Study on Spanish-Chinese Translation of Trademarks

Xi’an Shiyou University,Xi’an,China Email:chenchen@xsyu.edu.cn

[Abstract]As the economic globalization deepens,many products of Spanish-speaking countries are imported to China.This paper investigates the strategy of the translation of Spanish trademarks into Chinese,which can be an inspiration for Spanish and Latin American companies that will start their business in the Chinese market in future.

[Keywords]Translation of Trademarks;Intercultural Communication;Spanish-Chinese Translation;Marketing

Introduction

With the globalization,there are more Spanish and Latin American companies entering the Chinese market.Every day,best-selling products that come from Spanish-speaking countries such as Zara,Cola Cao,Chupa Chups and Mango appear on the shelves of Chinese stores.The mission of the translators is to help the company open a new market and obtain more consumers.Unlike other types of translation,trademark translation has a very obvious business characteristic.At the same time of conquering the obstacle between two languages,it’s necessary to take into account the psychology of the target consumers.To play its promotional role,the brand must attract the maximum attention of consumers,increase their recognition to stimulate their purchase.Consequently,translators must increase the attractiveness of products by fully representing their characteristics.And the translation must conform to the culture and aesthetic habits of the target language.

Principles of the Naming of Trademarks

American marketing expert David A.Aaker(1994)summarized the factors that can increase the influence of the trademarks.First,the name must be different or unusual to attract attention and arouse people’s curiosity.This happens a lot when a foreign brand enters the local market.For example,“H&M”and“Mango”still use their original names instead of translating them.Second,there must be something interesting in the trademarks,such as rhyme,alliteration,a pun,or humor.For example,the translation of“Coca Cola”in Chinese is“可口可乐”and“Oreo”is“奥利奥”.Both of their translations have maintained their original rhyme,making it easy to read.Third,it must have a meaning that can awaken a mental image.For example,American trademark“Apple”has changed the original meaning of this fruit.When people see the fruit,sometimes they will find it difficult not to connect it to the Apple brand.Fourth,it must harbor some emotion,especially positive emotions.For example,French supermarket“Carrefour”has translated its name into“家乐福”which means“Happy home”.Lastly,the name should be simple.A three-syllable word will be more difficult to learn than a one or two-syllable word,especially if the consumer has little motivation to read and to memorize the name.

Theories and Methods on the Translation of the Trademarks

Katharina Reiss,German linguist and translation specialist,argued that there are four types of texts:informative,expressive,operative and audio-medial.And for each of these specific translation methods should be applied.It is obvious that the trademark name belongs to the operative text,whose linguistic dimension is desiring the reader’s response.It has the main focus of appeal.This type of text does not simply convey information,but has a clear objective of appeal and persuasion.When translating this type of text,the equivalent effect is the most important.

British scholar of translation Peter Newmark(1988)also listed three functions of language:expressive function,informational function and vocative function.According to Newmark,the texts of this function are controversial writing,advertising,news,laws and regulations,propaganda and popular literature.They have a persuasive and imperative style and their focus is on the reader.As the trademarks have this function,the best translation method will be recreation of equivalent effect.

The translation of the trademark is not the same as the translation of the other texts due to the participation of the company and the consumer.Under pragmatic theories,the trademark translation process should be as follows.First of all,understand the original name correctly.This includes the origin of the name,its meaning,its connotations in the source language,the culture and strategy of the company,the target consumer,etc.Then,combine with the cultural context,the value,the customs,the taboos of the target market,find the best translation method to obtain the pragmatic equivalence.

According to a research by a Chinese researcher Fan(2005),that takes the Top 100 foreign trademarks’Chinese translation as samples,the most widely used translation methods are transliteration(46%),literal translation(29%),and the mixture of both(25%).Transliteration remains the pronunciation relationship between the original and Chinese name.Many brands take names that do not make sense,in this case,it will be better to choose transliteration.In Chinese,each character has one syllable.A syllable is made up of three parts:the consonant,the vowel and the tone.It is difficult to get the only correspondence of a Spanish syllable to Chinese because one syllable can correspond to several Chinese characters.So a foreign brand could have different names translated in different Chinesespeaking regions like mainland China,Hong Kong,and Taiwan.For example,Lux is called respectively“力士”,“丽仕”and“丽士”in these three mentioned regions.

The literal translation gives a new name to the brand,losing its original pronunciation.For example,the Apple brand is called“苹果”in China,which means the fruit apple.Amazon is called“亚马逊”in China,which means Amazon River.Brands are replacing the original meaning of their names once the brands become famous.Above all,the mixture of transliteration and literal translation is much more popular than the other methods for saving its original pronunciation and new meaning.

It also should be mentioned that the non-translation strategy is increasingly used in the advertising field.García(2000,p.90)pointed out,“Today it is also common in a multinational and globalized society to prepare the advertisement in an international language(English or French)and maintain the same slogan in that foreign language itself”.Not only are there foreign brands that do not have translations,but there are also domestic brands that are named in foreign language.For example,electric brands such as TCL from China,Sony and Canon from Japan.

This phenomenon has a lot to do with the“polysystem”theory formulated by Itamar Even-Zohar(1978),a researcher in translation and culture studies.According to Zohar,the position of a culture determines the translation strategy.If the source language is ranked higher than the target language,the translation should be as close as possible to the source language.On the contrary,if the target language has a higher position,the translation should be closer to the target language.In certain industries like fashion,the European clothing reminds us of his latest design.

Analysis of the Translation of Spanish Trademarks

In this paper,the author has included 64 brands that have been registered in the Official Chamber of Commerce of Spain in China,the majority of which are Spanish and the minority of which are Latin American.Among the 64 trademarks,17 have meanings and 47 have no specific meanings.

Among the 17 trademarks with specific meaning,three are literally translated.The three names are concrete and easy to remember:“Banco Popular-西班牙人民银行”“Cespa-西班牙石油公司”“Gallo-公鸡”.As for“Banco Popular”(People’s Bank),it’s similar to the“People’s Bank of China-中国人民银行”,which is the Central Bank of China with the power to control monetary policy and regulate financial institutions in mainland China.Although Banco Popular is a private Spanish bank,it has already achieved its advertising function.“Cepsa”,whose full name is“Compañía Española de Petróleo”(Spanish Petroleum Company),translated as“西班牙石油公司”,also makes a solid impression on Chinese consumers.“Gallo”(Rooster)is a food company which produces pasta and wheat.The trademark Rooster has been literally translated to“公鸡”because rooster is a well known animal.For this reason,there will be no obstacle in its cultural transmission.Also,this meaningful name could deepen people’s memory and awaken the mental image.

There are 10 trademarks that originally have meanings but have lost them using transliteration such as“Acciona-安迅能”,“Celo-西螺”and“Roca-乐家”.“Acciona”is a Spanish company which leads in renewable energy,the promotion and management of infrastructures.Its literal translation is“activate”,however,they adopted“安迅能”,which means“safety-speed-energy”,to represent a better image of your company.

“Celo”is a manufacturer of screws and fasteners for construction.Its Spanish name means“zeal”or“scotch tape”.In the transliteration of his trademark,“西”means“Spain”,which precisely indicates the origin of the product:Occident or Spain.The second character“螺”corresponds to the pronunciation of the syllable“lo”and exactly means“screw”the product of this company.This transliteration indicates at the same time the product and its origin,from the translation perspective,its goal has been achieved.

“Roca”is a company dedicated to products for the bathroom.The brand name means“rock”,which can represent the good quality of its products:sinks or bathtubs.The translation“乐家”,which means“happy home”has given the brand new connotations.

However,some marks are mistranslated when they are transliterated,such as“Pemex”,an acronym for“Petróleo Mexicano”,which means“Mexican Petroleum”.In the transliteration“派墨斯”,only the second character“墨”has something to do with the brand meaning“México”.It will be better translated literally into“墨西哥石油公司”,which is more specific and clear.

The only trademark that adopts the mixture of literal translation and transliteration is“Día”which means“Day”in English.This Spanish supermarket has chosen“迪亚天天”as his Chinese name.Instead of the pure literal translation“天”or“白天”,what the company uses is“天天”,which means“every day”.Repetition could give the translated name more connotations and rhythm.To connect the original name with the translated name,transliteration is also added.“迪”means to enlighten,inspire and“亚”can mean Asia.The combination of these two characters means lighting up Asia.The translated name saves both the original pronunciation and the meaning.

There are also three trademarks that use the original Spanish name:“Mango”“Pull & Bear”,“Stradivarius”which are all from fashion industry.According to the founder of“Mango”,the company’s name was inspired by the sweet,strong fruit that sounds the same in all languages.In Chinese,both the literal translation and the transliteration of this trademark is“芒果”.“Pull & Bear”is one of the Inditex Group brands.Its original name shows the good quality of his products but when translated into Chinese,the literal translation“拉&耐”is neither aesthetic nor attractive to young people.“Stradivarius”is also a brand of the Inditex Group.A stradivarius is a string instrument and its Chinese translation is“斯特拉迪瓦里琴”.Obviously this Chinese name is too long to read and to remember.Due to globalization and the fame of Inditex brands all over the world,a trademark in letters is more“fashion”and more attractive for the young people.

Among the 47 trademarks without meanings,7 have used their original name and most are from the same Inditex Group,such as“Zara”,“Bershka”,“Oysho”.On the other hand,there are 40 brands adopting transliteration.Some translations are average using neutral Chinese characters.For example“Osborne-奥斯本”“Seat-西雅特”“Simon-西蒙”.The other names can at the same time keep the original pronunciation and give the company new positive connotations.For example:“Porcelanosa”is a company specialized in ceramic and porcelain objects.The name“porcelanosa”is not a word but could be created by the word“porcelain”which indicates the material of the products of this company.The translated name adopted by the company is“宝瓷兰”which only keeps the first three syllables.The first character“宝”can mean“precious”,the second character“瓷”means“porcelain”and the last“兰”means“orchid”,a symbol of elegance and purity in Chinese culture.This name indicates the company’s product with the character“瓷”and also creates a favorable image of the brand with the characters“宝”and“兰”.From both a translation perspective and aesthetics,it is a perfect translation.

Conclusion

Through this paper,it can be found that the translation of the trademarks can be pretty flexible.There is no fixed method for the translation of trademarks.Either transliteration,literal translation or their mixture can be adopted.As most of the trademarks have no specific meanings,transliteration is the most used method in the translation of Spanish trademarks into Chinese.Both strict transliteration and pronunciation changes are accepted as long as the new name favors the image of the company.The translated name can give new connotations if careful attention is paid to the selection of Chinese characters.In addition,in the transliteration process it is allowed to change,add or omit syllables to achieve better connotations of a brand.When a name has a specific meaning,the literal translation can be adopted.On the other hand,transliteration can also be adopted.

Only a small part of the marks is well translated according to these two conditions.First,choose Chinese characters with positive meanings that can awaken people’s emotions.For example:“Telstas-泰事达”,“Roca-乐家”).Second,select the characters that reflect the characteristics of the product.For example:“Celo-西螺”“Gymcol-金固牢”“Porcelanosa-宝瓷兰”.

It also should be noticed that the translation of trademarks is restricted by the Trademark Law.This occurs more frequently when brands from different foreign countries have the same meaning.In this case,once the literal translation of one trademark is registered,the other has to find another name.For example,the Mexican brand of beer“Corona”takes the name“科罗娜”because“皇冠”is already registered by another Australian beer brand.Besides,if a translated name carries controversial connotations,it will be better to change it so that the brand is adopted into the target culture.For example,the trademark“Adolfo Domínguez”does not take the translated name“阿道夫”but“雅度夫”to avoid the connection with Adolfo Hitler and introduce new connotations to the brand itself.

The brands of the Spanish fashion industry,especially fast fashion,usually keep their original name.(“Zara”“Mango”“Bershka”,etc.)Thanks to the international fame of these brands,some consumers had already known them before their entry into the Chinese market.This strategy of not translating would increase brand recognition and caters to the psychology of young consumers.In some cases,English influences the transliteration of some Spanish brands.Because English is more widely known to the Chinese compared to Spanish,transliteration often corresponds to the rules of English pronunciation.For example:“Lladró-雅致”,“Fersa-福赛”and“Applus-艾普拉斯”.

Acknowledgments

This paper is the phased research result of the special scientific research project“Chinese concept research from the perspective of cognitive semantics”(Project No.19JK0644)of the Department of Education of Shaanxi Province in 2019.