A Study on The Translation Strategies of English Advertising Texts Based on Peter Newmark's Translation Theory

黃江云

【Abstract】Nowadays， with the development of the worlds globalization and commercialization， more and more foreign commodities are pouring into China， also， more and more Chinese products commodities are pouring into foreign countries. Advertising has been influencing us pervasively in our daily life. It is not only the means of commodity marketing， but also the transmitter of culture. To the sellers， an effective advertising involves not only what to say but also how to say. While to the translators， what they concern most is how to convey the information appropriately and effectively. Therefore， it is necessary to study English advertising texts （EAT） and their translation strategies. This essay focuses on the translation theories of Peter New Mark， especially the functions of language and the two major translation methods---semantic translation （ST） and communicative translation （CT）， with the hope of finding more effective translation strategy for different types of English advertising to make the TL advertisements as effective as SL advertisement. Through the study on New Marks translation theories and the features of different types of English advertising， this paper draws a conclusion that we should adopt flexible translation methods to translate different advertisement， there is no all-purpose method.

【Key Words】Peter Newmark Translation Theories ST CT English Advertising Texts Translation Strategies.

【摘要】隨著世界全球化和商業化的發展，廣告已經普遍存在于人們的生活之中，并影響著人們。廣告不僅是一種商品推銷的手段，也是一種文化傳遞的交流手段。因此，對于商家來說一則有效的廣告不僅要考慮說什么，還要考慮如何說，而對于譯者來說，主要考慮的是該如何有效的傳達廣告所傳遞的信息，達到預期的目的。因此，研究英文廣告文本及其翻譯策略顯得尤為必要。本文旨在通過對紐馬克翻譯理論的研究，尤其是他基于語言的不同功能所提出的翻譯理論及兩大核心翻譯方法—語義翻譯和交際翻譯，來探析不同類型廣告英語的翻譯策略，力求通過利用這些翻譯策略使原語廣告與譯語廣告產生同樣的效果。通過對紐馬克翻譯理論的研究以及對不同類型英文廣告的分析，本文最后得出結論：在廣告英語的翻譯過程中沒有所謂的萬能或通用翻譯法，應根據不同類型的廣告靈活選擇適當的翻譯法。

【關鍵詞】皮特紐馬克 翻譯理論 語義翻譯 交際翻譯 廣告英語 翻譯策略

Introduction

Nowadays， wherever we go in a big city， we are “greeted” by all kinds of advertisements： we listen to them on radio； we see them on TV， films， signs， painted bulletins， etc. Advertising performs more varied roles in society and impacts us greatly on our daily life. It has an important role in informing and influencing consumers. It stimulates wants， and shows how these wants can be satisfied. Partly because of the influence of advertising， people have learned to want even better products and services. Advertising is one of the most important techniques of modern business enterprise. In a competitive market， a companys decisions about advertising affect its product development， packaging， pricing， distribution， and retailing. Therefore， each manufacturer attempts to improve his products and to introduce new products to gain a sales advantage. However， no matter what promoting strategies advertising takes， language is the main carrier of message all along. Namely， it is of crucial importance. So， how to convey the information of EAT appropriately and effectively is what translators should concern most.endprint

1.Peter New Marks Translation Theories.

1.1 Language Functions and Text-types

Newmark believed that the process of translating is the process of text translation， any study on translating should be based on the analysis of text. After a thorough study， he put forward a set of his own texts functions and text types which were based on Buhlers functional theory of language and Jakobsons theory of language. He classified all the texts into six types as follow：

1.1.1 The Expressive Function

According to Newmark， the core of the expressive function is the mind of the speaker， the writer， the originator of the utterance. They use the utterance to express their feelings irrespective of any response. For the purposes of translation， New Mark thought the characteristic ‘expressive text-types are： serious imaginative literature （lyrical poetry， short stories， novels， plays）， authoritative statements （political speeches， documents etc.） and autobiography， essays， personal correspondence.

1.1.2 The Informative Function

According to Newmark， the core of the informative function of language is external situation， the facts of a topic， reality outside language， including reported ideas or theories. For the purposes of translation， New Mark thought the typical ‘informative texts are concerned with any topic of knowledge， such as textbook， technical report， newspaper or magazine article， academic paper， memo， or conference record.

1.1.3 The Vocative Function

According to Newmark， the core of the vocative function of language is the readership， the addressee. Nowadays， vocative texts are more often addressed to a readership than a reader. For the purposes of translation， New Mark took notices， instructions， publicity， propaganda， persuasive writing （requests， cases， theses） and possibly popular fiction， whose purpose is to sell the book to the reader or entertain the reader， as the typical ‘vocative text.

1.1.4 The Aesthetic Function

Aesthetic function of language is to please the senses， firstly through its actual or imagined sound， and secondly through its metaphors. The rhythm， balance and contrasts of sentences， clauses and words also play their part.

1.1.5 The Phatic Function

The phatic function of language is used for maintaining friendly contact with the addressee rather than for imparting foreign information. The translation of texts of phatic function should be rendered by standard of equivalents.endprint