(Webster‘s Third New International Dictionary, 1976) ‖[2]P9,10In our country the trademark is defined as a special mark that is placed on a particular brand of article or commodity to distinguish it from similar goods sold by other producers.[3]P60 From the above definition, we can figure out some features of trademarks as following: 1). Trademark is an identifying mark on the products or product‘s package. 2). Trademark is used to identify the similar products.
3). Registered trademark can enjoy the protection of the law. 2.2 Functions of trademark
Trademark has an important effect on the trade, in which it acts as the bridge between producers and consumers. A good trademark can provide much information about the products, attract consumers and please people, and achieve the purpose of promoting sales. But the most important power is persuading people to buy the product. In agreement with those purposes, good trademarks usually bear informative, aesthetic, expressive and imperative functions. 2.2.1 Informative function
Informative function is the most important function of the above four functions .It means that the trademarks must be informative enough. Good trademarks usually provide the consumers with some information about the products, such as the information about their functions, values and characteristic.
Firstly, most trademarks inform the customers of the basic functions of certain product. For example,―金嗓子‖，―感康‖are common trademarks for medicine .―金嗓子‖means a sweet and mellow voice in Chinese , successfully showing the function of this medicine for throat. ―感康‖means the recovery of the common cold in Chinese, successfully indicating the function of this medicine for common cold. ―舒肤佳‖ (safeguard) is a trademark for fancy soap .In Chinese ―舒肤佳‖means the comfortable feeling of the skin, successfully showing the function of this fancy soap for skin. Still we can cite some other examples , such as―光明‖（lamp）,―惠尔康‖(medicine),―健力宝‖(beverage),―寒思‖(coat),―玉帛‖(fabric),―美如净‖(cosmetic), from which consumers can get some information about the function of these products.
Secondly, trademarks can reflect the characteristics of certain products. For example , ―美佳雅‖（clothing） hints that this kind of clothes makes people look beautiful and elegant
Thirdly, many trademarks provide the information about the values of certain products. For example,―钻石‖(watch) suggests that the watch of this brand is as precious as a diamond.
Lastly, trademarks often tell the target customers that whom the products are suitable for. For example ,―好孩子‖(children‘s underwear),―跳跳宝‖（toy）,― 宝宝好‖(baby carriage) inform people that these products are for children. 2.2.2 Aesthetic function
Aesthetic function means the trademarks can create a sense of beauty, and provide the audience with aesthetic feelings. The beauty in form mainly includes phonetic beauty and graphic beauty. The beauty in content generally refers to semantic beauty and image beauty.[4]P8 Aesthetic value can make people memorize them easily and reach the purpose of advertising. So trademarks should be short and brevity.
2.2.3 Expressive function
Expressive function means the trademarks could convey some information about certain products such as function, characteristic, value and so on. For example,―Benz‖(car) had been translated into Chinese as ―本茨‖，―平治‖，―鹏驰‖，but the most successful translation is ―奔驰‖which not only sounds similar to the source trademark ―Benz‖ but also evokes people this is a trademark for car. 2.2.4 Imperative function
Some people may call it as vocative function. Imperative function means a good trademark could inform people about the value of certain products, attract consumers and persuade people to make a purchase. As a result, it achieves the purpose of promoting certain products. [5]P26 A good trademark often informs people about the value of this product, and can persuade people to buy it. For example,―极品‖（computer）, which means the perfect quality. This trademark is very persuasive because it informs people about the value of this kind of computer. 2.3 Formation of trademarks
Formation of trademarks all lies on the purpose and the aim of the designer. It could be a word, letter, name, picture and so on .The words which are used as trademarks can be classified into proper nouns, common words and coined words.[6]P62 2.3.1 Proper nouns as trademarks
Many people‘s names and place names are used as trademarks. ⑴ Benz (car)--------Karl Benz ⑵ Ford (car)--------Henny FORD ⑶ LI—NING (sportswear)---李宁 ⑷ Nestle (food)-------Henri Nestle ⑸ Nike (sportswear)---A goddess with two wings in Greek tales
This kind of trademark may be the real producer of the certain product, as well as from fairy tales that people are familiar with. ⑹ Qingdao (beer) ⑺ Shanghai (watch) ⑻ Luzhou Lao Jiao (spirit) ⑼ Columbia (disc)----A city in Washington D.C ⑽ Champagne (drink)-----A city in Northern France
All of the above are proper names that people are very familiar with. And words of this type are
often used as Trademarks.
2.3.2 Common words as trademarks
Some common words are used as trademarks because these words could convey some information about the qualities and t he functions of the products. 1). Adjective. e.g. Universal (stationery) Comfort (scour)
2). Noun. e.g. Diamond (watch) Apple (computer)
Sunbeam (car) Bluebird (car)
Ivory (toilet soap)
3). Verb. e.g.
Safeguard (toilet soap) 4). Number. e.g.
3M (machine product) 555 (cigarette)
5). The +other word. The club (sleeping bag) The Cube (microwave oven)
2.3.3 Coined words as trademarks
Many coined words are used as trademarks. According to product‘s characteristic, function, promotion and some other features, translators newly--form the coined words. e.g. (11) Pepsi (drink) is the shorten word of pepsin (12) Fanta (drink) ------ fantasia
(13) IBM (computer)----International Business Machine (14) Askit (medicine for cold)----ask it
To design excellent trademarks should take linguistic and aesthetic knowledge into consideration.
3. Functional equivalence and trademark translation
The development of international trade makes trademark translation necessary. It becomes the bridge of producers and foreign consumers. How to translate trademarks effectively? Eugene A. Nida‘s ―function equivalence‖ translation principle could be used as the criteria in trademark translation.
3.1 Functional equivalence
―According to Eugene A. Nida, a minimal, realistic definition of functional equivalencecould be
stated as ―The readers of a translated text should be able to comprehend it to the point that they can conceive of how the original readers of the text must have understood and appreciated it.‖(Nida ,1993:18)[7]P117
―Functional equivalence‖ indicates that an ideal effective translation should be able to produce the equivalence of function, message and response to both the target and the original receptors. Nida‘s ―functional equivalence‖ is quite applicable to trademark translation, for
the trademarks are created to perform certain functions. In From One Language to Another, Nida classified language‘s functions into nine: expressive, informative, cognitive, interpersonal, imperative, performative, emotive, aesthetic, and metalingual. The expressive, informative, imperative and aesthetic are closely related to trademarks. The translated trademarks should attempt to achieve an ideal equivalence in terms of meaning and cultural, and reproduce their functions.
3.1.1 Requirements of ―functional equivalence‖
― Firstly, the equivalence of cultural message of source language and target language.‖[8]P104 Culture is a complex integration which includes knowledge, belief, ar, morals, customs and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Different countries have different history, customs, cultures and traditions. So it is important for translators to be able to transfer the cultural message of source language into target language.
―Secondly, the equivalence of stylistic message of source language and target language.‖[9] P104 The character of translation requires to do so.
―Thirdly, the equivalence of semantic message of source language and target language.‖[10]P104 Translator not only to inform people of the literal knowledge about the products but also the in-depth knowledge. So translators should familiarize with the society, history, culture and art of the source country. They should try their best to experience, taste and dig out the implication of source language.
3.1.2 Principles of trademark translation
Trademark translation should be operated under the guidance of some principles. The religion, economy, and cultural settings are quite different between the west and east, so people have different thought patterns and values. An excellent trademark in one country may prove disastrous in another. Then comes the need of trademark translation. There are sets of principles for trademark translation from source language to target language. （i）Respect for the target consciousness
Culture can influence the national psychology. The same word may evoke different associations in different cultural environment. A translator must have a general idea about the target culture and respect it.[11]P23 Let‘s take the following trademarks as examples.
As we know, in Chinese culture, petrel is the symbol of bravery, but petrel is not welcomed in western world because in their mind petrel is ―a person whose presence excites discontentment, quarrelling, etc. in a social group‖ (Longman Contemporary English-Chinese Dictionary,1413). Chinese people believe that Phoenix (bike) is able to bring good luck to the rider. In Chinese culture, phoenix implicates ―luck, happiness and elegance‖. But in English-speaking countries, it means ‗rebirth‘. So this translation may make people evoke the words ―relive from death‖ or ―to escape from death with life‖.[12]P41 So it couldn‘t make many people buy this kind of bike. Another inappropriate translation is the name of carpet ―帆船‖, which is a traditional product of China.―帆船‖ translated into ― junk‖ in English. When exported to foreign country-America, the
sales is poor, no one wants to buy this brand of carpet. Because Junk has the meaning of ―rubbish, tatter‖ besides the meaning of ―sailboat. Who would like to buy some rubbish? Later, ―帆船‖was translated into ―Junco‖, the sales was up obviously. These examples indicate that the quality of trademark translation is closely related to the sales of products. (ii) Revealing idiosyncratic culture of source language
In Chinese trademarks, some common words can reflect idiosyncratic culture. Chinese people worshit, lawp dragon, phoenix, and turtle, so some products are named with these words. For example,―神龙‖，―红金龙‖，―熊猫‖，―海燕‖，―孔雀‖，―蝙蝠‖，―红梅‖，―红双喜‖，―红豆‖，―嫦娥‖，―长城‖，―功夫‖―金六福‖，―凤凰‖，―金凤、‖are all well-accepted Chinese trademarks. These common words convey positive cultural implication. When translating these Chinese trademarks, we should consider their cultural connotation. （iii）Meeting consumer‘s psychological preference
Some foreign products sell well in China, such as ―可口可乐‖(Coca-Cola),―金利来‖(Goldlion),―舒肤佳‖（Safeguard）,―惠普‖(Hewlett-Packard),―强生‖(Johnson),etc. Because they know that Chinese people like to pursuit good luck and prefer products named with such words. So foreign producers translate their products with these ―good‖ words to satisfy Chinese consumers and attain their object of promoting sale. (iv) Choice of plain words as trademarks
Trademarks should be plain and lively so that consumers could remember the name of the products easily. For example,
(15)―保时捷‖-----POSCER(Japan—clock) (16)―锐步‖ ----- Reebok(America shoes) (17)―耐克‖ ----- Nike(America shoes)
(18)―双星‖ ----- DoubleStar(China sports shoes) (19)―美加净‖--- MAXAM(China cosmetics) (20)―美的时‖---- Mitax(China clock)
(21)―高齐‖ -----Coldenchip(China electronics) (22)―福特‖ ----- Ford(car)
(23)―帮宝适‖----Pampers(napkin) (24)―高露洁‖--- Colgate(toothpaste)
In a word, trademark is a linguistic medium to inform of the products. The translated trademarks should also perform the same functions as the original, including attracting reader‘s attention, interest, desire, memory and action. A successful translation should be able to invite the target readers‘ attention, arouse their interest and desire, commit to memorizing the products and carry the desire of purchasing into effect. ―The readers of the translated trademarks should be able to comprehend the translated trademarks to the point that the original readers of the trademarks must have understood and appreciated the original trademark.‖[13]P117
4. Techniques for trademark translation 4.1 Main methods of trademark translation
In a narrow sense, translation is rendering of a text from the source language to the target language. It is a recreation activity, based on the original writing in the source language. Trademark
translation is a highly challenging job. We should take the different history, customs, art, culture and some other factors into consideration. Under the guidance of Nida‘s ―functional equivalence‖, we could use the following five main methods of trademark translation, that is, transliteration, literal translation, paraphrase, combination of transliteration, literal translation and paraphrase, creative translation. 4.1.1 Transliteration
Transliteration is based on the sounds of the source language. Choosing some target words or language that sounds same or familiar to the source language to translate. Sometimes, we should use Chinese Pinyin to translate s
设置字体【大 中小】
trademarks directly. Most of this kind of trademarks is coined words and proper names. Sometimes they do not have the concrete meaning in target language. Let‘s take some translated names as examples.
1) Chinese—English translation: 茅台酒----Mao Tai(drink) 海尔---Haier(electric)
李宁-----Lining(sports clothing) 星星----Xing Xing(electric)
娃哈哈----WAHAHA(drink) 春兰----Chunlan(air-conditioner)
飞亚达----Fiyta(watch) 长虹----Changhong(TV-set)
必是----Beshe(drink) 康佳----Konka(TV-set)
华生----Watson(electric fan) 新科----Shico(VCD)
黄河----Huanghe(drink) 厦华----Xoccco(TV)
2) English-Chinese translation: ShangriLa-----香格里拉 Boeing------波音
Audi----奥迪
Cadillac-------卡迪拉克
Ford-----福特
Lincoln--------林肯（car）
Motorola----摩托罗拉 Daphne------达芙妮
Lux--------力士 Sharp-------夏普
Dupont--------杜邦 Adidas-------阿迪达斯
Nike---------耐克 Casio---------卡西欧
Rolex-------劳力士
In Chinese-English transliteration, translators use those consonant or euphony words or phrases to make translated trademarks clear and rhythmical. We can use this way to catch the target consumers‘ ears and reach the equivalence of response of source language and target language readers. And when translating English to Chinese, we often use short words (phrases) with fine meanings, such as ―金‖，―龙‖，―美‖，―佳‖，―福‖，―康‖，―利‖，to meet Chinese buyers‘ psychological preference.[14]P32.
Transliteration can keep the source trademarks‘ sounds, incorporating the sounds and meanings, reproducing the trademarks language‘s vocative function. For example, If―荣事达‖(electric) was translated into ―Rongshida‖ directly, the source connotation ―the glorious and prosperous career‖ would be lost. On the contrary, another version―Royalstar‖ not only keeps the basic sounds but evokes people the connotation that this product is reliable and excellent. This translation can impress the consumers deeply and is good for products promotion. 4.1.2 Literal translation
Literal translation is the most commonly used translation method in trademark translating. A prominent feature of this method is loyalty to the literal meaning of source trademarks. This method is often used to some ornate trademarks that have tangible and implied meaning. [15]P45 For example,
car trademark ―Bluebird‖ was often translated into―蓝鸟‖ directly. ―Bluebird‖ comes from Belgian Maurice Materlinekz‘s fairy tales named as ―Bluebird‖ symbolizing ―Future happiness‖. Later, it was used as the car trademark. Poet Li Shangyin wrote: ―蓬山此去无多路，青鸟殷勤为探看‖<<无题>>。
To the three fairy hills it is not a long way.
Would the blue birds oft fly to see you on the height! (许渊冲译)
In the poem, ―blue bird‖ is ―fairy bird‖ which comes of fairy tales. Poet wrote the feeling of lovesick. And in Chinese, ―蓝‖and―青‖both have the meaning of ―blue‖. ―Bluebird‖ translated into ―蓝
鸟‖，not only
is equal in form but also in cultural connotation. Both of them have the meaning of messenger..[16] P118 Some more examples are as follows, 1) Chinese-English translation 雪莲---- Snow-lotous(clothing) 熊猫----Panda(TV set)
北极星----Polaris(clock) 豪富----wealth(case)
舒而美--Comfort & Beauty (napin) 肤美灵--Skinice(cosmetics)
小天鹅---Little Swan(electric) 梅花----Plum Blossom(recorder)
金杯---- Golden Cup(sports shoes) 钻石----Diamond(watch)
百灵---- Lark(skin cream) 富贵----Millionaire(bicycle)
2) English –Chinese translation
Crown---皇冠(Car) Crocodile---鳄鱼(Clothing)
Apple--- 苹果（Clothing） Playboy--- 花花公子（Clothing）
These literal translations can reveal some features, information, quality and culture about the products. Thus we can attain the correspondences in form and sense, and achieve the informative functional equivalenceof these trademarks in both source and target market. 4.1.3 Paraphrase translation
Paraphrasing translation also means liberal translation. It is the technique of translating trademarks by giving a restatement of the meaning in target language. And achieve the functional equivalenceof both source and target language. For example, the English version of―海信‖is ―hisense‖, not only keeping the Chinese linguistic features of simple and sounds sonorously but creating among English-speaking people image that this products is of high sense. We often use homophonous Chinese words and Pinyin to translate English trademarks. For examples, (25) Contac-----康泰克（Kongtaike） (26) Legalon---利肝灵（Liganling） (27) Volkswagen-大众 (28) Microsoft----微软
(29) Camel--------骆驼（Tobacco） (30) Shell---------壳牌
Some Chinese trademarks can use some English words that sound similar and the meaning is elegant to translate directly. There are some wonderful examples, e.g. (31)―全顺‖（Car）---Transit (32)―实达‖(Computer)---Star
(33)―瑞风‖(Car)---Refine (34)―雅致‖(Clothing)---Elegance (35)―快意‖（Air-conditioner）---Coolpoint
These translations can successfully achieve the equivalent vocative function to the original trademarks.
4.1.4 Combination of transliteration, literal translation and paraphrase
This method is often used when trademarks can find the correspondences in target language that have the similar sounds and the relevant meanings, to achieve the equivalence in informative function. For instance,―Simmons‖ is translated into ―席梦思‖，which not only sounds similar to source language, but evokes the connotation of sweet dream for people.
Sometimes translator can use integrated translation to convey the connotations of source trademarks. For example, foreign product ―Bubble Yum‖ is translated into ―百宝泡泡糖‖. ―Yum‖expresses the meaning of ―attractive‖ while ―Bubble‖ sounds similar to―Paopao‖. And ―Bubble‖ is translated into―泡泡糖‖directly, the special feature of this product is informed clearly. Therefore, this translation successfully reproduce s the informative, and aesthetic functions as the original performs.
Sometimes, since trademark translation is able to express some cultural information, the translator should make some explanation. For example, ―玉兔‖ is translated into English as―Moon Rabbit‖,but not ―Jade Rabbit‖.Because in Chinese, ―玉兔‖does not mean that the rabbit was made of jade, but symbolizes the moon, ―玉兔‖comes from fairy tale, and refers to the rabbit which living together with the fairy Chang′E in the moon. ―Moon Rabbit‖can transfer the hidden cultural message better than―Jade Rabbit‖. The following are some successful translation with this method: 1) Chinese Trademarks English Renderings
统统（Shoes） Total (―Total‖—literal translation and transliteration of ―统统‖) 昂立1号（Medicine） Only One(―Only‖-transliteration of―昂立‖)
乐达（Bicycle） Happy Rider(―Happy‖-literal translation of ―乐‖;―Rider‖-transliteration of ―达‖) 楚星（Constructive Material） True Star(―True‖-transliteration of―楚‖; ―Star‖-literal translation of ―星‖)
海信（TV Set） Hisense (―Hi‖-transliteration of ―海‖sounds sense-sounds similar to ―High‖; sense-sounds similar to―信‖)
珞珈山 Lucky Hill (―Lucky‖-transliteration of ―珞珈‖; ―Hill‖-literal translation of ―山‖)
2) English trademarks Chinese renderings Coca Cola 可口可乐 Whisper 护舒宝 Citizen 西铁城 Tide 汰渍 Canon 佳能 Contac 康泰克
Pierre Cardin 皮尔卡丹 Camay 佳美
4.1.5 Creative Translation
Trademark is a mainly culturally loaded. It is also a mirror of social culture. Trademark not only reflects the society, culture and customs, and meets people‘s psychological preference but also has an important influence on society, culture and aesthetic psychology. Trademark translation is a
recreation activity, based on the target language and culture.[17]P119
Creative translation is a technique, which is different from above four techniques, and could be used as the complement of the previous techniques. This method often uses some of the characters and words instead of pure transliteration, such as addition or deletion words, blending, acronym, and purposive misspelling, The most talked-about example is Coca Cola ﹙可口可乐)，which arouses people‘s aesthetic sentiment and temperament, resulting in good sales. The following is a list of such creative translation. 1) English-Chinese translation
Ador 雅黛 Cannon 佳能 Comfort 金纺
Suntory 三得利 Golgate 高露洁 Goodyear 固特异 Johnson 强生 Nike 耐克 P & G 宝洁
Pantene 潘婷 Paramont 百乐门 Poison 爱神 Rejoice 飘柔 Safeguard 舒肤佳 Sprite 雪碧 Whisper 护舒宝 7 up 七喜 Lexus 凌志 Transit 全顺 Head and shoulder 海飞丝 2) Chinese – English translation
凯奇 Catch 联想 Lenovo(Former Legend) 全球通 Go–tone 美的 Midea 双汇 Shineway 西冷 Serene （i）Deletion
What matters is the Chinese trademark or the foreign trademark, the most important feature is concise and conspicuous, so it is easy to memorize. Two or three words short and simple, has some advantages, so when using transliteration to translate some English trademarks with polysyllable, we can use this method.[18]P42 For example: McDonald‘s is translated into―麦当劳‖；Triumph, well-known underwear, is translated into Chinese as ―黛安芬‖.It is the same as some Chinese trademarks, e.g. ―飞鸽‖（bicycle）should be translated as ―Pigeon‖.There is no need to add ―Flying‖because ―Pigeon‖ has the connotative meaning of ―Flying‖(飞).[19]P236 （ii）Addition
With the main phonetic component and meaning of source trademarks translated, we can add some words to stand out the products features. [20]P146 For example, Goal, the famous medicine for growing higher, the translation is ―高尔‖. Adding a word not only corresponds to the phonetic component but also shows the special feature of this product obviously. （iii）Blending
As we know, good trademarks are not only informative but also concise enough to be memorized. However, some literal translations of trademarks are too long and tedious, which are not easy to memorize and advise. In this case, we can use blending to combine two or three words into one word. For example,―金鹿‖is translated as―Goldeer‖by blending ―Gold‖ and ―Deer‖;―肤美灵‖is translated as ―Skinice‖ by blending ―Skin‖ and ―Nice‖. （iv） Acronym
Acronym is one method, combining the initial letters of trademarks. For example, (36) HP-惠普(computer)
(37) IBM(computer)-International Business Machine (38)奥康(shoes) –AK (39)波司登(clothing)-BSD
(40)美的(air-conditioner)-MD (41)吉尔达(shoes)-JRD
But some acronym might happen to be the same as some generally acknowledged abbreviations, we should be cautious to these cases. （v）Purposive Misspelling
Purposive Misspelling is the most creative method in trademarks translation. By this means can attract more people. For example,―雅戈尔‖(clothing) is translated into English as ―Youngor‖ which is the misspelling of English word ―Younger‖. ―小霸王‖(learning machine) is translated into ―subor‖ instead of ―super‖.
5. Conclusion
Trademark is a bridge between producers and consumers. Trademark translation is very important in international trade. Though many translators have done much work on the study of trademark translation, some problems are still there that need to be solved. Excellent trademark translation is by no means an easy job, since there are some barriers hindering translators from translating trademark successfully.
This paper suggests the major principles of Eugene A. Nida‘s ― functional equivalence‖ as the guidance of the translating of trademark, and the right methods based on the needs and situation. The study on the trademark translation helps to provide the insight into the cultural barriers between China and English-speaking countries and understand the source language and target language completely. Then translator can translate trademarks successfully from source language to target language, so that equal function works.
References
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[2] 胡小娇. 论我国商标词翻译[J]. 中国优秀博硕士学位论文全文数据库 [3] 翁凤翔. 编著 实用翻译 [M]. 浙江大学出版社，2002 P63
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Acknowledgements
First I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Qiu Wensheng for his constant guidance and insightful comments to me. His painstaking correction has been a driving force behind this paper.
My thanks should also be sent to my classmate Wu Lifang who helped me a lot in polishing this paper.
PAN lang=EN-US style=\"FONT-SIZE: 12pt\">(24)―高露洁‖--- Colgate(toothpaste)
In a word, trademark is a linguistic medium to inform of the products. The translated trademarks should also perform the same functions as the original, including attracting reader‘s attention, interest, desire, memory and action. A successful translation should be able to invite the target readers‘ attention, arouse their interest and desire, commit to memorizing the products and carry the desire of purchasing into effect. ―The readers of the translated trademarks should be able to comprehend the translated trademarks to the point that the original readers of the trademarks must have understood and appreciated the original trademark.‖[13]P117
4. Techniques for trademark translation 4.1 Main methods of trademark translation
In a narrow sense, translation is rendering of a text from the source language to the target language. It is a recreation activity, based on the original writing in the source language. Trademark translation is a highly challenging job. We should take the different history, customs, art, culture and some other factors into consideration. Under the guidance of Nida‘s ―functional equivalence‖, we could use the following five main methods of trademark translation, that is, transliteration, literal translation, paraphrase, combination of transliteration, literal translation and paraphrase, creative translation. 4.1.1 Transliteration
Transliteration is based on the sounds of the source language. Choosing some target words or language that sounds same or familiar to the source language to translate. Sometimes, we should use Chinese Pinyin to translate some English trademarks directly. Most of this kind of trademarks is coined words and proper names. Sometimes they do not have the concrete meaning in target language.Let‘s take some translated names as examples. 1) Chinese—English translation: 茅台酒----Mao Tai(drink) 海尔---Haier(electric)
李宁-----Lining(sports clothing) 星星----Xing Xing(electric)
娃哈哈----WAHAHA(drink) 春兰----Chunlan(air-conditioner)
飞亚达----Fiyta(watch) 长虹----Changhong(TV-set)
必是----Beshe(drink) 康佳----Konka(TV-set)
华生----Watson(electric fan) 新科----Shico(VCD)
黄河----Huanghe(drink) 厦华----Xoccco(TV)
2) English-Chinese translation: ShangriLa-----香格里拉 Boeing------波音
Audi----奥迪
Cadillac-------卡迪拉克
Ford-----福特
Lincoln--------林肯（car）
Motorola----摩托罗拉 Daphne------达芙妮
Lux--------力士 Sharp-------夏普
Dupont--------杜邦 Adidas-------阿迪达斯
Nike---------耐克 Casio---------卡西欧
Rolex-------劳力士
In Chinese-English transliteration, translators use those consonant or euphony words or phrases to
make translated trademarks clear and rhythmical. We can use this way to catch the target consumers‘ ears and reach the equivalence of response of source language and target language readers. And when translating English to Chinese, we often use short words (phrases) with fine meanings, such as ―金‖，―龙‖，―美‖，―佳‖，―福‖，―康‖，―利‖，to meet Chinese buyers‘ psychological preference.[14]P32.
Transliteration can keep the source trademarks‘ sounds, incorporating the sounds and meanings, reproducing the trademarks language‘s vocative function. For example, If―荣事达‖(electric) was translated into ―Rongshida‖ directly, the source connotation ―the glorious and prosperous career‖ would be lost. On the contrary, another version―Royalstar‖ not only keeps the basic sounds but evokes people the connotation that this product is reliable and excellent. This translation can impress the consumers deeply and is good for products promotion. 4.1.2 Literal translation
Literal translation is the most commonly used translation method in trademark translating. A prominent feature of this method is loyalty to the literal meaning of source trademarks. This method is often used to some ornate trademarks that have tangible and implied meaning. [15]P45 For example,
car trademark ―Bluebird‖ was often translated into―蓝鸟‖ directly. ―Bluebird‖ comes from Belgian Maurice Materlinekz‘s fairy tales named as ―Bluebird‖ symbolizing ―Future happiness‖. Later, it was used as the car trademark. Poet Li Shangyin wrote: ―蓬山此去无多路，青鸟殷勤为探看‖<<无题>>。
To the three fairy hills it is not a long way.
Would the blue birds oft fly to see you on the height! (许渊冲译)
In the poem, ―blue bird‖ is ―fairy bird‖ which comes of fairy tales. Poet wrote the feeling of lovesick. And in Chinese, ―蓝‖and―青‖both have the meaning of ―blue‖. ―Bluebird‖ translated into ―蓝鸟‖，not only is equal in form but also in cultural connotation. Both of them have the meaning of messenger..[16] P118 Some more examples are as follows, 1) Chinese-English translation 雪莲---- Snow-lotous(clothing) 熊猫----Panda(TV set)
北极星----Polaris(clock) 豪富----wealth(case)
舒而美--Comfort & Beauty (napin) 肤美灵--Skinice(cosmetics)
小天鹅---Little Swan(electric) 梅花----Plum Blossom(recorder)
金杯---- Golden Cup(sports shoes) 钻石----Diamond(watch)
百灵---- Lark(skin cream)
富贵----Millionaire(bicycle)
2) English –Chinese translation
Crown---皇冠(Car) Crocodile---鳄鱼(Clothing)
Apple--- 苹果（Clothing） Playboy--- 花花公子（Clothing）
These literal translations can reveal some features, information, quality and culture about the products. Thus we can attain the correspondences in form and sense, and achieve the informative functional equivalenceof these trademarks in both source and target market. 4.1.3 Paraphrase translation
Paraphrasing translation also means liberal translation. It is the technique of translating trademarks by giving a restatement of the meaning in target language. And achieve the functional equivalenceof both source and target language. For example, the English version of―海信‖is ―hisense‖, not only keeping the Chinese linguistic features of simple and sounds sonorously but creating among English-speaking people image that this products is of high sense. We often use homophonous Chinese words and Pinyin to translate English trademarks. For examples, (25) Contac-----康泰克（Kongtaike） (26) Legalon---利肝灵（Liganling） (27) Volkswagen-大众 (28) Microsoft----微软
(29) Camel--------骆驼（Tobacco） (30) Shell---------壳牌
Some Chinese trademarks can use some English words that sound similar and the meaning is elegant to translate directly. There are some wonderful examples, e.g. (31)―全顺‖（Car）---Transit (32)―实达‖(Computer)---Star (33)―瑞风‖(Car)---Refine (34)―雅致‖(Clothing)---Elegance (35)―快意‖（Air-conditioner）---Coolpoint
These translations can successfully achieve the equivalent vocative function to the original trademarks.
4.1.4 Combination of transliteration, literal translation and paraphrase
This method is often used when trademarks can find the correspondences in target language that have the similar sounds and the relevant meanings, to achieve the equivalence in informative function. For instance,―Simmons‖ is translated into ―席梦思‖，which not only sounds similar to source language, but evokes the connotation of sweet dream for people.
Sometimes translator can use integrated translation to convey the connotations of source trademarks. For example, foreign product ―Bubble Yum‖ is translated into ―百宝泡泡糖‖. ―Yum‖expresses the meaning of ―attractive‖ while ―Bubble‖ sounds similar to―Paopao‖. And ―Bubble‖ is translated into―泡泡糖‖directly, the special feature of this product is informed clearly. Therefore, this translation successfully reproduces the informative, and aesthetic functions as the original performs.
Sometimes, since trademark translation is able to express some cultural information, the translator should make some explanation. For example, ―玉兔‖ is translated into English as―Moon Rabbit‖,but not ―Jade Rabbit‖.Because in Chinese, ―玉兔‖does not mean that the rabbit was made of jade, but symbolizes the moon, ―玉兔‖comes from fairy tale, and refers to the rabbit which living together with the fairy Chang′E in the moon. ―Moon Rabbit‖can transfer the hidden cultural
message better than―Jade Rabbit‖. The following are some successful translation with this method: 1) Chinese Trademarks English Renderings
统统（Shoes） Total (―Total‖—literal translation and transliteration of ―统统‖) 昂立1号（Medicine） Only One(―Only‖-transliteration of―昂立‖)
乐达（Bicycle） Happy Rider(―Happy‖-literal translation of ―乐‖;―Rider‖-transliteration of ―达‖) 楚星（Constructive Material） True Star(―True‖-transliteration of―楚‖; ―Star‖-literal translation of ―星‖)
海信（TV Set） Hisense (―Hi‖-transliteration of ―海‖sounds sense-sounds similar to ―High‖; sense-sounds similar to―信‖)
珞珈山 Lucky Hill (―Lucky‖-transliteration of ―珞珈‖; ―Hill‖-literal translation of ―山‖)
2) English trademarks Chinese renderings Coca Cola 可口可乐 Whisper 护舒宝 Citizen 西铁城 Tide 汰渍 Canon 佳能 Contac 康泰克
Pierre Cardin 皮尔卡丹 Camay 佳美
4.1.5 Creative Translation
Trademark is a mainly culturally loaded. It is also a mirror of social culture. Trademark not only reflects the society, culture and customs, and meets people‘s psychological preference but also has an important influence on society, culture and aesthetic psychology. Trademark translation is a recreation activity, based on the target language and culture.[17]P119
Creative translation is a technique, which is different from above four techniques, and could be used as the complement of the previous techniques. This method often uses some of the characters and words instead of pure transliteration, such as addition or deletion words, blending, acronym, and purposive misspelling, The most talked-about example is Coca Cola ﹙可口可乐)，which arouses people‘s aesthetic sentiment and temperament, resulting in good sales. The following is a list of such creative translation. 1) English-Chinese translation
Ador 雅黛 Cannon 佳能 Comfort 金纺
Suntory 三得利 Golgate 高露洁 Goodyear 固特异 Johnson 强生 Nike 耐克 P & G 宝洁
Pantene 潘婷 Paramont 百乐门 Poison 爱神 Rejoice 飘柔 Safeguard 舒肤佳 Sprite 雪碧 Whisper 护舒宝 7 up 七喜 Lexus 凌志 Transit 全顺 Head and shoulder 海飞丝 2) Chinese – English translation
凯奇 Catch 联想 Lenovo(Former Legend) 全球通 Go–tone 美的 Midea 双汇 Shineway 西冷 Serene （i）Deletion
What matters is the Chinese trademark or the foreign trademark, the most important feature is concise and conspicuous, so it is easy to memorize. Two or three words short and simple, has some advantages, so when using transliteration to translate some English trademarks with polysyllable, we can use this method.[18]P42 For example: McDonald‘s is translated into―麦当劳‖；Triumph, well-known underwear,is translated into Chinese as ―黛安芬‖.It is the same as some Chinese trademarks, e.g. ―飞鸽‖（bicycle）should be translated as ―Pigeon‖.There is no need to add ―Flying‖because ―Pigeon‖ has the connotative meaning of ―Flying‖(飞).[19]P236 （ii）Addition
With the main phonetic component and meaning of source trademarks translated, we can add some words to stand out the products features. [20]P146 For example, Goal, the famous medicine for growing higher, the translation is ―高尔‖. Adding a word not only corresponds to the phonetic component but also shows the special feature of this product obviously. （iii）Blending
As we know, good trademarks are not only informative but also concise enough to be memorized. However, some literal translations of trademarks are too long and tedious, which are not easy to memorize and advise. In this case, we can use blending to combine two or three words into one word. For example,―金鹿‖is translated as―Goldeer‖by blending ―Gold‖ and ―Deer‖;―肤美灵‖is translated as ―Skinice‖ by blending ―Skin‖ and ―Nice‖. （iv） Acronym
Acronym is one method, combining the initial letters of trademarks. For example, (36) HP-惠普(computer)
(37) IBM(computer)-International Business Machine (38)奥康(shoes) –AK (39)波司登(clothing)-BSD
(40)美的(air-conditioner)-MD (41)吉尔达(shoes)-JRD
But some acronym might happen to be the same as some generally acknowledged abbreviations, we should be cautious to these cases. （v）Purposive Misspelling
Purposive Misspelling is the most creative method in trademarks translation. By this means can attract more people. For example,―雅戈尔‖(clothing) is translated into English as ―Youngor‖ which is the misspelling of English word ―Younger‖. ―小霸王‖(learning machine) is translated into ―subor‖ instead of ―super‖.
5. Conclusion
Trademark is a bridge between producers and consumers. Trademark translation is very important in international trade. Though many translators have done much work on the study of trademark translation, some problems are still there that need to be solved. Excellent trademark translation is by no means an easy job, since there are some barriers hindering translators from translating trademark successfully.
This paper suggests the major principles of Eugene A. Nida‘s ― functional equivalence‖ as the guidance of the translating of trademark, and the right methods based on the needs and situation. The study on the trademark translation helps to provide the insight into the cultural barriers between China and English-speaking countries and understand the source language and target language completely. Then translator can translate trademarks successfully from source language to target language, so that equal function works.
References
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Acknowledgements
First I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Qiu Wensheng for his constant guidance and insightful comments to me. His painstaking correction has been a driving force behind this paper.
My thanks should also be sent to my classmate Wu Lifang who helped me a lot in polishing this paper.
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