The Study of Clothing Trademark’s Translation Based on Theory of Reception Aesthetics

杜彩霞

◆摘? 要：With the development of global trade， it is essential for a foreign brand with a proper trademark translation to enter into the Chinese market， one of the biggest market in the world. Based on the reception aesthetics represented by Jauss （1982） and Iser （1978）， this paper aims to analyze three elements in regard to English-Chinese clothing brand name’s translation from language， culture and consumer’s emotion， which is essential to become authentic brand name’s translation greatly affecting the reception of target consumers. The findings are that language differences between English and Chinese， five brand personalities under Chinese culture context and emotional satisfaction can influence consumers’ choice of buying products. The research may provide some references to clothing brand name translation of a foreign brand so as to gain Chinese consumers’ preference.

◆關鍵詞：Clothing brand name; Language distinction; Chinese culture; Consumers’ emotion

1.Literature Review

Since 1990s， quite a few researchers at broad and home have studied? the translation of brand name using various theories. The theoretical framework of Skopos-adaptation was applied to Chinese-English translation of online shopping promotions （Wang & Zen， 2016）. Chan and Huang （1997） made research based on a linguistic approach about brand naming in China which could influence marketing intelligence and planning. Sociolinguistic implication was also applied to brand naming in China （Li & Shooshtari， 2003）. Liu （2018） found that the manipulations of the meaning and form of original brand name can achieve translations of brand name. Translators， who are affected and restricted by companies and customers， are also an essential role in renaming brand name， for the reason that translators’ subjectivity couldn’t be ignored （Liu & He， 2015）. Previous research about brand name translation mentioned all kinds of products， but lacked specific and clear clothing brand name translation. Besides， reception aesthetics was rarely applied to clothing brand name translation. Therefore this paper is intended to analyze foreign clothing brand naming as one important element of trademark in the Chinese market with some cases analysis under the theory of reception aesthetics.

2.Clothing brand name translation under reception aesthetics

The theory of reception aesthetics was born in the federal republic of Germany in the 1960s by several young and medieval scholars of University of Konstanz： Wolfgang Iser and Hans Robert Jauss and so on. The group became known as the konstanz school. In 1967， Hans Robert Jauss， one of the major representatives of reception aesthetics， in his speech entitled “Literary History As A Challenge to Literary Theory”， put forward the basic thoughts and theoretical framework of reception aesthetics comprehensively， and established the reception aesthetics theory from the original text to the readers.

Reception aesthetics concentrates on the reader-response theory which attach great importance to target receptors accepting the target text. Recipients should be? regarded as an active role rather than a passive role among the author， text and recipients. Right now， it has been wildly employed in the field of trademark translation of cosmetics， automobile and clothing. Under reception aesthetics， this paper attempts to study English-Chines clothing brand name translation from linguistic， cultural and emotional perspectives.

2.1Clothing brand name translation from a linguistic perspective

When a foreign clothing brand plans to step into the Chinese market， the first problem it has to deal with is to translate previous English brand name into Chinese brand name which is widely accepted by Chinese target customers. English language is totally different from Chinese language. English is a phonographic language based on letters and phonemes， so English speaking customers are more attractive by brand names which sound pleasant to ears. While Chinese is a logographic language based on visual characters， therefore Chinese consumers are inclined to be interested in brand names with profound meaning （Schmitt and Zhang， 2012）. Chinese language system stands for a typical high-context culture. Simple phonetic translation of English brand name can’t meet Chinese customers’ preference （Li & Shooshtari， 2003）. Therefore， provided that a foreign clothing brand desires to leave a great impression on Chinese target consumers， it’s Chinese brand name should be easy to read， pleasant to hear phonologically as well as short， concise and simple to remember lexically. A Chinese brand name with simple characters conveying some special meanings can be especially attractive. An Italian clothing brand “OCHIRLY” is translated into “歐時力” in China. There are three syllables in “歐時力” ， namely [ ou ]， [ shi ] and [ li ]， which starts with the [ ou ]， [ sh ] and [ l ] sounds respectively. There are also three syllables in OCHIRLY， namely [ ? ]，[ t?i? ] and [ li ]. So Chinese brand name translation follow the original sound to a certain degree.

2.2Clothing brand name translation from a cultural perspective

There are a lot of differences between Chinese cultures and western cultures. Consumers in different culture contexts may have a different reaction towards brand names. Their values， beliefs， knowledge and cultural background can affect how they appreciate the meaning of brands， so the culture context should be taken into consideration （Chu & Sung， 2011）. Aaker （1997） defined brand personality as “the set of human characteristics associated with a brand” （p. 347）. He also mentioned five dimensions of brand personality： sincerity， excitement， competence， sophistication and ruggedness. But those five dimensions are based on western consumers’ characteristics， so not all dimensions are proper for brand naming in China. According to Chinese cultural basis， Cui （2019） presented five dimensions of brand personality： competence， aesthetic， joyfulness， sophistication and trendiness.

Both in western and Chinese cultures there are competence， excitement and sophistication dimension. Competence suggests a brand’s ability， reliability， strength and quality so as to bring consumers a sense of security and trust.? Sophistication displays consumers’ good taste， esteem， elegance and social status. Other three dimensions of brand personality are added in the Chinese market， that’s the result of cultures. In China， brand naming tends to show something positive or evoke customers’ positive emotion （Cui， 2019）. Chinese deeply respect and follow the core Confucian value of harmony， hence Chinese like brand names showing joyfulness （Chu & Sung， 2011）. Chinese customers have face consciousness which becomes incentives for them to buy expensive， luxurious and extravagant products to “obtain face” （Rojas-Méndez et al.， 2013）. They also pursue the material prosperity and favor globally famous brand therefore many famous foreign clothing brands are popular in China. Trendiness dimensions can satisfy Chinese customers’ need for being fashionable， young， up-to-date and western. Everyone likes something beautiful， but Chinese consumers have a special taste on brand names. A brand name with characters which can show its clothes’ beauty and elegance may be conducive to reception of Chinese customers. Aesthetic value can’t be ignored in Chinese brand name translation. For instance， famous American sportswear brand NIKE is translated into “耐克”. “耐” symbolizes “endure”， and “克” embodies “conquer”. Those two characters could show a high quality of being outdoorsy which also makes consumers believe it is durable. Another American fashionable brand CHAMPION is translated into “冠軍”. In China， people are always encouraged to be the best one or a champion among peers and competitors. Therefore “冠軍” with a good implicit meaning exactly satisfies Chinese need and make them trust that their dreams can always come true.

2.3Clothing brand name translation from an emotional perspective

People’s behavior is often motivated by their needs to some extent. Whether consumers decide to buy new clothes depends on whether brand names meet their needs for aesthetics， security， ability， beauty and fashion. Additionally， if the value of the brand name is congruous with consumers’ mentality， value， attitude and belief， their positive emotions are likely to be motivated （Cui， 2019）.

Brand name can also formulate concrete images and abstract images， and they have different functions in initiating consumers’ positive emotions. Different bodily sensations like touch， sounds， smells， sights and tastes are all defined as concrete image. Brand name can usually present visual images， for example， character “花” in a brand name can make consumers imagine pictures of flowers then perceive implicit meanings such as beauty， fragrance and elegance. While abstract images can present something that consumers really desire so as to satisfy their preference for pleasure， luck， wealth which results in causing their emotional response to the brand （Cui， 2017）. Once positive emotion is stimulated， customers will try to remember the brand name consciously. So a good brand name can present images which can cause consumers’ positive emotions and enhance their memories to the brand. “Hugo Boss” is a globally famous luxury brand and it is translated into “雨果博斯”. Hugo is the same name as the French romantic writer showing the romantic color and also pointing out that the brand is especially designed for men. “Boss” is translated into “博斯”， in which “博” shows erudite， broad and “斯” expresses the meaning of being gentle. So Hugo Boss’s gentlemanly image is deeply rooted in Chinese consumers’ hearts.

Conclusion

This paper studies three important elements influencing English-Chinese clothing brand name translation under reception aesthetics. The research finds that there are great differences between English and Chinese. The former is phonographic language based on letters and phoneme， while the latter is logographic language based on visual character. An English brand name with pleasant sound has to be translated into a Chinese brand name with profound meanings in the Chinese clothing market. Influenced by Chinese cultures， Chinese customers pay more attention to aesthetics， trendiness， joyfulness dimension besides competence and sophistication dimension. Both concrete and abstract images contribute to motivate customers’ positive emotions and enhance their memories for the clothing brands further. The study may help a foreign brand choose and translate a more authentic Chinese brand name being suitable for Chinese market.

Acknowledgments

This paper is supported by the Excellent Student Training Project of the Fundamental Research Funds for the Universities under Central Government in Southwest Minzu University （西南民族大學中央高校基本科研業務費專項資金優秀學生培養工程項目資助+3300221648）.

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