian cosmetic“Red Earth”is literally translated into“红地球”，“Natural Beauty”is literally translated into“自然美”，“Fair Lady”into“贵夫人”，etc.It’s clear that by literal translation we can get a perfect feeling.
4.3 Free translation
Free translation is based on the message of brand names.Those names produced through free translation can vividly show the cosmetics’ effects，help to better memory.Free translation take neither the original name nor the literal meaning，instead，it is creative and imaginative，giving the target name another sense，so as to respect customers’ cultural habits and aesthetic value.In other words，free translation aims at renaming a product based on the culture and customs of the country of target language，thus this method is also called creative free translation of brand names.Free translation is usually used in translating brand names that are made of ordinary words.Though there is a distinctive meaning between target name the original name，it can reach the same goal.For example，French cosmetic“BIOCEAN”is translated into“欧纯”，“BIO”means“生物的”，and“OCEAN”means“海洋”，therefore，“来自海洋生物之美”is extended into“天然之美”.If it is literally translated or transliterated into“比奥希昂”，it may seem too wordy，while“欧纯”avoids this problem.
4.4 No translation
This is a method that maitains the original text.It is rarely seen and only adopted when the original names are simple and particular.According to the Trademark Law of People’s Republic of China，Chinese Characters，scripts of ethnic minorities，foreign words and letters can be registered as brand names.As Chinese market is developing at a fast pace，more and more foreign cosmetics are being enrolled in China without translation.The businessmen do this for saving some expenses or making sure that their brands appear more exotic and appealing.For example，“SK-Ⅱ”、“VOV”、“Up2U”、“ISPA”、“ZA”、“DHC”、“AQUA”、“FANCL”are typical brands that have not been translated（黄瑞红，2003：77）.
5 Conclusion
5.1 Summary
Translating is not simply a process of decoding languages，but the process of intercultural or cross-cultural communication.Due to the fact that people from diverse cultures vary sharply in their criteria ranging from perception，evaluation，and attitudes to religions，lifestyles and stereotypes，translators can hardly avoid cultural interpretation in the translating process.
Brand names are not isolated units of language，they are information chips deeply rooted in the cultural soil.As a particular form of translation，brand names translation of cosmetics is not simply a matter of finding equivalent expressions in the target language for the source brand name，but a process of translating cultures as well.Therefore，heightening brand name translators’ sensitivity to the dynamics of culture is a prerequisite for translation if the target brand names are to be operative and effective.
5.2 Limitations and suggestions
In spite of being a careful analysis，the present study has certain aspects about which further research can probably be done due to the limitation of author’s ability and practical difficulties：On one hand，although brand name is never the only object that affects sales promotion of cosmetics，to acquire a proper brand name in another language is still very important for the future of a product in the designated market.Since there are still quite limited angles from which theoretical instruction is given to brand name translation practice in our country，it remains a topic which deserves further attention and research.On the other hand，the categories of cultural elements mentioned in this paper may not have included all the possible factors with which translator’s linguistic choices should be adaptable，and very probably there are other factors neglected.Therefore，this paper is only a preliminary research on the topic of sociolinguistic study on the brand names translation of cosmetics.
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