Feasibility of the Application of Relevance Theory to Brand Name Translation

彭艷坤

Abstract： Relevance theory is a theory on communication from the cognitive point， and regards the communication as an ostensive？鄄inferential process. The brand name translation is not only bilingual communication， but also bicultural communication. The author regards the brand name translation as a communicative process of ostensive？鄄inference that includes three parties， testifying the feasibility that relevance theory can be best applied to the brand name translation.

Key Words： Feasibility； Relevance Theory； Brand Name Translation

【中圖分類號】H31 【文獻標識碼】A 【文章編號】2095-3089（2013）05-0113-01

Ⅰ. Relevance Theory： A Theory on Communication from the Cognitive Point

The inadequacy of traditional communication perspective has given birth to the relevance theory. The relevance theory is put forward by Sperber and Wilson. The two linguists claim：“we maintain， then， that there are at least two different modes of communication： the coding？鄄decoding mode and the inferential mode…. Complex forms of communication can combine both modes. Inferential communication， for example， might involve the use of coded signals which fall short of encoding the communicator？蒺s intentions and merely provide incomplete evidence about them.”That is to say， two modes are intertwined in common communication， especially in complicated ones. On the basis of this compromise， relevance theory suggests the ostensive？鄄inferential mode of communication. It is consist of the meaning and intention expressed by the speaker （the informative intention and communicative intention）. To make clearer the mode， two basic concepts are further introduced in the relevance theory：cognitive environment and the mutual？鄄manifestness. The relevance theory pays attention to the communication and cognition， and regards relevance as the principle of communication. Therefore， disagreeing with the traditional communication， relevance theory focuses on the cognitive approach， for that reason， it can be termed as the successor to and a breakthrough of the traditional outlooks on communication. That is why relevance theory is sometimes regarded as one theory on communication from cognitive point.

As one of the most influential theories with regard to the communication study， relevance theory has encountered both compliments and criticisms since its birth. Translation is no exception. Relevance theory has been put into wide use in translation studies. Relevance and translation have something overlapping， especially when translation is looked as communication. Relevance theory？蒺s cognitive environment has brought forth a new angle to study translation. For that reason， the author just plans to clarify a few points of the theory that she believes to be closely related and truly beneficial to the study of brand name translation and apply them to the brand name translation.

Ⅱ. Brand Name Translation： One Kind of Bicultural Communication

Brand Name Translation in Terms of Communication

To communicate is to claim someone？蒺s attention and hence to demand some expenditure of effort. People won？蒺t pay attention unless they expect to obtain information that is rich enough in contextual effects to be relevant to them. Hence， to communicate is to imply that the stimulus used （for example， the utterance） is worth the audience？蒺s attention.

The ultimate purpose of the brand name translation decides that the brand name translation belongs to one kind of communication. From the definition and the feature of the brand name， we know that the brand name translation gives serve to the receiver of the translated text—consumers. So， the brand name translation should have the characteristics of the brand name. The aim of the brand name is to attract the attention of the consumer， let the consumer accept the commodity， rouse the purchase desire of the consumer， and then to create economic and social benefit. Therefore， the translation of the brand name has the same purpose， but the consumer is not the domestic consumer， is the consumer in foreign market. From this， we can say the brand name translation is one kind of communication. And this communication touches upon three parties： the creator of the brand name， the translator and the consumer in foreign market.

Ⅲ. The Relationship Between the Brand Name Translation and Culture

The sociologists think that all culture phenomena are special and different. Due to the differences of development way， history， geographical position and environment， all cultures have their own features. Then the difference of the culture causes the different understanding about the language. It can be reflected on the brand name. In different environment， one brand name includes different cultural connotations. In the domestic and foreign trade， people can easily find that the products with the same brand name are popular in one area， but in another area， they are treated coldly. Why？ It is caused by the invisible barrier—the cultural difference among nations.

The brand name is one part of the culture， one expression form and propagation tool. Peter Newmark maintains that the culture includes ecological culture， material culture， social communication culture， sign language and custom culture. The brand name is one kind of sign used to transfer information， and is one kind of special language. So， the brand name includes culture and will transfer culture. The development and change of brand name have close relation with the culture of this area， country or nation. Nida—the famous translation scholar divided the culture into five types： ecological culture， material culture， social culture， religious culture and language culture. From this， we know the culture exists in everything and everywhere. The translation of brand name is to change the brand name of source language into the brand name of target language. This kind of translation is one kind of communication activity among communities with different cultural background. For example： the Qingdao beer of China wants to enter the American market， the producer of China must advertise their product in the foreign market to make the consumer in the American market recognize， and accept it （the brand name is one part of the advertisement）. How does the advertisement bring about the successful communication with the American？ This is a problem concerning the bicultural dissemination （between the culture of American and the culture of China）. According to the classification of Nida， we can see the advertisement and brand name contain many aspects of the culture. The successful marketing of the product is determined by the brand name translation in great extent.

From the above two parts， we can get a conclusion that the brand name translation is one kind of bicultural communication. Relevance theory is an advanced theory for studying communication； therefore， we could say it can be applied in the brand name translation.

References：

[1]Nida， E. Language， Culture and Translating. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， 1993.

[2]Ernst？鄄August Gutt， Translation and Relevanc. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press， 2004.